De Pijp, as it sleeps
An apartment gives an oil session advantages a hotel room cannot. You control the heating, and that matters more than it sounds: oil cools on bare skin, and a flat in an old block with sluggish radiators can feel chilly by eleven on a winter night, so turn the thermostat up half an hour before she comes. You also control the lighting, which in a rental usually means a harsh ceiling bulb and one or two lamps; switch off the first and keep the second. The less convenient part is the building. Stairwells in De Pijp are shared, steep and echoing, and neighbours pass on their way to the bike storage, so a quiet arrival is worth planning. Give us the exact bell to ring, since these doors often carry four or five buttons with faded names beside them. Mornings belong to the Albert Cuyp market, with stalls going up early and crowds from nine, so if your window faces that street a late-evening or night booking is far calmer than a daytime one.