Living like a local in Amsterdam with Roomorama

When you think of Amsterdam you know that you are unlikely to have a quiet weekend. With that in mind we knew we wanted somewhere quiet to relax after a big day sightseeing (or night partying) and an Aussie infested hostel was not going to cut it.

With hotels in the city center over-priced we knew our only option was an apartment. Our criteria was strict as we wanted somewhere to prepare our own meals to save some cash, sleep four comfortably and be able put our feet up after a day of exploring.

Along came Roomorama with the perfect answer to live like a local.

Their online system allows you to search for apartments within a city, region or country depending on the number of people, price range, location and amenities. So if, like us, you wanted free WiFi you could easily adjust your search criteria to suit.

Unfortunately the booking process is not as straight forward as the searching. The apartments are privately owned and Roomorama acts as a middleman. This meant we had to email the owners and wait several days to hear back from all of the apartments we were interested in which was a tad annoying.

Luckily for us we ended up with a great apartment for just £200 for the weekend which between 4 is pretty reasonable. And you don’t have to worry about being scammed because Roomorama will keep your money in their account until you hand over the secret confirmation code to the owner on arrival. I don’t think this means you can refuse to stay though once you arrive!

Additionally, after booking, Roomorama were excellent in providing all the necessary contacts for us on the ground prior to leaving so that we could speak with the owner who in turn gave us turn by turn instructions. We also managed to arrange with the owner a spare bed for an extra £10 a night for our mate who decided to jump in last minute.

The apartment itself was very spacious with one double room, separate toilet/bathroom, a large kitchen (with FREE coffee) and a comfortable lounge with a foldout couch. And the location was excellent with a supermarket around the corner and it was only a two minute walk to the nearest tram and bus stops to the city center 15 minutes away.

The only problem was that unfortunately the neighbours seemed intent on keeping us awake for a few hours through the thin walls with a bit of a party. It definitely wouldn’t happen in a half-decent hotel as you would be able to complain to someone at least!

That was far outweighed by waking up in a home away from home and cooking our own food. It also gave us a much needed breather from the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam in the afternoon before embarking on the (mis)adventures that Amsterdam coughs up at nighttime…

Disclaimer: We were provided with a discount by Roomorama for our stay in Amsterdam

About the Author (Author Profile)

Cole is one half of New Zealand's Adventure Couple who have been travelling around the world since 2009. He loves any adventure activities and anything to do with the water whether it is Surfing, Diving, Swimming, Snorkeling or just lounging nearby on the beach. Consider following us via RSS Feed, Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our Newsletter.

Subscribe

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.

Click here to cancel reply.

Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter