Has anyone stayed at the Hotel Gravensteen in Ghent? We are planning a last minute trip mid October to the Netherlands/Belgium and have one night in Ghent. We are a family of 3 and they have one standard triple room (one twin and one queen bed) available. We will be taking the train from Brussels Central to Ghent and then on our departure day we are heading to Antwerp via train. Any thoughts on location or experiences staying at that specific hotel?
Posted by
Belgium
672 posts
Sorry, I haven’t stayed at Hotel Gravensteen myself yet.
As far as the location goes, there’s not much to complain about. It’s just a 2-minute walk to the Grasbrug (bridge), which leads right into the heart of the city.
Along the way, you’ll also pass the most beautiful spot in Ghent, the Appelbrugparkje (please don’t tell anyone).
The only thing to note is that the hotel is a bit harder to reach by public transportation, and you’ll have to walk another 750 meters from the tram stop.
If you want to avoid this, taxis are available at the Sint-Pieters station. Uber also operates in Ghent.
Posted by
Ghent
11 posts
The Appelbrugparkje is under construction right now, the city counsel hopes to finish work around november 26.
It was becoming a hotspot for drugdealers so the city took some action.
Despite this, the little park remains a beautiful spot.
Posted by
Belgium
672 posts
Wow, thank you so much for this information, Gentenaar3.
I wasn't aware of this.
Kudos to city officials for immediately addressing such unauthorized practices.
Posted by
625 posts
Kimberly…please let us know how this hotel worked for you. The area sounds lovely. I am in the process of planning a few days in Ghent next summer. If there any other hotel recommendations…thank you.
Posted by
Arctophilia (x-27), Northamptonshire, England
37347 posts
Harmony - never disappointed
Posted by
Reston VA
698 posts
Was going to also suggest looking at Hotel Harmony which has a couple "family" rooms.
Posted by
315 posts
We stayed in Ghent for 4 nights and stayed in this Airbnb. The owner was fantastic and it was beautiful. Loved Ghent-
Posted by
OP
Colorado
31 posts
Thank you. I had looked at Harmony and unfortunately it wasn’t available for our family size on the night we were there.
Posted by
OP
Colorado
31 posts
Back from our trip and wanted to share our thoughts about Hotel Gravensteen for all2alb and anyone else interested.
The location was amazing! City center and basically a few doors down from the Gravensteen Castle. We had a basic family room for the three of us. It was the smallest of our travels, but the bathroom was spacious. Overall it was a nice stay, but if I were to visit again, I would either pay for the premium room or look at some of the other suggestions on this board (they were booked for our dates this trip.) Our room was clean, but in the back building so no view (other than a small parking lot). The room was basic and the only really bothersome things were little - we were back at the hotel in the evening and trying to do things and the main lights would go off. It seems they were on a timer so every 10 minutes or so we had to get up and turn them back on near the door. There was no hot water in the bathroom sink (the shower was very hot however). The trash can was broken so we had to manually lift it open to dispose of anything. It was warm while we were there and while we did have A/C, it wasn't very good even for our small room. The hotel main desk took a while before anyone would be there (this happened a few times), but they were very friendly and allowed us to store our luggage in a secure room at no extra cost. The location was by far the best and I have a feeling the main building was far more charming with decor and architecture but we didn't get to see anything besides the main staircase and small lobby.