The month of January, including every weekend focusing on guests, was very busy at work for both of us, so last weekend was planned as a relaxing time off in Flanders. I was especially looking forward to it and hoping for some quality time to celebrate Marijn's birthday and my four years in exile anniversary. As soon as we arrived at Hotel d'Aertrycke in Torhout it appeared to be everything but a cosy and romantic place. While we expected a 4* hotel website photos and description to have been touched-up, what we saw and experienced was nothing more than a 2* hotel at best. We were given a dirty, very basic and old room, the corridors were smelly and dusty...... nothing that you would expect from a 4* hotel.... and those are only few examples of many.
Disappointing experiences are part of traveling and we have learned an important lesson to always carefully check the reviews before booking any hotel! On the positive side: the kindness of the staff, the surroundings (but still nothing very spectacular), and the dinner in the castle merit to be mentioned. In conclusion, we will not come back there and I am afraid I can't recommend this place to anyone. The bitterness of poor quality will remain long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
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| Hotel d'Aertrycke |
The best thing we could do on Saturday was to go to Bruges, which is only 30 minutes drive from Torhout. This lovely city, called the Venice of the North, is definitely worth the visit even if only for couple of hours. Btw, we discovered very nice Indian restaurant, out of the tourist area, which offers excellent cuisine in very nice and traditional atmosphere.....you shouldn't miss it: www.shalimar-tandoori.com .We enjoyed it very much and will come back! :)
Loved your pics. Bruges is on our list to visit too! Thanks for the tour. You may have already done this but have you considered posting your review of Hotel d'Aertrycke on Trip Advisor or yelp?
ReplyDeleteBeautifull !!!! Albert you know !
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