We just recently returned from our trip to Europe, which included a two night stay at BB IJ in Amsterdam. We booked directly through the website, which was very easy, with prompt email responses from the property's owners, Tina and Kamiel. We booked the Cottage Room, for a price of 75 euros per night.

The directions to the B & B, provided by the owner's upon booking the room, could not have been more clear and precise. We flew in from England, had to take a train from the airport to Centraal Station, and then a bus from the Station to the B & B. The only error we made upon arrival at the property, we went UP the stairs to the owner's residence, instead of DOWN the stairs to the B & B entrance. No problem! Tina was waiting for us and immediately directed us to the correct door.

The Cottage Room is EXACTLY as it appears in the photos. Quaint and "antiquey" , but with a modern flair, it was just what we needed for our two night stay. Tina was VERY personable, and took quite a bit of time to show us exactly where we were on our little pocket map, pointed out to us where the Anne Frank house and RLD were and even made a GREAT Mexican restaurant recommendation.

The room itself consists of a DOUBLE bed (VERY comfortable, with beautiful linens, but if you are close to 6' tall, your feet will hang off the bottom, as is the case with any double bed) small TV and stand, a large armoire, small nightstand with clock/radio, chair and ottoman, breakfast table with two matching folding chairs, and then a kitchen "nook", and attached large bathroom - all of which are accurately shown in the website photos. We found the room to be cozy and comfortable, but it should be noted that it is on the small size and full of furniture and everything you need for a comfortable stay, so open floor space is limited. We arrived with a carry-on bag (on wheels) and a garment bag on wheels, a camera bag and a beach-sized canvas bag. One half of the armoire contains the homeowner's items - fresh linens, paints, etc., so is not usable to the traveler. There is only about a 2 1/2 foot space between the foot of the bed and the TV and armoire, so nothing can go at the foot of the bed or you can't open the armoire doors. We ended up moving the ottoman in front of the TV stand, so we had floor room to open up the gament bag, and we put our carry-on in the bathroom - there was a space between the shower and the wall that was the perfect size. Once we did that, the room size was not an issue for us - again, just to make note that if you had a LOT of luggage, and needed room to spread out, you might want to opt for the larger room.

We thought the breakfasts were GREAT! and actually this is one of the things that lead us to book the BB IJ in the first place. Breakfast consisted of fresh eggs (and a little electric cooker to make hard or soft boiled - LOVED it!), delicious granola, milk, tea/coffee, juice, fresh fruit, platter of cheese/meats, yogurt, and breads/muffins. This really gave us a great start to our day - it was fresh, filling and delicious!!! Couldn't have asked for more!

The bathroom was spacious and clean - loved the modern look to it. The only complaint was that we had little or no hot water. The first morning, I will admit, we were late risers, so we thought that perhaps others staying in the house and the homeowners themselves had used it up. My husband showered first and told me that the water was cold. By the time I got in, I was able to get wet and shampoo my hair, but it was so cold after that, that I actually got out and rinsed my hair in the sink, which oddly enough had hot water for another minute or so. The next morning, we were up early ... my husband showered by turning the water on and off throughout (to conserve) and managed to have warm water for his shower. Next I got in, and there was nothing left. Not sure if that is always the case with this room, but it was our experience.

The only other thing to note about this room is lack of ventilation. There are two large, beautiful windows in the room that open onto the street. It did not appear to us (and Tina never mentioned) that it would be possible to open these windows ... maybe we didn't look close enough, but it seemed like they were permanently shut, which is too bad, because the evenings were nice and cool - maybe this is the case due to safety reasons (although the area seemed very safe to us), and maybe for noise control - the inn is on a very busy street, and it seemed that people were walking by/talking late into the evening, and the busses/trams run by late into the night and start early in the morning. There is no airconditioning, as is the case in most of Europe and no ceiling fan. There is a vent that runs from the room into the bathroom, which can be turned on - don't think it has much effect, but it does at least get some air moving. I only mention this because on a hot day, I would think this room could get very uncomfortable - the last night we were there it was warm out, and it just seemed stifiling to us.

The day we were leaving Amsterdam we did not have to catch the train (into Germany) until 3:00 pm or so. I let Tina know this ahead of time, and she did indicate that she had other people coming in, but that it would be no problem for us to leave our luggage in the hallway while we went about our day, until it was time for us to leave. It was so nice of her to let us do that! We got back to the B & B around 2:30, left the key on the desk in the hallway, gathered our luggage, and off we went!

Our overall experience with BB IJ was wonderful - we would not hesitate to recommend this property and we would stay again should we have the opportunity to visit Amsterdam again! Thanks Tina and Kamiel, for a wonderful stay in your beautiful city!