THIS lovely 2 bedroom apartment is rented by Anita Halsøy who I presume is the owner. I stayed here for 4 nights with my sister in July of 2012.
The door for apartment 1B is reached by walking uphill around to the left side entrance of the house - up a small stone staircase on a public walking path. The stairs are not steep at all and there are less than a dozen.
We were met at the apartment by the kind Ragnhild, who gave us a quick tour and the keys. She was very informative and gave us her phone number so that we could contact her if we had further questions. There was also a nice basket full of nectarines on the counter.
The attic bedroom is quite large and occupies the top floor of the apartment. It is reached by a narrow steep staircase from the main floor. There are dormer windows, but no blinds on them so if sleeping in daylight is an issue during the Scandinavian summers this might be problematic. The stairs would also might not be suitable for an elderly person or anyone prone to accidents.
The roomy bedroom on the main floor had a very comfortable plush bed that I liked very very much. I kept the curtains drawn most of the time as it looked out onto a neighboring house. I also slept with the window open and so heard quite a bit of foot traffic coming from just below the windows. It wasn't a problem for me, as most who passed were quiet and you only heard their footsteps...but if you are a light sleeper it could be an issue. There was an overhead ceiling light, but no reading light by the bed. Not a problem as I enjoyed the couch so much I did my reading there.
The apartment is quite beautiful and very bright and airy. It had a charming Scandinavian design which we liked very much. Everything was updated and new. Even the bathroom floors were heated. There were lots of provisions in the kitchen - plenty of dishtowels, dishes, pots, pans, candles, condiments, and even coffee. Also a french press and an espresso maker. I had the distinct feeling that this was someone's permanent house which they vacate when they get a renter as it was so well-stocked and furnished.
There is not a dvd player, which we found puzzling given the nearly 100 dvds that were available. So the movies were not viewable, unless you have a laptop with a dvd player. {a dvd player was not advertised}
The couch is very comfortable!
The little balcony for 2 is accessed via a set of french doors.
There is a church view across the street in front of the apartment, but it was being rennovated and had plastic covering it - thus the view was somewhat spoiled, but I bet it is usually quite nice. The location would have been better if it was 1 or 2 streets away from a main semi-busy street, although the location cannot be beat for walking to dozens of restaurants and shops. Super convenient!
The main thing to know about this apartment is while it is charming and lovely, it is also extremely expensive - moreso than other rental houses/apartments in Bergen. We paid a total of 8000 NOK for 4 nights. This is the USD equivalent of roughly $1300 or $325/night!
Although we were quite happy at the Kleivesmauet apartment, if you are looking for better value for your money I think it can be found elsewhere. If you like being closer to the action with everything a relateively flat walk away, this apartment might be ideal for you.
The house is all the way down this lane on the right, but can't really be seen in this photo.
Hey you forgot to say that they had cute kitchen towels with cupcakes on them. The bed upstairs was super comfortable too. Another nice thing about the location is that we could easily come and go during the day. Out for the morning back for an afternoon to rest and regroup and then back out for an evening of adventuring. It was also very close to our two favorite cafes for morning cappuccino's and pastries. I do love a European breakfast. I was totally smitten with this apartment! They had candles all over the place. We lit them every evening whether we needed them or not.
Posted by: Sister! | Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 11:56 AM