4 Nights - Antwerp & Ghent

In my experience, people who have " canceled and rebooked so many times this past month" don't really want advice. I realize that your home is in the DFW area, but if I were flying home to, say, Houston, I would take two connecting flights on the same day, because United has so many partner airlines. You will get the best advice if you post a sketch of the entire trip, not just a small segment of it.

For example, London does not pair well with Belgium, mainly because the train is so roundabout, and requires 90-minute advance check-in for immigration and security formalities in the departure station.

Are you aware that the cities between Bruges and Brussels are considered accessible for daytrips from a hotel in any of them? There are around five unreserved, commuter-type trains PER DAYLIGHT HOUR between them. I prefer not to change hotels unnecessarily, but that's my own travel style. Why do you propose option 3 - there is no need to change hotels within Antwerp? You don't make clear whether there is any interest in Brussels other than it being closer to the airport. Note that there are more, much longer, two-seat trains from Antwerp to BRU, while the single direct train may be only hourly.

That Antwerp Hilton used to be called Hilton Antwerp Groenplaats, I think. It was a department store long ago, so the rooms are not all identical. I would expect a non-revenue room to be small, but you can depend on a certain level of comfort at any Hilton. We sometimes stayed in the Club rooms because of the outdoor deck, free alcohol, and hors d'oeuvres in the evening, but that was ten years ago. Club rooms were quite expensive. There is a supermarket in an underground mall that is roughly, under the Hilton. It can't be overstated how many things there are to do in Antwerp.

This hotel was also noted for its lavish Sunday brunches. By the way, although the Mystic Lamb in Ghent is seven days, it does matter where Sunday and Monday fall in your vacation. I personally rolled a suitcase, many times, from the Hilton Groenplaats to the Centraal Station, but a 12-year old who is driven everywhere in the passenger seat of a giant SUV would find it a very looong walk. There are trams that make the trip, of course.

It's worth noting that the medieval center gems of Ghent and Bruges are not "at" their train station, but a bus ride or a 15-minute walk away. I have been inside Het Steen, back when it was the Shipping Museum. But it has been reconceived at a visitor center, and sounds like a bit of a tourist trap. While I am a big museum goer, I find the MAS museum a more interesting river-front destination, and it has a higher-elevation roof deck.

I loved Ghent when we visited last spring. Your son will get a kick out the Gravensteen Castle It's very fun to explore; and it's at your own pace. It's narration is rather cheeky and optional! Fun. There's a charming little chocolate restaurant with amazing waffles across the street from the castle called In Choc Gent. When we told the staff how surprised we were about it being a restaurant not just the chocolate shop we were expecting; they said, they've been there for decades. And then there's Van Hoorebeke for hot chocolate. And you most definitely want to visit St. Bravo's Cathedral /Ghent Altarpiece.

Also, I saw the Marriott on our canal cruise, and I literally said to my husband, that is the most charming Marriott I've ever seen! Ideal location!
You and your son will really enjoy the canal cruise as well! I think two nights in Ghent is right. But, I've never been to Antwerp. So, I'm for option 2 or 1.

Enjoy!

KD thank you so much for your thoughtful response. That Marriott had great reviews, it will be nice to spend a couple nights there and in Ghent. I just neede a little nudge.

Hi Tim, I think we just have vastly different travel styles. I would avoid taking multiple connecting flights in a day, but I don’t mind being in 2 different hotels over 4 nights. We have an evening flight to Helsinki that’s an hour and a half, sleep in the airport hotel, then board a direct non-stop Finnair flight at 10am and will be home by 4pm.

We are spending 5 nights in London, 4 in Amsterdam, 4 in Belgium. When we leave London we are taking the 6am Eurostar direct to Amsterdam. Our hotel is a 10 min bus ride to St. Pancraas station. We are fine with being at the train station at 4:30am.

Those were strange assumptions about my 12 year old. I will just say this is a new country for us, we are not new travelers. We have hiked miles over much more difficult terrain.
Option 4 was proposed because all the guided bus tours I saw that cover Ghent & Bruge, originate in Brussels. Then we can spend the evening and next day in Brussels. Option 3, is the only way to stay in Antwerp the 4 days.

Unsure if you are unfamiliar with award travel, or F&F rates. For me both Diamond and Platinum Elite status are both is typically recognized and awarded upgrades. I am always fine with the room I am booked.

It’s not that I don’t want help it’s that I only had a question about the Belgium portion, the rest of the trip is planned. We will just disagree that the Netherlands and Belgium are a bad partner to a London stay.

If I’m parsing out your answer to my question you think the answer is none of them.

Thanks

I also meant to mention, The train station in Ghent is quite far out from the city center. As I recall, once you walk out of the train station, down a ramp to your left there is a parking structure. The taxi’s are down there. Follow the signs. It was easy.

I don't know anything about the hotels you picked but I'd choose the 2 nights in Ghent. Antwerp was not my favorite although I know a number here on the forum like it. I'd actually do 2 nights Ghent and 2 nights Bruges but I'm sure you've got reasons for Antwerp.

No, I did not mean to suggest that "None of the above" was my choice. You are right that we have different travel styles, but it is not clear how you selected one or two nights in Ghent over, for example, Bruges. I'm getting the idea that hotel awards is the explanation, not tourist sights?? I mean, Ghent is an absolutely beautiful old-town area, but it is much smaller than in Bruges, and I personally would get bored with two nights in Ghent. I mentioned Monday, because one of my three daytrips to Ghent was on a Monday, and it was a mistake to go - despite the nice outdoor architecture to see on a clear day.

I do admire that you are staying in Antwerp, a larger city that cannot be seen in just three or four days. It's extremely popular with Europeans, but less so for Americans. I've probably spent ten weeks in Antwerp, when my wife went several times a year for business. In my experience, the Antwerp Hilton is very parsimonious with upgrades, and very expensive for premium rooms. Technically, it's not an American hotel, after all.

It would be ridiculous for me to "read your mind", but I think you will be happiest with two nights in Antwerp and two nights in Ghent. You haven't expressed any worries about getting to BRU for your trip to Helsinki. Car services are very expensive, so I would use train or bus for that.

I mentioned a 12-year old walking a mile from/to the Antwerp train station because in my suburban town, the heaviest traffic is not at rush hour, it's school hours. Every SUV has one passenger, and almost no one walks to school. (I grew up in Manhattan, and neither of my parents every owned a car their entire lives.) Ghent has two train stations, but this newsboard has reported that one of them is closed for renovation - check for your dates. I'm surprised no one else has mentioned your omission of Bruges, although there is always the warning about daytime crowding in that UNESCO WHS city.

It is not the case that there is nothing to see in Brussels, but the general sentiment on this newsboard is that Brussels in the least desirable/attractive stay in this area. Except for one business trip, I have only been there as a daytrip from Antwerp. We have in fact used packaged bus tours to other towns, in Athens and Lisbon, for example. As hoped, we covered a lot of ground without navigation issues. I worry about highway traffic delays around Flanders, but I simply meant to observe that most people find the unreserved local trains convenient and fast. Bus tours in Flanders are not often mentioned on this newsboard, so I know nothing about them. I just can't wrap my mind around sleeping in Brussels for the purpose of taking a bus tour, and not for (pick one: The huge art museum, the Atomium, which I've never gone near, the nice churches, a few tourist attractions like Grand Place.) To me, if you've seen Ghent or Bruges, Grand Place is missable. (Opinion.)