Misty Landers
Google
My husband and I and two children stayed at the apartment for 5 nights over the New Year's week. Amsterdam was our last stop on a three week European vacation and we knew that we would want to stay in a place that felt more like a home where we could relax and hang out and cook our own meals. This is why we booked the apartment and paid a high nightly price. In fact, it was the most expensive accommodation we booked for the entire trip. The apartment itself is well appointed and in a good location, close to a playground and public transportation. However, we regretted booking the apartment almost as soon as we entered.
The entire 5 nights that we stayed in the apartment it sounded as if a sporting event was taking place in the unit above. The constant, heavy foot traffic from the upstairs unit was unbearable and it never stopped. It went on at all hours of the day and night. The very first night there was hammering sounds that started at around 11:30pm and woke up my entire family. We sent an email to the owners who never responded. We contacted Kelvin, the owner's representative who checked us into the unit, and lodged a complaint. He responded that he was surprised as he had never received a complaint before. This is not true, as we found reviews online from others who complained about the noise from upstairs.
Every night my children would cry because they were unable to sleep due to the noise from upstairs. We resorted to headphones and earplugs so that we could try and sleep, but even when eating meals or watching TV in the apartment, the noise was pervasive and disruptive.
At one point when Kelvin was checking in people to the apartment next door, we stopped him and had him step into our unit and listen to the noise. He agreed that it was unacceptable. He did contact the people upstairs and told them to try and keep it down and then instructed us on how to contact the people upstairs ourselves. We never did that, as we did not go on vacation to fight with neighbors.
We were extremely disappointed by our stay and I would never book the apartment again or recommend that anyone else book it either. It is unfortunate as the apartment is nice and in a good location, but it is uninhabitable until they control for the constant noise emanating from upstairs.
We were offered a partial refund of one night's stay. But we felt that it was more than fair to ask for a full night's refund, given that we paid 450 euros a night and that the apartment really is uninhabitable. However, we never received a response from the owners. It was an expensive lesson learned for us that we hope to share with others - DO NOT stay at the Amalia Residence.
