Classy Room 17th Century Canal House

This private room, for guests’ exclusive use, works much like an apartment without a kitchen — set on the first floor at the front of a historic house. It has a large bedroom with exposed oak beams and an original brick wall, plus a private en-suite bathroom (shower, sink, mirror and toilet — no bathtub).

The bed is actually two single latex mattresses (90x200cm each) rather than one 180x200cm double, so please bear that in mind. Heating comes from two large radiators beneath the windows, adjustable via their own knobs, and two fans are available for cooling. There’s also a sitting area with a couch and two chairs, cable TV, a DVD player, WiFi and a wired internet connection, plenty of English-language books, and a laptop-friendly desk in a study corner in case you need to get some work done.

Because there’s no kitchen, this can’t technically be listed as an apartment, but there is a coffee machine and kettle for hot drinks, a small fridge, and cups, glasses, plates and cutlery provided. Sheets and towels are washed at 60°C. The space is roughly 50 sqm, and trains, buses and the metro are all within a 5-minute walk. My two cats, Lucas and Snout, don’t have access to the first-floor guest space — this room is cat-free.

Access is via the main door and a steep staircase to the first floor — there’s no lift, so this may not suit elderly guests or anyone with limited mobility (photos of the stairs are in the listing). One baby bed is available on request, or a small child can sleep on the sofa — just let us know in advance so we can prepare accordingly. Please note: photoshoots aren’t permitted here, this historic house has limited sound insulation, the stairs are steep, and smoking or vaping isn’t allowed under any circumstances.

I’m usually around, aside from working outside the house on some Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, and I’m always reachable by phone, text or email — feel free to knock if you need anything, since I live in the same building (my own rooms are on the ground floor and one room on the first floor). Because there’s a guest room upstairs too, please be mindful of noise, and you may occasionally hear violin lessons during the day, as I teach from home sometimes.

The house sits in the oldest part of Amsterdam, with restaurants, shops, organic grocers (Ecoplaza on Haarlemmerdijk, Marqt on Haarlemmerstraat), museums, launderettes and supermarkets all close by, along with several bike rental shops nearby (including MacBike at Centraal Station and Black Bikes). A number of well-regarded restaurants, bars and cafés are within easy walking distance, along with the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk, the Rijksmuseum and several smaller museums, plus Westerpark for a walk or run and a well-equipped gym (Squash City Amsterdam) with sauna and steam room.

Centraal Station is a 5-minute walk, connecting you to trains, trams, buses and the metro across the city and to Schiphol Airport — though a bicycle is often the best way to get around locally, and we’ll share a handy route-planning site with you.

For safety, I’ll always show you the emergency exit on arrival: a key on the round bedside table opens the window beside the bed, which leads out onto the roof below. Do note that, being in a 400-year-old house right in the bustling old centre, sound insulation isn’t what you’d find in a modern building — the trade-off for genuine 17th-century character. Two professionals sharing the flat above try to keep things quiet, aware there’s a guest room below them.

Check-in: 3pm–10pm. Check-out: before 11am.