I have been on two different Christmas Shopping bus trips and both times have stayed at the Ghent Holiday Inn. The price of each trip was £99 inclusive of bus travel, ferry crossing and two nights accomodation at the Holiday Inn.
LOCATION
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The Holiday Inn Ghent is around 60km ... Read review
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Advantages: clean, tidy, good service and price Disadvantages: need a taxi to get into town
...have stayed at the Ghent Holiday Inn. The price of each trip was £99 inclusive of bus travel, ferry crossing and two nights accomodation at the Holiday Inn.
LOCATION
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The Holiday Inn Ghent is around 60km from Brussels and is situated in central Belgium which makes it ideal to explore the country. It is near the intersection of the E17 and E40 motorways.
It is 65km from Ostend airport in ... ...This review is about the Holiday Inn, but I am going to write a little about the town as well.
Our coach dropped us into Gent and we then got a tram and a bus back to the hotel later. Public transport is very good in Belgium and Gent is no exception.
There is a lovely selection of shops in Gent. We found a £1 type shop (except its Euros over there!). There is a lovely shop that sells home furnishings and Christmas decorations. ... more
I have been on two different Christmas Shopping bus trips and both times have stayed at the Ghent Holiday Inn. The price of each trip was £99 inclusive of bus travel, ferry crossing and two nights accomodation at the Holiday Inn.
LOCATION +++++++++
The Holiday Inn Ghent is around 60km from Brussels and is situated in central Belgium which makes it ideal to explore the country. It is near the intersection of the E17 and E40 motorways.
It is 65km from Ostend airport in Holland and 62km from Antwerp airport .
On the first trip that I went on we visited Valkenburg and Ostend in Holland, and Aachen in Germany and each day we made good time and were not rushed at all.
The nearest town is Gent which is around 3km away. There are plenty of restaurants, shops and bars in Gent.
FACILITIES +++++++++
The hotel is used for conferences so has those facilities available for businessmen.
The hotel has 140 rooms over 6 floors, with lifts available.
There is a swimming pool at the hotel for guests use. It is a lovely pool and not usually too crowded.
You can exchange money and you can also hire a safety deposit box if you want, from reception. Reception are very helpful and will call you a taxi if required.
There is one restaurant and one bar which also sells bar snacks.
The hotel has wireless internet facilities.
ROOMS +++++++
The room that I stayed in was a twin. Each single bed was the size of a double bed and very comfortable. There was a tv and tea/coffee making facilities. The room was non-smoking, however there are also some smoking rooms available.
The bathroom was very clean and tidy with a great shower and bath in it. The maids clean the rooms very well and leave you new clean towels if required.
The room was a nice size and the window opened. The tv had English channels on it and you could pay for films if you wanted.
Our room had a table and two chairs as well as the dressing table area with another chair.
COST +++++
A basic twin/double room is around 90 euros a night, which is around £60 which equates to £30 per person which is very reasonable for bed and breakfast. Prices vary depending on how far in advance you book and whether you book a basic or more advanced room. Booking can be made by telephone or online.
BREAKFAST +++++++++++
The breakfast buffet had a fantastic selection of food. There was cereals, toast, sausages, bacon, eggs and a more continental selection of cheese, ham, bread, rolls, cake. There is plenty of juice on offer and also tea and coffee.
We took some extra each day for lunch and could make sandwiches.
RESTAURANT/BAR ++++++++++++++++
The hotel restaurant served evening meals for a set sum, around £15 for 3 courses. As the town is 3 miles away, this is a populare option with coachloads of guests. I had this on my first trip and it was a very nice meal.
Apparantly children under 13 eat free.
On my next trip we went into town by taxi one night, then the next night we had a bar snack. I had a cheese and ham baguette which was lovely.
The hotel bar is expensive, but it is nice to just sit and relax in it. On one trip we were going to have a quiet early night ready for our trip home the next day. Instead we got extremely drunk and went to bed at around 3am, and had to get up at 6am to get the bus!
The barstaff were very friendly and a lot of them appeared to be students. The staff all speak very good English.
GENT +++++
This review is about the Holiday Inn, but I am going to write a little about the town as well.
Our coach dropped us into Gent and we then got a tram and a bus back to the hotel later. Public transport is very good in Belgium and Gent is no exception.
There is a lovely selection of shops in Gent. We found a £1 type shop (except its Euros over there!). There is a lovely shop that sells home furnishings and Christmas decorations.
Foodwise, you must make time to sit down and enjoy a crepe or a waffle with a nice coffee.
When it is nearer to Christmas, there is a proper Christmas market with all the little huts selling wonderful gifts and food.
TRANSPORT +++++++++++
As Gent is 3 miles from the hotel you will need to travel by taxi in the evening to get into Gent. During the daytime there are plenty of buses. We paid around £8 for a taxi for 4 of us to get into Gent.
ATTRACTIONS NEARBY +++++++++++++++++++ I did not visit any of these attractions, but they are reasonably near to the hotel:
Medieval City Centre Saint Bavo's Cathedral Ice Skating Castle of the Counts Golf course Sint-Martens-Latem (18 holes) Brussels City Centre Bruges Old city centre
MY OPINION +++++++++++
I would recommend this hotel for a short stay in Belgium as it is central and the town of Gent is very nice. Bruges is not too far away either and is a lovely historic town. It is out of town, so be prepared to travel to get to town.
As a base to stay whilst visting various Christmas markets around the area it is great, friendly and reasonably cheap
