Nordsee-Ferienhaus

The spacious, pretty garden was a nice feature, and there's a convenient supermarket just 200 meters away. Friedrichskoog itself is quiet, though there's not much happening, and the beaches aren't good for swimming. For more activities, Büsum is a 45-minute drive. The apartment was small and cozy but short on basics: no microwave, broom, enough cutlery, or clothes drying rack, among other things. Parking was difficult too. The spaces were narrow and insufficient, near a busy road, and getting in and out with the car was a struggle. We got a very poor welcome. Ms. De Boer tried to turn us away because we had brought our cat, despite the listing saying "pets allowed" and our having specifically mentioned the cat. We had to call the rental agency to be allowed to stay, even though we'd paid for everything. Ms. De Boer stayed hostile throughout. Her husband was much more accommodating and pleasant. At checkout, the owners inspected everything so thoroughly that it felt humiliating.

I found the house through Google Maps reviews and stayed for two weeks. After traveling around Germany, I don't think it's a good fit for a longer family stay, and it falls well short of other houses in the area. The gardens looked badly neglected, not like a holiday rental at all. I work in gardening and maintenance, so I can tell when a place is looked after. Parking wasn't assigned or marked, and the untrimmed trees made the spaces smaller, especially noticeable with a roof box. The wood flooring and terrace railings were in very poor shape, and the floor got quite slippery in the rain. The apartment looked alright at first, though basic. The rooms were small and badly insulated, so you could hear EVERYTHING. Some nights I had to put up with a neighbor's "love games." The roof window's curtain was so faded that it didn't darken the room properly. There were old-fashioned incandescent bulbs and too few outlets for phones and laptops. The small bathroom was clean, but the extractor fan didn't work and only made noise. The kitchen was almost entirely unequipped. Apart from a vacuum cleaner, there was nothing to clean with, so mopping the bathroom or other corners wasn't possible. There was only one dish towel, and the frying pan was such poor quality that cooking with it was a disaster. The living room had two wicker sofas, a glass table, a TV and a rug. If you stay, vacuum the whole area well. Wi-Fi was patchy, fine on some days and unreliable on others. There was nowhere proper to keep bikes. When we asked, they offered an open garage that was cluttered, dirty and overgrown with vines. They cleared some room and we left the bikes there, but had to lock them because there was no secure place. If you have an e-bike, forget charging it. I had to carry mine upstairs, and the owner objected and made me take it back down. This is somewhere to stay for a day or two at most, especially if you have very young children, a year old or younger. Campsites nearby offer at least as good a service as these apartments. Checkout was another bad experience: the owners inspected everything in detail, as though looking for something broken. We'd vacuumed and tidied, but the man still found debris in a bathroom bin and made us take it out. That was awful, really awful. I hope they improve the place. It's not suitable for children, bikes or a quiet stay, and for a little more money there are much better equipped apartments nearby.

A sweet little apartment with a garden and everything we needed. The landlords were very kind. Thanks for a lovely week.

We've been here five times now and feel almost at home. The hosts are super friendly, and the accommodation is lovely.