Hotel Harmony
The Ghent Floralies festival only takes place once every five years. It is a celebration of flowers and runs from 17 to 25 April. This medieval city is at its finest then and it's well worth going to see the spectacular floral displays.
How they rate it
Hotel Harmony (above) in the Patershol district has the city's "best-placed beds", says Vincent Crump in The Times. It's "a cracking place, decorated with bold minimalist strokes and warmed with deep bathtubs and remote-control fires". The hotel comprises two "handsome" 18th-century merchant houses and is "more intimate" than many of Ghent's other large hotels, says William Cook in The Independent. It also has a hidden courtyard with a small pool, so you can escape the festival crowds.
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The menu
Hotel Harmony doesn't have a restaurant, so you'll have to hit the streets to find dinner. "If you've a head for gastronomic heights", try Tte Tte on Jan Breydelstraat, says Crump. Its magret de canard "lives long in the memory".
The cost
Double rooms cost from €150 per night. Ask for a double overlooking the river. Visit Hotel-harmony.be, or call 00 32 9 324 26 80 for more information.
Aquarius B&B
Ghent is relatively quiet compared to Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels. Yet it has the same picturesque waterways and medieval streets, which "provide a charming backdrop for a weekend away", says The Times. Just amble around taking in the view from St Michael's Bridge, St Nicholas' Church and the old port.
How they rate it
The Aquarius "takes the B&B concept to another level", says Gemma Bowes in The Guardian. At Aquarius there are cow-hide rugs covering exposed beams, red leather chaise longues, free-standing baths and abstract art. There is even a "smart spa area, with slate tiles, a heated indoor pool under a huge curved glass ceiling" and sun loungers on an outdoor deck. And yet the B&B is still "a home rather than a hotel", with breakfast "artfully presented among exposed bricks and low lights".
The menu
Groot Vleeshuis at Groentenmarkt 7 is a "vast 15th-century butcher's hall", says Cook, that after a time as an indoor car park is now a "spectacular dining room and delicatessen, selling Flemish specialities".
The cost
A double room costs from €109, with breakfast e21pp.
To find out more, visit Aquariusboutiquehotel.be, or call 00 32 477 501 365.
What the travel writers are saying
If you can't decide where to go on holiday this summer, try hiring a houseboat for a bit of freedom. Lake Mead in Nevada, America, is "vast", with more than 500 miles of shoreline, "ranging from sandy beaches to sheer, multihued striated cliffs, with lots of canyons to hide in", says Robert Ryan in The Sunday Times. It is possible to fish, waterski and scuba-dive there. The house boats come complete with bedding, towels and deck barbecues. A boat sleeping eight costs from £330 a day, excluding fuel. See Foreverhouseboats.com.
The Buffalo Tours' houseboat on the River Kwai "looks like a thatched village dwelling that has broken the banks and floated downriver", says Ryan. This boat comes with a crew. The four-day trip costs from £360pp and includes jungle treks to waterfalls, elephant rides, cave explorations, kayaking and meetings with local tribes. The boat sleeps 12. See Buffalotours.com.
For something closer to home, try a run along the amazing network of navigable waterways and 4,000 lakes that lie between Berlin-Brandenburg and Mecklenburg in Germany. You will travel through wooded countryside and past historic towns. The Seemobils have swimming platforms and sun decks and sleep four to six people. A week's hire costs from £568, excluding fuel, with Das Seemobil. Call 00 49 30 81 866748 for more details.
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