Lorcan B.
Yelp
My girlfriend and I were intending to move to Amsterdam from China on 8th of September for University and, given the housing situation in the city, were forwarded to Hotel Casa by the University of Amsterdam as temporary accommodation. We got in touch with the hotel, and were put in direct correspondence with one of the booking staff. We were clear about our desire to stay in the hotel from September 8th until October 8th (one month), as we had found a more permanent place to live in from 8th October onwards.
We were given a response mentioning a vague 'fixed rate' for a vague 'period'. Despite repeatedly seeking clarity, and ourselves clearly requesting the month-long booking term mentioned above, we were repeatedly met with this same response. After multiple emails, the staff member in question told us that the 'room would be ready [for us] from the 20th August'. This does not imply that we would be paying for the room from that date (especially after clearly stating that we would only be there from 8th September). This was especially frustrating given that, by this point, it was 26th August, 6 days after when the room 'would be ready' for us. A template email, perhaps. For the sake of clarity, to this we responded that, no, we didn't want the room from the 20th August, we wanted it from 8th September.
We were sent a 'Casa Guide' in an attachment (we had to ask for it because it wasn't attached in the email it was supposed to be attached to) which finally
stated the dates 20th August - 30th September. We asked the staff member, very clearly, if the full price will apply for us given that we will only be arriving on 8th September, not the starting date mentioned. The staff member replied 4 days later (very late, especially considering how close to moving time this was) once again giving us the vague answer of the room being 'ready' for us from the 20th, and us having to 'pay in full'. We still did not know what we were paying for, if we would be entitled to any refund considering our check-in date, and whether we could have the check-out date on 8th October as we clearly requested many times.
This is where the poor communication turned into unprofessional neglect. Our follow-up email requested, very clearly, the exact information about what were booking. Further, that we amend the booking to reflect the booking that my girlfriend and I were clearly looking for this whole time. Unfortunately for us, the staff member we were talking to was on holiday at this point. Even more unfortunate is that we had no way of knowing this - there was no 'out-of-office' email sent to us, and no other staff member at Hotel Casa picked up the correspondence. Being in China at this point, it was very difficult for us to call, and so email was by far our best bet. So we emailed again - twice, in fact, and still received no response. That's 3 emails without a response, all in the lead-up and actual time of our move to Amsterdam. We landed and got to reception who also could not answer our questions (for all other concerns reception are polite and helpful). We called and were told firstly that this staff member was on holiday, which was news to us, and that they would not be back until 14th September - 12 days after we were met with silence after seeking vital information from them, 12 days during which we had to prepare and fly to Amsterdam.
Prompt and clear communication in this situation in of vital importance, especially at the beginning of the university semester, especially during a housing crisis in Amsterdam, and especially when corresponding with customers of whom many will not have English as a first language. English is my native language and I struggled to understand what this staff member was offering us. We had to pay €1745.65 for 22 days, in what was advertised as a 'deal' for students looking for temporary accommodation, which has actually ended resembling predatory financial trap.
Given all of these really quite obvious facts, we feel conned, and cannot recommend Hotel Casa at all to any student.