The good first impressions began with a very friendly receptionist, who apologised for our room not being ready, (we were early), but she did show us somewhere safe to leave our suitcase, so that was OK. As the hotel is situated near the centre of town, finding somewhere for lunch was easy. So far so good.
Things got better when we were shown the room. It was on the ground floor, just off a small courtyard. It had all the usual amenities, air-conditioning, room safe, mini-bar, decent size flat screen TV and large bathroom. Along with a reasonable amount of wardrobe space, it was all looking very good. Better still you get FREE wi-fi. That's one of the reasons why we didn't revisit the hotel we stayed in, the last time we were in Ghent. The hotel De Flandre is only a stones throw away and (IMHO) better value than the big chain competitor, just a few yards up the road.
I did have a couple of small personal gripes. If you like soft beds, you're in for a treat. If you don't – you’re in for some uncomfortable nights. Second, I can understand why the power goes off when you leave the room and remove the room key, but why do the sockets in the bathroom, need the light to be on to work? If you think this is an electricity saving measure, it’s not because the light was...The good first impressions began with a very friendly receptionist, who apologised for our room not being ready, (we were early), but she did show us somewhere safe to leave our suitcase, so that was OK. As the hotel is situated near the centre of town, finding somewhere for lunch was easy. So far so good.
Things got better when we were shown the room. It was on the ground floor, just off a small courtyard. It had all the usual amenities, air-conditioning, room safe, mini-bar, decent size flat screen TV and large bathroom. Along with a reasonable amount of wardrobe space, it was all looking very good. Better still you get FREE wi-fi. That's one of the reasons why we didn't revisit the hotel we stayed in, the last time we were in Ghent. The hotel De Flandre is only a stones throw away and (IMHO) better value than the big chain competitor, just a few yards up the road.
I did have a couple of small personal gripes. If you like soft beds, you're in for a treat. If you don't – you’re in for some uncomfortable nights. Second, I can understand why the power goes off when you leave the room and remove the room key, but why do the sockets in the bathroom, need the light to be on to work? If you think this is an electricity saving measure, it’s not because the light was simply left on all night. This strange situation was evident with some of the other electrical sockets. It felt as if the hotel was deliberately trying to deter you from using any electrical outlet. There was a wall socket easily available but it was at floor level and directly on the bathroom "flight path". Leaving a device there overnight to charge, risked it being kicked or damaged. Come on people, it's the cell phone and iPod age, we need to charge stuff.
Breakfast is 'only' €20, which again, is cheaper than its mega-chain neighbour. We didn't try it, as there are so many places within walking distance and we're not big eaters at breakfast. Nevertheless, breakfast does seem excessive when we got two cappuccinos, two fried eggs with wonderful bread and butter for €14...for the both of us, just off the Korenmarkt.
In conclusion, the hotel de Flandre is definitely somewhere worth considering. There was a considerable price differential between staying there and the Marriott just round the corner. If you then vector in the fact that the Marriott charges around €7 more per person for breakfast and over €10 a day for the privilege of accessing the internet, then price differential gets...More
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