cozy apartment in a wonderful location

Guest: Carole (Wheat Ridge, CO, USA)
Date of Stay: 11/11/11 Review Submitted: 11/20/11

We just returned from a week's stay here. The location alone would make this an excellent find...close to many sites and near some really good restaurants, in a wonderful neighborhood just a bit removed from the crowds found in the city center. Truly a perfect location for our family...we were able to walk to most sites from the apartment. Additionally, the apartment was exactly as pictured and described, with a complete kitchen and comfortable beds. Everything was immaculate and the fresh flowers were a nice touch. The owner was gracious and helpful....I'd absolutely recommend this property.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Awesome stay!

Guest: bkrembs (Seattle and Indonesia)
Date of Stay: 06/16/11 Review Submitted: 07/13/11

My wife and I stayed in June for 3 nights and found it to be wonderful! Jolanda was a very accommodating hostess and helped us with anything we needed. We have an infant baby boy, so having a ground floor apartment was really important to us. The location was great because you could walk anywhere within a few minutes. The Anne Frank house was maybe a 5 minute walk. Train station maybe a 15-20 min walk. Really a nice place! We'd stay again anytime!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, families with young children.

Jordaan apartment #241165 review

Guest: Richard (Vacaville, California, United States)
Date of Stay: 06/04/11 Review Submitted: 07/11/11

The location was excellent. Jolanda, the owner of the rental (lives above the apt.), was just wonderful. She made sure that we had plenty of coffee, bathroom essentials, etc... However, the apartment (which was being rented to 4 adults for 6 nights) was not what we expected from the pictures. Dampness is a major concern. In the bathroom, there was no shower door. Therefore, the water from the shower sprays all over the rest of the very small bathroom. There is no ventilation in the bathroom to air it out or dry the water from the floor, the toilet, the sink. The wooden bathroom door is damaged due to the water splashing on it every time someone showers and should be replaced. The downstairs bedroom is very damp and maybe a dehumidifier would help. It is accessed by a ladder. The main floor bedroom is so small, only the bed fits in it. I had to crawl over my wife in order to get in/out of our bed. We also had a problem with the " dampness " and mold, which we could smell as soon as we entered the apartment every day. We would have to leave the front and back door open for quite a while to air the apartment out. This mold and smell was mentioned by another review we had read. We mentioned this review when we first arrived and we were assured that the problem had been fixed . l would not recommend this property for more than 1 couple or a small family.

Owner response:The damp this guest smells was from a leaking watertap in the kitchen, it was leaking for a long time but we didn't knew what the reason was. It is been fixed but the damp was in the kitchensink and it took some time that it was aired out. We discouvered this after the stay of this guest. The other damp situation was from a something completly different reason (rainwater), and that was solved last year. In the bathroom there is aircondition, there is a sign with the request to use this if you take a shower. Amsterdam has small old houses so this apartment is also small, but there is everything you need. You can' t compare this with the 3000 square feet house/mansion of this guest. As they told me in 2 minutes after their arrival. In whole Holland there is not 1 house of 3000 square feet. This apartment is only about 50 m2, but it's a good alternative instead of small hotelrooms. A ladder is something different, these are wooden stairs, as you can see on the pictures. The apartment is the same as on the pictures, we didn' t changed anything, only the plants died last months :).We replaced this for my antique collection Cologne pots. One of these guests must have liked that very much.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, families with young children.

Queen's Day 2011

Guest: Berh (Atlanta, GA)
Date of Stay: 04/29/11 Review Submitted: 05/04/11

We stayed at Jordaan Apartment over the Queen's Day holiday in April 2011. The apartment was in an amazing location close to the festivities in the main canal, the Princengracht. We could walk to the Pancake Bakery (best Dutch pancakes in all of Amsterdam) and the Anne Frank house in less them 5 minutes time. Also very close to the tram stop and easy to get to Central Station. The Apartment easily fit 4 adults and was equipped with everything we needed!! We used the kitchen to fix breakfast and make coffee in the morning. Jolanda was very nice and even provided us with additional coffee to help us get over the jet lag!! also my husband forgot a pair of jeans at the apartment and Jolanda even mailed them back to us in the US at no extra charge!! I would definitely stay here again, the location was awesome, close to the prettiest canals and best pubs and restaurants in the center of Amsterdam!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway.

Stayed in Apartment late September 2010

Guest: Experienced Traveller (Niagara Falls)
Date of Stay: 09/24/10 Review Submitted: 09/30/10

Have worked in the travel industry for over twenty years so aware of what the traveler wants. Have rented 20 VRBO apartments throughout the world, including Bruges before Amsterdam. We choose this location because it was on a lower level without stairs and could fit us in with the dates we wanted, when others could not. Location is good, in quiet neighbourhood close to most attractions, near grocery, eateries, etc. It is not however within 10 minutes of Central Station. We tried different routes during our stay to find the shortest, and best was 30 mins. Taxi takes 10. Would not describe as luxury apartment. Open plan kitchen, dining area with 4 dining chairs, living area which seats 3, small wall TV, 2 small cupboards for books, & toys. Kitchen small but workable. We didn’t use it much. Has gas burners, a microwave/oven, which had no glass plate in it, and hadn’t been replaced. Oven gloves for the pans with metal handles, a jug, teapot, would be good. Bedroom picture on the main level is true, but angle of photo does not show there is no access around the bed, except to climb over other person. Room is small, and bed within just fits. Wardrobe cupboards are either side, one containing the boiler, but no drawers anywhere in the apartment for sweaters, etc. There is also nowhere for a book, spectacles, or a clock above or by the bed, only a small stool in the corner. Our main problem in this room was the damp. Amsterdam is a city on water, but steps need to be taken to avoid damp. Found bedding always felt slightly damp. There were active mold spots on the wall behind the door, and at baseboard level. Also evidence of previous similar spots. Bed in lower level also had damp feel and smell. Bathroom has half door shower and water goes outside the shower, as does the steam go down the walls. There is a fan but it can’t remove all moisture, and bathroom stays wet for hours. Extra humidity adds to damp problem in apartment. Dehumidifier should be considered. Lower bed area good for older children. Would not recommend for young children. Steps to the basement level would need safety gate installed. Radiators get very hot when heating on (water filled). Small child could burn themselves. No phone. Wi fi available. Different voltage country visitors need convertor for computer. Property has potential to be “luxurious” and attractive with a few inexpensive additions that may enhance bookings in competitive market.

Owner response:Thank you for your stay at our apartment and your extended review. The time at your stay was unfortunately in a very rainy and wet period. We never had so much rain in such a short time. The street sewer couldn' t remove all the water and that was what causes the damp problem. After you left we saw the spots in the room and everything is already fixed. We will make steps to make some additions but we also think that you didn't find some things in the apartment. There are two clocks for each bedroom with alarm, there are gloves for hot pans and some other things that you missed. We live above the apartment and could supply you anything you need or would like to know. We always ask our guests to ask us anything they want to make their stay as good as possible. The glass for the microwave was all ready ordered and is on it's way. The suggestion for the safety gate is very good and we will buy one, also for a shelf near the bed. We had a lot of families with children and we never heard anything about burning fingers on heaters or unsafeness in the lower bedroom. They all love to play there. All houses in Holland have this heating system, if it's not save then it was forbidden by the government. Hope you will chose our apartment again next time when you like to visit our beautiful city

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing.