I had an invitation to
try out the CitizenM hotel at Amsterdam Schiphol in the hope
that I’d review it on my website and spotting hotels book, so
jumped at the chance to use our KLM service from Durham Tees
Valley.
I elected for the
mid-morning Saturday flight. As I only had a small bag with me
it was straight through security an hour before the flight to
wait in the departure lounge. The airport felt pretty quiet, and
I counted just under 40 passengers for this flight.
The trip to Schiphol
was on Fokker 70 PH-WXD, which is
soon due for Air Niugini, and took around an hour. Thankfully we
didn’t land on the Polderbaan so it was only a short taxi to the
commuter parking ramp (landing on the new runway can add 15
minutes to the taxi time!).
Before leaving the
terminal I did a quick lap of the piers to log the aircraft
present (gates D31 and G8 are the
best places, along with the windows between the E & F and F & G
piers).
I then decided to head
around to the Schiphol Ooste area where the biz jets park, so
hopped on bus #199 from the terminal. It costs 5 Euros for a
return ticket and takes you around the northern perimeter (also
useful for the McDonalds spotting location). It was quiet today,
being a weekend, so I wandered the empty car park in front of
the original control tower, which is now a restaurant, and
logged a few biz jets, then returned on the bus back to the
terminal.
The CitizenM hotel is
situated a few minutes’ walk from the terminal, adjacent to the G and H piers.
I’d requested an airport view room and at the self-check-in computer this request was listed. I had a room on the 5th
(top) floor of the hotel with a grandstand view over the
long-haul and low cost piers,
with the remote parking area off to the left and movements on three runways at
least partially in view. Any aircraft at the nearby gates or
taxiing past were within easy reach of a 200mm lens and compact binoculars.
CitizenM is a very
modern brand of hotel, aimed at a younger crowd. Everything in
the room is controlled from an iPad Mini, including the mood
lighting and TV. It has a huge bed,
complimentary WiFi, books to read, water and chocolate bar;
sadly no hot drink facilities, but a hand-written note inviting
me for a free drink in the bar was a nice touch. Downstairs
there’s a buffet-style café bar which you can use 24 hours a
day, aimed at those whose body clocks are in a different
time-zone.
I spent the rest of the afternoon on the Panorama Terrace atop the terminal, which has good views over the C, D and E piers, and two of the runways which were in use on my visit. It’s a good place for photography on the afternoon, but you’ll need a long lens. Sadly the size of the terrace is much reduced from days gone by.
On the Sunday I
enjoyed my complimentary breakfast in the hotel, checked out,
then walked to the train station underneath Schiphol as I
planned to visit the Aviodrome museum. The journey requires
catching a train to Lelystad Central, which was fairly easy
(although it was crowded). It cost 23 Euros for a day return
ticket. Once at Lelystad (50 min journey time) there’s a bus
station outside the station. On weekdays you can catch bus #7
straight to the airport, but as it was a weekend I needed to
catch #148 which is less direct and you need to get off at the
stop adjacent to the airport access road (you’ll know when it is
as you’ll see the museum aircraft).
Aviodrome is the National Aviation Museum for the Netherlands. As you would expect it is largely devoted to Fokker and KLM heritage, and as it’s a bit out of the way the information is not always available in English. But the collection is superb, starting with some replica WWI aircraft, and then opening up into the main hangar which is crammed with immaculate types such as a DC-3, F-27, Constellation, Dove and a few cockpits. You can go inside some of the aircraft, and some are even airworthy. Then, following signs for the 747 you end up walking along a decommissioned Schiphol jet bridge and before you know it you’re inside PH-BUK, a vintage 747-206M SUD (Stretched Upper Deck) which still has its cabin seating and fittings, and the cavernous rear cargo hold. Upstairs you have access to the cockpit, and can step outside onto a gantry for a view back along the length of the fuselage.
Descending steps onto
the ground, you’re now outside among another collection of
preserved aircraft, including a C-54, F-27, An-2, Spitfire,
Beech 18 and former DTV regular Fokker 100 PH-OFA.
Another hangar is open
to inspect, containing the museum’s workshops. Notable aircraft
here are Martinair DC-3 PH-DDZ and the very rare KLM DC-2 PH-AJU.
Lelystad Airport
itself is next to the museum and very active with light aircraft
in the circuit. There’s a small viewing platform at the museum, and it’s
apparently common to be allowed airside to wander the hangars if
you have a hi-viz vest, but today I didn’t have time and chose
to retrace my steps back to Schiphol on the bus and train.
A quick log of
aircraft on the Panorama Terrace was done, before heading
through departures where I enjoyed a meal and a couple of drinks
in between wandering the windows. The clocks had changed today,
so it was dark much earlier and I had to resort to light bulb
spotting using Flightradar24 on my phone (Schiphol has free
WiFi).
My flight home was on
PH-KZS and this time jammed full. I arrived back at a misty
Durham Tees Valley at 9.35pm.
The trip was kindly sponsored by CitizenM’s marketing people, but I would genuinely recommend the hotel at Schiphol for spotting if you can get a room overlooking the airport. It’s very convenient for the airport, and public transport is really easy for getting around. www.citizenm.com/destinations/amsterdam/schiphol-airport-hotel
Matt Falcus