De Tassche - Bruges, Belgium 

If you are looking for luxury this is not the place to stay -at best this hotel can be described as basic - certainly not worth the ?100 a night they charge. Although it is ideally located for central Bruges it has very little else going for it. On the positive side, the bathrooms were clean (if a little small) and the beds were clean. On the negative side, the rooms are shabby, the toilet roll holder fell off the wall the first time we used it, the coffee cups were plastic disposable ones, the top of the wardrobe was thick with dust, and the hairdryer didn't work. The reception staff were friendly but not particularly efficient. The trip from reception up to the room along a long dull corridor didn't make you feel excited about what was awaiting you in your room - you kind of new it was going to be nothing to write home about. Breakfast was ok - nothing special but perfectly adequate with a reasonable amount of choice. Finally, the noise was awful, there is no soundproofing whatsoever. We had the pleasure of listening to people doing all kinds of interesting things including being able to hear their conversations, hear which tv programmes they were watching, we knew what they were doing on the toilet, and in the bedroom! It was not fun. It wasn't the worst hotel I've ever stayed in - but it was a long way off the best!!