We stayed here this past weekend for 3 nights and what a fantastic job my honey did with securing this apartment. This is a totally self-serve apartment. There is no receptionist or anyone to greet you. The only staff are the care takers, who did a fantastic job and were very attentive.

We arrived in Amsterdam much earlier then the 2 p.m. check-in, but still headed over to the Apartment as Kartel arranged an early check-in. There is a small red "Nova Apartments" sign outside the apartment entry. At the apartment entry (on the outside) you ring a bell for the receptionist on the intercom to the left of the door. The man greeted us via the intercom and advised us to leave our luggage inside the foyer area by the stairs and to return at 1 p.m., then buzzed us in.

We returned at 1 p.m. and once again buzzed-in by the receptionist via the intercom to find our luggage still by the stairs in the foyer as we left it earlier. We were under the impression our luggage would have been delivered to our apartment or moved to a secure location from the earlier conversation with the receptionist as both of our business laptops were with our luggage. There also was another guest waiting with us. There was no envelope with our name or a key for our apartment, so the caretaker phoned the receptionist and the issue was resolved after Kartel & the other lady explained the situation. The caretaker showed us to our basement apartment # 72/1 & the other lady to her apartment, which he was still cleaning. There is a lift in the building, but the lift does NOT go to the basement apartments. There are some steep swirl steps you need to climb down CAREFULLY to reach apartment # 72/1 and I was concerned about injury down those steps with our luggage, but to our rescue the caretaker swiftly carried our luggage to our apartment.

The apartment was very clean, well decorated, and airy for a basement apartment. There is a kitchenette, adequate luggage storage and everything you will need for your stay. The bed was exceptionally comfortable. The room is cleaned daily. The linens and towels also changed daily. Your room will be cleaned between 11 am-4 pm daily.

These apartments are non-smoking; however, on our second day we smelled cigarette smoke in our room. Kartel and I are non-smokers never smoked a day in our lives so this was rather annoying, but because we were headed out for several hours we didn't make a big fuss as we didn't know were it was coming from. Kartel read other reviews about appliances not working & electrical issues. Well with his "it can't happen to us mentality," late Sunday night a fuse went out when Kartel plugged the iron into outlet near the hob. We had no electricity in the bathroom and on the outlets over the kitchenette area from Sunday night until we left Monday morning.

The location of the apartment is ideal and centrally located to everything. It's located a short 5 minute walk to the Museumplein tram stop. Tram #5 to Centraal Station will take you to all of the major sights. It's also a short walk to supermarkets, restaurants, the "I amsterdam" sign and the Van Gogh museum. Vondel Park was only a 15 - 20 walk, but the #5 tram can take you there as well.

Kartel sent an email to the Receptionist on today advising of the electrical issues and the smell of cigarette smoke in our room. The receptionist didn't respond to the electrical issue only noted that they are a non-smoking facility and that the next guest complained about smoke in our apartment, as if we were the smokers.

Overall, the apartment suited our needs: to sleep, shower, & store our belongings. The location can't be beat as it's centrally located. Would I stay here again? Not sure. I would give it some thought as the electrical issue, no lift to the basement, and the disorganization with not having our information ready on time would have me searching else where. If I had to stay here again based on location only - absolutely!