Haus Ursula

On arrival, I found the dirtiest apartment I've ever seen. I felt sorry for whoever had stayed there before me. The owner sent me to the agency, where the woman was polite but forceful and arrogant. I can only advise against apartments managed by Rudeck. I booked through the website directly to avoid the usual booking platforms taking a cut, and chose the option without cleaning because I expected to clean the apartment myself before leaving. The confirmation included cleaning anyway. One email was enough to get that corrected, which was the only good part apart from the fantastic weather. The website does mention this under “final cleaning”: Cleaning of the vacation rental by the host or landlord costs €89.00 on top of the nightly rate. If you prefer, you can clean the accommodation yourself upon arrival and pay no cleaning fee. So booking without cleaning in Esens means cleaning up after the previous occupant. This is a case for consumer protection. Rudeck Rental Service, if the next 17 tenants also rent without cleaning, family XY probably won't be able to get in in November. The system makes no sense and could be a health hazard. Welcome to Dreckhausen! Let's hope the previous tenant knew how to flush the toilet. I also hadn't heard of guests being expected to clean the hallway and stairwell themselves. Those areas were appalling, and I doubt the stairwell had been cleaned this year. I admire how anyone can work in a system like this and sleep soundly without a guilty conscience.

The accommodation was clean, but very basic and cramped. They say it's 45 square meters, though I guess the sloping ceilings aren't counted 😉. A 190cm-tall person can barely turn around in the shower. It fits two adults and, at most, one small child.

The apartment is compact but has all the basics: a shower, kitchen, sitting area, and two bedrooms. Bensersiel itself is lovely, with the beach and the changing tides. Shops are very close, even open on Sundays.

At €717 for seven nights, 24 square meters doesn't sound bad. The trouble is the shower is almost unusable if you're on the taller or broader side. Otherwise it's not bad, provided you don't mind an extremely sloped ceiling.