Karin's place is in a great location. It is a block from the Albert Cuyp Market, which is several blocks of open air stalls selling an amazing variety of fresh foods, prepared foods, and drinks. Also, every possible kind and variety of clothing, housewares, and miscellaneous stuff. The neighborhood must have at least twenty cafes with outdoor seating, plus restaurants, coffee shops and stores of all kinds and of all ethnicities.
For myself, the apartment is amazingly quiet for being so close to so much activity. The street the apartment is on is primarily residential, and it is very quiet at night when sleeping. The problem for my wife begins about 5AM when certain very loud noises begin on a regular basis. For people use to city noises, it would probably be no big deal. We are from a small, quiet town, and the noises seem quite loud, even shocking at times. It is probably people transporting to the market, or setting up at the market. I am not sure. Again, for myself it was not a problem, as I can go back to sleep easily. For my wife, it was hard, because it is difficult for her to go back to sleep once she is woken up.
The other challenge has to do with how hot the apartment was. It was a very warm day on our day of arrival, and we were not surprised that the apartment was so warm. We kept the windows open all night, which gave us ample air and allowed us to sleep comfortably. The windows have a security latch, so they only open a little bit, but that was enough to let in ample air. The apartment is on ground level, and people are walking by right in front of the bed, which is by the windows to the street. There is a white translucent shade which allows for light to come in during the day, but prevents people passing by from seeing in. At night there is a dark red curtain, which provides darkness and privacy.
The problem with the noise was made much worse by the open windows. The second night we closed the windows, as it was quite a cool, rainy day, and we assumed the apartment would be cooler. Unfortunately, it was not. With the windows closed, it was uncomfortably hot, which forced us to use the fan. Again, for me this was fine, but for my wife it was hard to sleep with the noise of the fan. We eventually turned off the fan, and just put up with the heat and lack of air.
All that being said, the apartment is very clean, very nice, and Karin is very friendly and helpful in every way possible. We would probably not stay again, because of my wife's sleep issues, but, for most people, I think Karin's Place is a great place to stay in Amsterdam at a really good price.