Pic: Superior room at NH Ghent Belfort (July 2011)
Pic: Superior room at NH Ghent Belfort (July 2011)
After experiencing the comfort of staying at a downtown hotel during the Gentse Feesten last year, I couldn’t resist booking a room for this year’s edition.  In 2010, I had an excellent stay at Marriott Ghent (ranked #1 for Ghent on Tripadvisor) with a memorable check-in experience.  Check this funny review “Belgium’s Marriott Ghent formerly a brothel”  Marriott was bookable at Marriott.com for 149 euro for a 1 King Guest Room stay on July 20, 2011.

NH Ghent Belfort (ranked #3 for Ghent on Tripadvisor) was my choice for 2011.  After reading the reviews, it was obvious to me I had to book a Superior room (129 euro).  They were recently renovated and only 15 euro more expensive than the Standard rooms (114 euro).  At check-in I requested a late check-out which was promptly refused; “It’s weekend and we are fully booked”  When I countered with the fact I had checked the website with rooms still available a few moments before, the frontdesk lady went to the backoffice to see the manager on duty.  A few moments later I was confirmed a 1pm check-out time.  Not impressed, the InterContinental Ambassador program guarantees 4pm late check-out for every stay.  The room was clean, spacious and had a modern design.  Also remarkable was the complete silence in the room while the concerts and events of the Gentse Feesten were ongoing just outside the hotel.