De Barge Hotel (Bruges)

I like something a little bit different and out of the ordinary. When looking for accommodation for a night in Bruges in Belgium I stumbled across De Barge ,which is a hotel in an old converted canal barge and immediately was drawn to it. It looked very cosy, quirky and more importantly was within our budget. My instincts were right. I am not a seasoned traveler and a night in a hotel is a bit of a treat for me so I wanted it to be fairly special. It seemed to have decent enough reviews on travel websites and a colleague had coincidentally recently spent a night at De Barge and really sang its praises saying it was “the best hotel she had ever stayed at”. After this ...  Read the complete review

If you're around the same age as me then the words "De Barge" will hurl you back to the mid-80s and that awful pop song "Rhythm Of The Night". Fortunately the De Barge I'm reviewing here has far more to do with the rhythm of the canal than the night. I have a pal who works for Eurostar and she thrives on being given a travel challenge. Not one to disappoint, I challenged her last June to find me a cheap weekend break in Europe. No sooner said than done - she'd booked me 2 return tickets to Bruges in Belgium including two nights in a 3 star hotel - all for the princely sum of £200 inc. £200!! What's the catch? Well actually there ...  Read the complete review