Nova Apartments Amsterdam

I tried to book this directly on their website from North America but the payment failed. It worked with Booking. Before arrival, they asked me to pay city taxes direct to hotel. I tried using the link in the email and it failed. I contacted them, they provided a different secure link that worked. This is part of their payment security. We showed up around 2 pm, rung buzzer, met by staff member and given a helpful check in package (keys, info sheet & wifi password, city map (with hotel marked on)). Our room on third floor had a street view, very nice. There was a lift to upper levels except penthouse. Very quiet area except for other noisy guests one night. Two TVs, multiple channels and the one in bedroom had some movie channels in English Well equipped room with fridge, stove top, dishwasher & soap, drying towel, kettle, Krups coffee machine, cutlery, cutting knives, can opener, cork screws, mixing spoons, fry pan, large & soft pot, cutting boards, plates, bowls, cups, water & wine glasses. I could not get the oven to work (error code) but there is one and it wasn't important enough for me to ask them for assistance. Dining table, 2 chairs, sitting chair, wicker sofa, ample lights, 4 double coat hooks. King bed, firm but comfortable, thick hot covers. Good sheers and dark curtains. Nice big shower, bright clean bathroom, no vanity, ledge for stuff, 3 rolls of spare toilet paper, very nice. We were there 6 nights and used the washing machine in the basement, worked fine and used the drying rack in our room. The location is great, in a quiet neighbourhood, near the big museums, nice park, a few take away restos (open during the day) next to the Van Gogh Museum which were very popular and tasty. Albert Heijn nearby, 5 mins walk from hotel. Near tram stops and a direct bus from Schiphol to Concergebouw. Maybe a 15–20-minute walk to Foodhallen. Open air canal cruise behind Rijksmuseum, nice to take (10 min walk). We enjoyed our stay there and would stay there again if in Amsterdam. It had everything we needed.

We stayed in the penthouse apartment at the top of the house. Communication wasn’t great in the run-up to our arrival. I emailed them with a question and never got a reply. I phoned and got through to someone who had clearly never been to the apartment and who knew no more than I did from looking at the website. Once we arrived getting in was easy and we were impressed with the plastic free room cards. The apartment was clean and tidy and someone came in each day to do a quick clean and refill the coffee pods. If you have any mobility problems this is NOT the place to stay. There are steps up to the front door, another couple of steps into the hallway and then a big flight of narrow and precipitous stairs to get to the apartment. The bedroom door opens right into the stairwell, and there’s no barrier, so take care in the dark! The apartment is very minimalist, which may look good, but it’s not at all practical. Form over function all the way. In the bedroom there’s a wardrobe but the second bed is basically in the sitting room with just one partition between it and the living space. The sides are open to the rest of the apartment so there’s no privacy. There is no wardrobe and no chest of drawers for the people in the second sleeping area. A real pain! Similarly, the bathroom looks sleek and minimalist, but there’s nowhere to put/hang your clothes when you’re having a shower and nowhere to put any of your toiletries. The drain in the bathroom shower smelled absolutely revolting. Enough to make you retch. The bed linen and towels are good quality and the pillows and mattress comfortable. The kitchen has a fridge and a cooker but no microwave or toaster. It has a small dishwasher and tablets are provided. We would like to have washed up our crockery and cutlery instead of using the dishwasher but although there was washing up liquid provided, there’s no draining board, no sponge and no cloth to clean the surfaces. There was no way of recycling - everything went into the one bin. The great thing about the apartment is its location - close to the museum area and the concert hall. There are also lots of restaurants within walking distance and other shops around. The neighbourhood is quiet and apart from aeroplanes we weren’t disturbed by noise.