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Frédéric, a cute bicycle rental shop with three rooms in back, is one of the cheapest places in Amsterdam to lay one's hat. It's also loaded with character.
The three-room annex includes two spacious simple doubles that moonlight as singles as well as an en suite double with a bathtub. The design palette is a complete hodgepodge. Paintings, prints, and random flashes of color augment the otherwise simple, minimalist aesthetic. To be fully forthcoming, what's at play is less of an aesthetic, really, than it is a randomness reminiscent of student haunts.
In sum, Frédéric ensnares our Cheapo heart. It's simple, friendly, full of nice little touches like a house dog, shelves of books, and a counter of bottles of exotic liqueur (we didn't partake, but clearly a nightcap wasn't off limits.) One room, the Mondriaan room, even comes with a Jacuzzi, waterbed and espresso machine. The limited breakfast consists of a single croissant with packaged jams in individual-size containers. There's no lounge area to speak of, though the Frédéric office is comfortable and buzzing and staffed by friendly hosts.
Note that all rooms require traversing multiple stairways, and that entering at night requires entering the proprietor's house and climbing two very steep stairways. Also note that rooms are not non-smoking.
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