Name: Ytterland Apartments
Address: Rv658, 6050 Valderøya, Norway, Valderoya, Valderoya, Valderoya, 6050, Norway
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

Heating

Washing machine

Patio

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

General

Non-smoking rooms

Fridge

Family room

Cable TV

Hairdryer

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Rooms

Laundry

Dry-cleaning

Services and amenities

Coffeemaker

Kettle

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Car rental

Transfer

English

Languages Spoken

Barbecue grill(s)

Hiking

Fishing

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Next to the beach

Pool and beach

Windsurfing

Diving

Cycling

Snorkelling

Sports

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Location

At the apartment

Room amenities

Alesund Airport

Hovden Airport

Ytterland Apartments

Valderoya

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

This is a review of apartment 3 (the 2 bedroom):

In some ways this was an excellent stay in Norway.  The apartments website advertise "hotel service" and the booking.com posting did NOT have fine print about there being an additional cleaning fee---it was lsited as included (along with linens) which is a refreshing change of pace for Norway.  Woot!  

It was nice to walk into something that, as my husband said when we opened the door, looks lke "a place grown ups stay" instead of a cheap ski aparmtnet for college kids (like most places in Norway we stayed). It felt cozy and homey and had nice design elements with a beach cottage theme.  

Outdoors: the parking areas are well paved and plentiful.  Our name was on the door and our key in the lock (no contact arrival, during covid-19).  Outside there are cute directional signs, and little paths to benches with nice views of the ocean.  Also a picnic table with a view of the ocean.  The location is also good----only a 5 minute walk to the bus station if needed, a small cafe and a grocery store and a great jumping off point for exploring many areas by car.

Bedding was soft and warm and the large bed itself was soft and comfortable--the most comfortable of the six places we stayed in Norway. (we just had the two of us so I cannot comment on the bunk beds). The sofa and living room chairs were also comfortable.

The bedrooms and bathroom and living area were well cleaned upon arrival.

The "fully equipped kitchen" was a big letdown.  The counter top had been burned and not replaced.  There is no microwave and no freezer at all (not even a tiny compartment in the little fridge.  It is a small (even by European standards) fridge---more for a wet bar than a kitchen (our other rentals all had larger fridges in Norway).  
Several standard kitchen items were not stocked: 
no callander (I did ask for one, we were there 5 nights and it SAID fully equipped, they brought one the next morning)
no mixing bowl (same note as above)
no dish brush (I bought one)
no toaster
no dish towel or paper towels
only one trivet (maybe this is why the coutner got burned?)
no spatula
no broom or dustpan to clean up crumbs from cooking

There was no empty cupbaord space at all to put food into.  All cabinets and the fridge were below counter level so you have to crouch down constantly.  Along with good, basic pots and pans were several nonstick pans with very scratched surfaces, those need removed--it is just clutter and makes it harder to find safely usable items.

The kitchen was also not as clean as the rest of the apartment---the exhaust hood was covered in sticky black dust (clearly there a while and interacting with humidity).  I am only 5' 4" but it was obvious and gross so one of the first things i did was get out my own paper towels and clean it off.  The open shelves with weird design elements which did not fit the apartment, over the counter top area, were also very dusty, there was a dead bug and a lot of dust in one wine glass and jmore dust in the others and a lot of the dishes were sort of sticky.  I always rinse dishes in rentals, but in this case I put everything we would use into the dishwasher and ran it before suing anything becuase so much seemed truly unclean.  Even the collander and mixing bowl brought to me the morning after check in were not all that clean---I mean they just got them to give me!  I was a little surprised.

The internet was easy to use and fast and did not require signing in more than once.

The fireplace between the bedroom and living room is lovely and heats things quickly.  Unfortuantely, there are no instructions on how to use it and it is not intuitive....we had to email and ask, this really ought to be posted).  Note: this is a see through fireplace, if you were staying in the apartment with kids or friends, the main bedroom is on view from teh living room at all times (we thought it was lovely, BUT I can see where this could be an issue to others).  

This apartment is listed as a "seaview"  We were not bothered, but others might be let down---technically, if standing at the end of the big window, you look sideways through it you can see a bit of the seas.  Sitting at the table or on the sofa?  You will NOT see the sea.  It's more of a "sea glimpse if you make an effort"  (if you look at overhead photos, you'll see that the good views are all from the upper level, where the owner lives).  There are nice views from the on property benches and picnic table, so no issue for us, but if you are wanting to sit on the sofa with your coffee and see the ocean you will be disapointed.

We were disapointed with how the communication went before our arrival.  I had paid the higher rate for a fully flexible booking because we did not know when covid-19 might close borders.  We COULD have cancelled after arriving in Norway and rebooked at the lower fixed rate and saved ourselves abotu 150 euro---but we do not feel that is fair to owners and did not take advantage in that way---sadly the same consideration was not shown to us:
We realized we might need to be back a day earlier than planned and did not want to make an overly long drive in one day to the border---unfortunately, we missed the 3 days prior to arrival change deadline by about an hour.  I messaged the owner via booking.com and asked if we could still change to 5 mights instead of 6 (dropping the last night from teh booking) and just pay for what 5 nights would have been had we booked that all along, at the rates we booked at (not the lower fixed rate).  I even included what that price would be in my message (after all, had we booked ONLY that last night we would still be in the free changes window).  A response came that day saying that booking.com takes a comission for every night booked, so I needed to request the change via them but if I did so she would approve it.  Cool, great, thank you.  We responded to her within 5 minutes, made the request on booking.com immediately and booked ourselves a hotel for halfway to the border on the night in question.  The next morning she sent me a text (interesting...not communicating via booking.com anymore) saying because it was so claose to the date (still a week out from the night in question) she would only approve if we paid an extra 500 NOK (about 50 euro).  At that point we'd made plans based on the info from the owner the night before, so had no other choice so we just politely said it was a fine compormise and OK---what else could we do?  Later that day, she texted again and said booking.com added a cleaning fee (what happened to cleaning is included?) and the new pricces was another 200+ NOK higher.  I did not even respond, what could I say or do?  Anyway---I felt that was pretty unfair---so I guess the leson to future renters is do not trust what the owner tells you and only deal with fixed pricing via a booking website---and don't feel you cannot book a flexible rate to hold it and then cancel and change to fixed when you get close, given that the owner doesn't hesitate to change  what they tell guests about pricing/length of stay adjustments.

One final note: again, something which did not bother us but might well bother others: the owners live upstairs and this has only "house" sound proofing, not the thicker floors that a modern apartment building or hotel has...you could hear all the footsteps, etc with owners up before 7 and a kid going about getting ready for school.  We were awake anyway, but if you want to sleep in this could be botherseome.  The owner was also doing some renovation work in their upstairs area and was using a hammer at least two mornings starting at 8:00---agian we were up and about to leave so no big deal, but it was surprising to us when they had guests below (and could see we were still inside, as our car had not left for the day yet).

Great location and small touches, poor kitchen and dishinest communication from host

We spent 3 nights here in medio August and 1 night 11. September. We should have stayed 2 nights but due to a double booking by Booking.com we had to lieve earlier.
The apartment is well equiped and nice. The hosts are very nice and service minded. 
The upper bed's mattress was a bit thin and an over mattress would have improved . We arrived late the first night and it took some time to heat up the apartment 
The area is beautiful and quiet.
We liked the place and will probably visit again.

Close to nature

We had a wonderful stay at the ytterland apartments. In a beautiful location by the sea with great hiking trails at the back of the apartment. 
We found the apartment really clean with everything you need. Good wi fi connection and comfy beds ( we are both over 6ft and did not have a problem ).
The hosts were very helpful and knowledgeable. 
There is a well stocked supermarket a couple of minutes away and alunsund is 10 min drive. We would highly recommend  to anyone who loves beautiful scenery in a peaceful location. 

Highly recommend 

The appartment was nice and clean, in a rather quiet area (in march at least).
Unfortunately, it was freezing. We turned on the heat when we arrived and it took a complete overnight to warm a little the appartment.
Also, the lady told us the cleaning would be done but she never precised it cost €50, so it was an unpleasant surprise when we got home to see we were charged an extra €50 for a one night stay, when the night itself cost 55€. We saw on our booking reservation that it was written in small caracters that the cleaning was not included, but when you arrive at night in the appartment you just wish to unpack and shower and trust your host on giving you all the information needed (as it was the case in another guesthouse).
Other than that, the house is well furnished.

Nice appartment but beware of the cleaning fee...

Our apartment was so much better than we had been prepared for - immaculately presented, well equipped with dishwasher, free wifi, etc. Sited right next to the sea, brilliant! Toasty warm, too - we tried out the fabulous modern gas log fire feature but it was too warm to keep it on some of the time :-)

The owners, Heinz & Synnove were lovely and helpful, I can't imagine anyone being dissatisfied with a stay here.

Ytterland Apartments

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