Hostelgent

There’s a bus stop nearby, and regular buses get you to the city centre in about 15 minutes. For exploring Gent, this is a good-value overnight stop, with a small basement room that was warm and clean. The main drawback is that there’s nowhere close to eat or buy food for breakfast or the evening. Get what you need beforehand, or head into the city to eat.

The room felt damp, the bed was definitely damp, and there was mildew on the walls. The basement room was much smaller than the pictures suggest, and the toilet was such a squeeze it might be fine for a child. At night, we had to move the wheeled clothes rail across the door to avoid walking into it when getting to either side of the bed. The building looks great in photos, but we were appalled by the stay and relieved it was only one night. At least there was a lovely park walk for the evening, which meant spending less time in the room.

Marelebeke certainly isn’t Gent, and management wrongly accused me of taking one of their sleazy dressing gowns. The non-smoking room smelled strongly of stale cigarettes. They do offer two nice Belgian beers on arrival, but I’d say don’t stay here.

The bed’s mattress is too big for its frame, so it flips up when you sit on the edge. The room looked clean, and the kitchen was okay and clean, but the bathroom really needs updating. Only a few lights worked, leaving it dim. There was noise all night: the toilet next door kept running, with the tap opening and closing violently every minute or so, and the large refrigerated can dispenser in the hallway started up every 15 minutes. We could even hear the next-door neighbors breathing and having sex. The place is absolutely not soundproof. It was impossible to sleep without earplugs, and even with them it was really noisy. I ended up leaving in the middle of the night to stay somewhere else.