Moving to Amsterdam is supposed to be the exciting part. In practice, the first month often disappears into a blur of house viewings, utility contracts, IKEA queues, and increasingly creative explanations of why a Dutch bank account requires a registered address — and the registered address requires a Dutch bank account.
City Retreat exists to skip that part entirely.
Since 2012, we’ve been Amsterdam’s specialist serviced apartment provider for expats and corporate professionals. Over 1,200 people have lived in one of our apartments while settling into the city, working on a project, or simply waiting for permanent housing to come through. Our apartments are centrally located across the canal belt and surrounding neighbourhoods, fully furnished, and ready to live in from the day you arrive — suitcase in, kettle on, working from the kitchen table by the afternoon.
What sets us apart from most of Amsterdam’s rental market is flexibility. Standard Dutch contracts are typically fixed-term, with all the rigidity that implies. City Retreat offers an indefinite contract with one calendar month’s notice. Stay three months or three years — the choice is yours, and you can change your mind. For anyone whose plans depend on a project end date, a permanent home becoming available, or simply how Amsterdam feels in February, that flexibility matters.
Everything is included in one monthly figure: utilities, high-speed internet, furniture, kitchenware, linen and an Amsterdam-based team that handles maintenance and questions in English, usually within hours. Tenants receive a Dutch-law tenancy agreement and can register their address with the municipality from day one — essential for a BSN, banking, healthcareand payroll.
We work with individuals arriving for new roles at multinationals, consulting firms and the city’s growing tech sector; with HR and global mobility teams placing professionals on assignment; and with families bridging the gap between countries while permanent housing is found. The brief is almost always the same: a comfortable home, a clear contract and someone reachable when the dishwasher stops cooperating.
A note on price. City Retreat isn’t the cheapest option in Amsterdam — apartments start at around €3,500 per month — and we’re upfront about that. For people on relocation packages or corporate budgets, or anyone who would rather spend their first weeks getting on with life rather than assembling flat-pack furniture, it’s the right fit. For tighter budgets, we’re always happy to point people toward alternatives we trust.
Fourteen years in, what we’ve learned is that ‘furnished’ and ‘ready’ aren’t the same word. Anyone can put a bed and a sofa in a room. Making a place feel like home from the first night — when you’ve just landed, the suitcase is still in the hallway, and Amsterdam is still mostly a map on your phone — takes a little more thought.
That’s the bit we get right.
cityretreat.com | bookings@cityretreat.com | +31 8 50 02 42 01