A Flemish Tale

I booked a studio with its own bathroom and no kitchen in this Airbnb style hostel. It was very clean, and the location was great, close to the tourist attractions and shopping street. Service was great too. On the second day, someone came to my room to replace the towels and coffee pods. The one issue was the shower’s very low edge, which let water splash onto the floor. Otherwise, everything was great.

Our second floor room was huge, nicely decorated, and had a small balcony with a great street view. The location was great, but there wasn’t much privacy. Sheer curtains let in the extremely bright security lights from the outdoor stairwell, and they kept us awake for much of the night. There’s no AC. That usually wouldn’t bother me, but on the hottest day of the year we couldn’t cool the room down. The shower drained poorly, and the power outlets were in the most inconvenient places imaginable.

Room 3 was in rough shape, with damaged furniture and walls, and a strong sewage odor in the bathroom that nobody managed to fix after I called. The photos give a misleading impression of this very old building, which badly needs renovation. Noise carries between floors, too. Worst of all, when the upstairs guest showered, water poured through my ceiling, flooded the bathroom, and began spreading into the bedroom. The location is good and support replied fairly quickly, but that’s about it. Spend a little more and stay somewhere else in Ghent.

We booked two nights in June, but on the first morning water streamed into our room whenever the upstairs neighbor showered. We were told a refund would be issued, and it still hasn’t come through. Avoid this if you don’t want your trip spoiled by a leak.