Stayokay Haarlem Reviews

Presentation on internet is not really what you find on the site : looking at the picture you imagine the place is surrounded by nature whereas there is a speed way on the back (our room had view on the cars, hopefully windows do not let noise in) and another road on the side nearby. Place is handy for people driving. Bus is expensive when coming from town (2 euros one way in 2013). Barman is very nice, interesting and plays very well the guitar.

We arrived to find the credit card/debit card machine was not working, no one was able to tell us the correct price for our room and we were kept waiting while a succession of staff all agreed they didn't know what to do. We had booked a private double and a single. The private double was a four-bed dorm (two bunk beds) -not a double bed or even two single beds which was exceedingly misleading given the price we were charged for the room.

There's a bar and patio on location, which is nice. This hostel is not very close to the city center. We also liked having a shower and toilet in our private room. The food is good, too. But bring your earplugs. There were teenagers running around, screaming, knocking on doors, playing tag, until very late. I felt like I was sleeping in a high school. And make sure you either bring a towel or have enough money to buy one. They don't supply towels. Overall, though, it was a good experience.

There's a stop on "2 Noord" busline called "StayOkay", that made my life easy as I speak NO Dutch. The staff was really friendly and nice, the young man put us into a different room at the last minute, to give us a view of the park out back, rather than of the parking lot. The breakfast was great (meats and cheeses, buns, bread for toast with jams and nutellas, juice variety, coffee, milk, cold cereal choices, even yogurt if you want it. GREAT HOSTEL, highly recommended!