My boyfriend and I stayed at Arien's apartment for 5 nights and had such a wonderful experience.
The apartment is beautiful, as is clear from the photos, but even the photos just do not do it enough justice. It is beautifully and very thoughtfully decorated – we found ourselves drawing so much inspiration from it for our own apartment back in London! It was nice and bright and the terrace is a real treasure – we sat out there every morning to enjoy our coffee and some evenings with a drink. The bed was big and very comfortable, not a single bad night's sleep.
We couldn't fault the location as a base; only an hour after arriving in Amsterdam we'd decided we loved it there – definitely a testament to the location of the apartment! The area felt so safe and peaceful, but really only a short walk away from De Pijp and bustling parts of the centre. The apartment is very well connected with transport links, but we actually ended up preferring to wander everywhere everyday because it felt so walkable.
With regards to our lovely hosts, Arien and Huib, we really couldn't give more glowing feedback. They were solid communicators and even offered us an early check-in – which was super kind as it meant that we could spend two more hours on our first day getting to know Amsterdam without the big bags on our backs! When we arrived, Huib very kindly gave us a tour of the apartment, which meant that we felt settled in right away – he also gave us one of his favourite dinner recommendations, a restaurant which we then enjoyed a very delicious meal at on our first evening. Even without this though, Arien and Huib left a very useful book of recommendations with us, which we used daily. Another thoughtful touch that made our stay all the more memorable was the complementary groceries such as wine & beer, milk, cheese, fruit – little luxuries that instantly make you feel more at home and that are actually rarely provided for you when you go on holiday – so thank you! Other thoughtful touches include (to name a few) guidebooks and maps, a speaker, books & magazines, a milk frother(!), and umbrellas... which actually saved us during the torrential rain as we completely forgot to take one with us!
We really had the most memorable trip to Amsterdam, and we know that a big part of this is thanks to Arien and Huib's hospitality. We'd definitely visit again and couldn't recommended more.
Thanks so much both!