Urban Apartments de Laurier

Don't expect much sleep here. The bedroom window faces a narrow street where harsh, unpleasant two-stroke motorcycles echo late at night and early in the morning. With the windows shut, there wasn't enough ventilation for us to sleep comfortably. We found unwrapped candy and joint holders in the sofa, cigarette butts on the tiny window terrace, and a seriously dirty bathroom. There was no hand soap, shampoo, paper towels, face towels, or bath mat. The shower floor got extremely slippery when wet, and there was no mat or handhold, so the bathroom felt borderline unsafe. Several bulbs were out, and all four kitchen lights blew at once. The kitchen itself was pleasant, but it didn't have proper utensils for the nonstick pans or the kitchen supplies we needed. The advertised open-air dining patio was locked and blocked by a double bed between the kitchen and patio door. At first the owner said it was closed for “safety.” When we asked more, he admitted he had locked it because tenants' noise had upset the courtyard neighbors and he feared losing his rental permit. After a day and a firm request, he opened the door and brought us a drip coffee maker. The advertised built-in coffee maker was broken and had been for some time. Our later stays in southern France and Catalonia only reinforced our view of this place in Amsterdam. Don't bother with it.