Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Very comfortable hotel, good bar |
| Disadvantages: |
Need a car or taxi to go into the city centre |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
On my recent trip to Belgium I stopped at the Holiday Inn in Gent. It was not the first time I have stopped there and probably will not be the last. As I have written in my reviews of Gent and Bruges this is a nice part of Belgium to visit and I am lucky to be able to go there on business.
The hotel is modern and could not be called beautiful. It is though very comfortable and used by both business guests and tourists alike. It is very handy for those who like me drive over to Belgium as it is well situated just off the E40 motorway which runs from the ports to Brussels and also the E17 which heads North towards Antwerp. However this close proximity to the motorway means it is not that handy for the town centre. There were some disappointed coach passengers who found they could not feasibly walk into the town from the hotel and had to get a taxi. This though would only be about £3 each way so not excessive but obviously more than the cost of a walk.
There is no need to go out as the restaurant ‘De Leie’ serves good food up until 10pm and the bar ‘De Lieve’ , typically for Belgium, has more varieties of beer than is healthy to drink in one week let alone in one night. Prices again are reasonable particularly given the strength of the pound at present. The leisure facilities are very good and it includes a decent sized pool open from 7:30 in the morning until late. There is also a steam bath to plunge into.
The rooms range from basic but clean through to more well appointed ones. Personally the basic standard is fine for me, as long as the bed is comfortable. The staff are all efficient and friendly and all with good English for the mono-linguists among us. The breakfast was the usual continental fare including fruit, cereals, yoghurt etc.
The cost for me staying as a single guest in a double room was just under £60. I thought this was good value. Dinner would set you back another £25 minimum if you ate in the hotel but if the weather is kind you would better than this in Gent itself including those taxi fares.
