Hello,

I'm going to accompany my husband on a 7 night business trip to Gent the first week of September. I've read rave reviews on this site about the Hotel Erasmus but they are all quite old. I have a reservation there at 99euros per night for one of the standard rooms. I also reserved a room at the Cours St George for 115 per night. The rooms look nicer at the CSG to me as they remodeled last year I believe. It was also very easy to book as it's a Best Western and I was able to utilize a AAA discount. I read a recent review of Erasmus on another sight (July, '04) and the only complaint was the bathtub only/no shower situation in that particular room. Any thoughts, advice on the hotels or the city in general?

Thanks!

oaklandfan: You can't compare Erasmus with a recently renovated hotel. The attraction of the Erasmus is its old world charm. If you want modern facilities, go with your alternative choice. Ours was very large double with table and chairs, a sitting area with sofa and side chairs and TV, big enough to be a living room and we did have a bath/shower. We had a view of the formal garden from our window. The breakfast room was beautiful, again, in an old world way. We loved it. Its location is great, We would stay there again. Have a great trip.

Thanks for your input, I'll stick with Erasmus.

Both the Erasmus and the Cour St. Georges are 1* hotels, their quality level should be about the same. Obviously you can't expect lots of luxury.
FYI, the Cour St. Georges is older than Erasmus, it dates back from 1228 ... (and it looks more attractive to me than the Erasmus!).

I think you should also consider one of the many lovely B&B places in Ghent:

http://www.bedandbreakfast-gent.be/

Or how about this hotel, in an old monastry:

http://www.monasterium.be/

Whatever place you end up staying, you'll love Ghent. It is so lovely, St. Bavo's Cathedral (the priceless triptych by Jan van Eyck "the Mystic Lamb" is located here). But the 13th Cent. Castle Gravensteen, smack dab in the city center is awesome-complete with a moat and ramparts! This was the castle for the counts of Flanders-you can climb to the top of the ramparts and get a lovely view of the city, or take a horse-drawn carriage ride over the cobblestone streets, if you prefer. There are many lovely canal-side restaurant/bars, which are hopping day and night, and the people are very friendly as well. It's one of my favorite places in Europe.