Every time I go to Amsterdam, without shadow of a doubt I always stay with Yays! And on this trip to Amsterdam I stayed at Yays Bickersgracht. Yays is an apartment rental company with 100’s of apartments in Amsterdam, alongside another newly opened building in Barcelona. Yays is a new travel and stay concept located in unique neighbourhoods, offering you a home from home whilst you travel. This trip to Amsterdam we travelled with my brother and his girlfriend, so an apartment was the best option for four of us!
Yays offer concierged-boutique apartment living at its best, in historical buildings that have been restored to the best of their ability, in line with local districts, and that are hosted by local personnel. In a Yays apartment you can really feel like a local whilst you explore the city. As I have grown older, and grown out of hostelling as much, apartment living has been the next best thing.
Yays is a new travel and stay concepts that reroutes urban tourism offering concierged boutique apartments in historical buildings, restored with respect for the neighbourhood and hosted by local personnel. In a Yays apartment you can truly experience what it’s like to live like a resident.
The apartment becomes a home from home, allowing you to relax, cook and enjoy time with friends and family, whilst away, but in more luxurious settings than in a hostel. Yays have three different locations in Amsterdam: Yays Oostenburgergracht – in the East of the city and Yays Zoutkeetsgracht and Bickersgracht in the north of the city.
Amsterdam is a moderately sized city but it is well-connected and easy to get around. Therefore you will not need to worry too much about the location of your accommodation in terms of what you want to see. Most people tend to opt to stay in the De Wallen or Centraal areas as they are closest to all of the attractions, I personally prefer the Jordaan or De Pijp neighbourhoods as they are quieter and more local neighbourhoods.
On our third stay with Yays, I was still really impressed from the moment we walked through the door. Our apartment was on the first floor and was described on the website as a two-bed apartment, with two separate bedrooms and open-plan living space (sofa, TV, bathroom, dining table and kitchen) all together.
When renting an apartment, you are usually provided with your own kitchen, a bedroom, bathroom and living area. My apartment in Amsterdam included an open plan kitchen-living room, with separate bedroom and bathroom with shower. Apartments also come with fridges, a kettle and oven/microwave which means you can save your money on food for other activities such as a canal cruise, a trip to Anne Frank Museum or even a couple of extra beers at a local brewery. You can expect to have two pots of different sizes and a toaster for your cooking.
If you are after saving money, then the thing to do is to have cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and then take a trip to the local supermarket to make dinner in the evenings.
My apartment in Amsterdam was massive, and it was one of the smaller sized apartments too. Me and Theo didn’t feel like we were stepping on each other toes, which you can do in hotels and it also meant on an evening I could do some work for my blog, whilst Theo, Katie and Jack watched the rugby game on the TV.
And if that wasn’t enough, you also get a personalised service. On my trip to Yays Zoutkeetsgracht and at all the Yays locations, they have a concierge on staff who are available 24/7 and knows everything there is to know about the neighbourhood you are staying in. They offered me bike maps, routes, and advice on which neighbourhoods to head to, or even better, stay out of! Make sure you grab a map from them, so you can map out your routes.
*Thanks to Yays for hosting me yet again. You are my favourite!
