Hotel Verhaegen

Hotel description

Not a hotel in the way we typically use the word, the Verhaegen slides in on the Francophone exemption. In English we’d call it a bed and breakfast, or maybe a guest house — whatever you want to call it, it’s a carefully preserved 18th-century mansion located just off the old port, two streets away from the historic center of Ghent.

Yes, that’s the sound of the party animals and hip-hotel barflies clicking their way back off this page. Hotel Verhaegen is quiet above all, its four guest rooms a charming blend of original architecture, antique furnishings and modern pieces, all selected by the owners (who happen to do a tidy line as interior designers as a day job). Here the old style meets the new, and it’s a lively, well-humored mix.

Each of the four bedrooms is different, as you’d imagine, but all naturally share a family resemblance, and are similarly equipped, spacious enough, with all the trappings of a self-contained residence. If it’s business that brings you to Ghent you’ll appreciate the central location and the calm at the end of the day; and if you’re here just to get away you’ll find the town picturesque and full of sedate attractions, from the SMAK art museum to the restaurants and bars of the city center.