YAYS Amsterdam East by Numa

A bit of a hike from the city centre, and fairly squishy for our family of four. The rooms are small, though I guess that’s as advertised. Check-in and checkout were easy, and it was simple to get extra supplies. The shower was good, and shampoo, conditioner and other basics were provided. There’s a washing machine and dryer in the kitchen, dining and lounge area.

The only real positives were that they let us check in early and customer service stayed responsive and cooperative. The apartment itself had a lot of problems. Rest was difficult: we were next to seven major train tracks, with noise going through the day and late into the night. We could hear footsteps and movement from upstairs, and rain was very loud in the rooms. The curtains were thin, so sunlight came in early. Both false fire alarms went off very late at night during our nine-day stay, which was stressful and disruptive. We had to clean when we arrived. The living room wallpaper was dirty and needed replacing, and the coffee machine was sticky and not properly cleaned. The bathroom sink was extremely small and super cold, with no ventilation fan. I felt dizzy showering because there wasn’t enough airflow. There wasn’t enough storage for our belongings, the single beds were too small for an adult, and the pillows were very uncomfortable. The furniture was very old, including a living room chair that creaked annoyingly. Staff also came into the apartment without permission, sometimes when we weren’t ready, which felt intrusive.

The canal views were lovely, and public transport was easy to reach, though getting to the main part of Amsterdam took a bit of a journey. The rooms were nice, but the apartment block felt a little rundown for something new. The kitchen was short on utensils, and the tea towels smelled really dirty. Trains could be a bit noisy at night. I don’t think it was good value for money.

We had two very good apartments, one for each family, which was convenient. The location is a little outside the city centre, but we could get there in up to 30 minutes by tram or bus. There’s no service at the building or apartment entrance, since both use a code. One downside is that you can’t leave your luggage after checkout, so you have to take it somewhere.