An international jury of hospitality industry experts awarded Dutch hotel group CitizenM the 2008 prize for most innovative hotel earlier this month.

The European Hotel Design Awards, presented by Sleeper Magazine on Thursday, 6 November 2008, is the premier celebration of outstanding innovations in the hospitality industry and hotel design in Europe.

"This was perhaps the most hotly contested decision I have seen the judging panel have to make in the six years I have been involved in these awards," said Matt Turner, editor in chief Sleeper Magazine. "But I think it is fair to say that the eventual winner is a hotel that stood out from the competition in all aspects of its conception. Not just it's design and architecture, but also its use of technology, it's marketing, its future development potential and most importantly, the seamless integration of all these into a product that offers the guest a rewarding experience. The winning project was acknowledged by the panel to be a radically new hotel concept that will have considerable influence on others in the industry for years to come."

In addition to the grand prize, CitizenM also won the Innovation Award, the Technology Award, and the Graphic Design Award.

CitizenM hotels, which opened their first property in June at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, was also among the four finalists for awards for Best Architecture and Best Interior Design.

Lucire Insider had this to say about the CitizenM win:

Normally we're against those tiny hotel rooms that put style and design over space and comfort, but with CitizenM's win of the European Hotel Design Award, we wonder if the Dutch do it better. Apparently they haven't skimped on the comfort...

© europealacarte