Short term apartment rentals in Amsterdam

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jaf
jaf

I've been looking at short term apartment rentals in Amsterdam and nearby. I usually find a short term rental is not much more than a hotel; I save a lot because I don't eat out all the time, and it is much more relaxing than a hotel. I've already done this in San Francisco and found a sweet little one bedroom about a 30 minute bus ride from the heart of the city. Of course, I know that city quite well. I have also booked a place in Madrid for 11 nights and that was not too difficult either. I have friends in Madrid and they are quite enthusiastic about it.

So, I was surprised when my friends in Amsterdam were skeptical about this sort of arrangement. True, most of the short term listings are with agencies. And there is one agency that got kicked off craigslist and just reappeared under a different name. But this was a website from London with listings for several cities, not a local one. My feeling is there are a lot of listings and there must be some that are legitimate.

There are some issues that I wonder about though. Some of them want you to send a deposit by Western Union, seems a little sketchy.

Another issue I don't understand is that most of the owners or agencies seem reluctant to give a wire transfer number. Can't imagine why. That account number is only used for deposits. No one can get money out of your account that way.

Anyway, I was wondering first about Haarlem. I had a very nice place picked out there and they said it is about 10 or 15 minutes by train to Amsterdam. My friends said it is more like 30 minutes. They said they didn't like some of the things the owner was saying, but didn't say why. Are they being overly cautious? Any input about Haarlem in general? It seems nice enough. And I don't really care about being close to the city, since my friends will be gone on vacation while I am there anyway. (Don't ask. The story is too long.)

And then, also, I want to ask if anyone has heard of CityMundo. Anyone know anything about it? They do have their contract listed on the website and are set up to take credit cards. They seem professional and well organized, but how would I know.

Grateful for any input. This has gotten very complicated and I don't see why.

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belandagirl
belandagirl

I can't really help you, because I live here and don't know anything about short term apartments. But Haarlem is fine, it's about 15 mins by train from Amsterdam and Haarlem itself is really pretty and has nice sights and shops (some call it small Amsterdam). So if you feel you can trust that agency or whatever, you should to it I guess. For how long would you like to rent an aparment; 1 week, 1 month? I found this as well:
http://www.simplyamsterdam-apartments.nl/list.htm

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aribo
aribo

It would indeed be helpful to know how long "short-term" is. If it's just for a week or so, and you'll be spending most of your time in Amsterdam, I don't see much point in finding an appartment in Haarlem unless the price of an appartment there beats that of one in Amsterdam plus all the train fares.

I agree with Belandagirl that Haarlem is a lovely town, by the way.

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samster
samster

hi there, i heard some good stories about Nicky Bee. they have apartments in the histortical center of amsterdam and some cheaper ones just outide the center. good luck and.. have fun!

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parachute07
parachute07

Be very, very careful about renting something through Craigslist. I have now rented 2 sublet apartments in Berlin that I found through Craiglist and I've been very happy with both (one for 10 days and another for 2 months), but that was after weeding through many, many, MANY scam emails. I didn't pay a dime for either of the apartments I've had before I arrived. I would NEVER send money via Western Union. I'm writing this warning because your post seemed somewhat naive. When someone posts apartments in a number of countries on Craigslist, that isn't a sign of legitimacy -- in fact, that's a pretty good sign of the opposite. It's most likely a scam. I would strongly suggest that before you continue email communication (and WELL before you send anyone money), you check the link I will post below. It is a great site run by some saint who logs different scams -- and more importantly, the email addresses of known scammers. Before I write or respond to an apartment listing, I always check it against the list here first. I've also often seen the EXACT same email (the body of the message) that I have received back from listings on Craiglist posted on this site with a simple change in city name more than once. It's saved me a lot of time -- and probably at least a few hundred bucks, because goodness knows I'd have probably gotten ripped off at least once . . .

Good luck and be careful . . . .

http://chicaneryconsscams.blogspot.com/

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quailia
quailia

I would guess that the genuine places do not want to use a wire transfer because that is exactly what the scam artists do.

More apartments for short term stay;
http://www.amsterdam.info/apartments/

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cornie
cornie

I so agree with you that apartments are more relaxed and that you save money on food. The last time i went I took an apartment in Amsterdam for 15 days. Check out the website, I can't complain. The price was good and the apartment was nice and clean. There are different ones to choose from, for extra luxurious to small and comfy. Maybe there’s something in for you as well.

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