Spaarne Luxury Residence Haarlem

Extremely steep stairs to access the apartment, all of our party are in our late 60’s which was quite tricky. I’m not sure if this was mentioned when we booked. An electric toaster would have been nice and some mugs for tea as all we had were very small cups.

location was excellent

The microwave did not work, and the bathroom door needed attention, but the owners/managers were easy to get in touch with.

The location is great. Shops, restaurants and cafés are all nearby. The view of the canal is beautiful. The accommodation unit is spacious. On a clear night you can even watch the moonlight right from the living room. Journeys to Amsterdam or the seaside can be made within an hour so it was convenient for visits and exploring the neighbouring areas.

This place can really use some maintenance. The bathroom surfaces were not very clean when we arrived. The kettle was full of limescale and was just gross to use. The shower head gave a minimal jet. The hairdryer was broken at the cable's end, which can cause electrical hazards. The laundry machine was mouldy. The oven was there but was just with all knobs deliberately removed so that you cannot use it (the stovetop was functional, though). There is some kitchenware but no knives you can really cut ingredients with for some proper cooking. We were four people staying for four nights and were just provided 2 rolls of toilet paper, 1 laundry pod, 1 dish washer tablet, and some 30 mL of detergent for the dishes. As guests, apart from some cleaning before you could use the place more comfortably, you still need to discard the household rubbish in the end. The accommodation has its potential but to too many aspects it feels as if it were run by some cheapskates. Would recommend looking somewhere else if you want to stay at a place that welcomes you and gives you a cosy feeling of home. Just the cherry on top of the cake: We were woken up by some banging noises right outside the windows and the roof at 8:30 am. It later turned out that there was maintenance work going on and workers were walking across the windows to dismantle scaffolds. For a while we thought someone was breaking in. The whole thing lasted for about an hour in the morning. A simple notice beforehand would have saved some shock and frustration for our holiday. As the aftermath, the agent was quick to respond via messages.

The apartment is a great size and in a fantastic location

It wasn't very well equipped, mismatched dishes, almost all plates were chipped, no sharp knives at all, not enough of some things for 4 people, basic essentials for self-catering were missing. The apartment is also extremely hot and stuffy, specially the top bedroom. Some windows don't open. There were two fans, but they barely made a difference. Aircon really is needed for summer.

Spacious property. Nice view of the canals. Kitchen well equipped.

Be aware there are steep steps to access property.