Apartment Emsköpken

We love returning every year. The landlady is friendly, easy to contact, and helpful. The apartment is right by the dunes of Norderney, with the beach an easy walk away. It's clean and very well equipped, and the large terrace gets sun until early evening.

The bed was really comfortable, and the apartment itself is lovely and well equipped. The location is great too, with the beach a short walk away, restaurants nearby, and a bakery just around the corner. But our arrival was a mess. Check-in was set for 4:00 PM, and we got there around 4:30 after a nearly six-hour drive. There was no key waiting for us. The cleaning woman opened the door coughing and said the cleaning products were so strong, though I don't know which ones she meant because she didn't use any in the apartment. She was still in the middle of "cleaning" and was very unfriendly. When I asked if we'd got the arrival time wrong, she snapped, "Don't talk so much now! People make a lot of mess, and others are waiting too!" We left and came back 45 minutes later. Nothing was clean. Dust and the previous guest's dog hair were everywhere, on the floor and in the sink. She'd only wiped some surfaces, and even that wasn't done everywhere. Sand was still on the sofa, kitchen chairs, and armchair, while the floor had dirt and toenail debris. There were cobwebs all over. We mopped and cleaned the bathroom ourselves because it smelled strongly of urine, and we were sure she hadn't cleaned it at all. We messaged the landlady on WhatsApp about the state of the apartment and still haven't had a reply. At €140 a night, that's absolutely unacceptable.

I absolutely can't recommend this apartment if you want to feel comfortable there. For a 14-day stay at €140 a night, nearly €2,000 without breakfast, I expected comfort and cleanliness. Instead, the apartment hadn't been mopped, and there were still chocolatey fingerprints from the previous guests on the doors. The bathroom hadn't been cleaned at all: there was still steam on the shower tiles, black hair stuck everywhere, and splashes all over the mirror. We cleaned it ourselves to be sure. The windows weren't clean either, and the kitchen was no better. Grease was caked on the extractor hood and running down the cabinets. Things were broken all over, from the scissors to the skirting boards that were practically falling off. In the living room, the couch was sandy and greasy, impossible to sit on without a blanket. The phone battery lasted about five minutes of talking. The TV was in the kids' room, but none of the remote buttons worked, and the channels were full of static. The washing machine and dryer were there, but cost €1.50 each. That's standard these days, but at €140 a night, now even €150, I'd expect better. The only good thing was the parking space. When we told the owner, the woman just laughed and didn't seem to care. The service contact listed in the folder was no help either: you couldn't reach her, and she never called back. With so much broken, damaged, and dirty, this apartment isn't worth €150 a night.

The location is really good. There's a bakery practically around the corner, and for dinner it's just a short walk to the Greek restaurant or zum Schmuggler.