Arjen is a great host. He really cares that his guests have a great experience, not just in his lovely house but in Amsterdam too. He took us on a tour of the neighbourhood on our first day, showing us the closest supermarket and good places to eat. The best meals we had were in the places he recommended - pizza at Il Sogno, breakfast at Latei and amazing ramen at Dun Yong Kitchen.
The house is beautiful and the location is great. We only had breakfast there so didn’t really use the kitchen, but there’s a hob and microwave, tea and coffee available and various herbs, salt, pepper and oil, if you feel like cooking, and a dishwasher for the clear up.
The beds are comfortable and the bedroom at the front has shutters which make the room nice and dark and block out any noise, although the house is on a quiet leafy street and noise was never an issue.
The living space is at the top of the house and has a TV and a wide variety of DVDs if you want to have a movie night. The TV also has a couple of English language channels too.
The house is close to Centraal Station where we left our bags on the morning we arrived. Just be aware that you have to have a valid train ticket to get access to the left luggage, which was a total pain as my husband had to take all the bags through by himself. He just bought the cheapest ticket. It would’ve been much easier if we’d taken Arjen up on his offer to drop our bags at the house!
Arjen was always available for advice and replied quickly to any queries. He grew up in the area so is a genuine local and will help with anything you need. He even bought us croissants on our first morning. I don’t expect extras like that or to find beer and soft drinks in the fridge, but it was all appreciated and shows how much Arjen cares about his guests.
If you are planning a trip to Amsterdam I would definitely recommend staying in the Captain’s House!