Being on the water; Cosy, clean room with large comfortable bed; Inclusive delicious breakfast; Great welcome from host Sven; Pleasant walk into the centre across the nearby bridge and taking in the atmosphere by the canals and browsing the book and flower markets on a sunny Sunday morning; Meeting friendly local people.

Not at all the fault of the host but the area had been just been declared a low emission zone from the week preceding our stay and also the on-street parking very close to the boat was no longer available for longer than 5 hours. But it was only about a 10-minute walk to the railway station car park which was 18 euros for 24 hours. I would advise going straight to this car par, or, if wanting to drop luggage first, take your all your relevant car documents with you to enable you to register with the low emission zone within the recommended 24 hours.

The Boatel is an excellent value. it is not a luxury hotel, but the value there is amazing. Captain Sven is a great host and will go out of his way to make you feel at home. The rooms are simple but clean and comfortable. It is a unique experience to be able to stay on a boat on the canal and I really enjoyed it. The location is great, a quick walk to all the sights in Gent. The breakfast is better than hotels that charge two or three times as much. A great value overall, very high quality.

Great location, spotlessly clean, lovely breakfast, spacious room and of course an awesome host who was happy to help us in every way.

Going home 😢

great location, living on boat, super clean, friendly host

Clean, comfortable bed, excellent breakfast

Friendly and helpful host. Being able to relax on deck.

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beautiful hotel Sven the host was a pleasure to stay with nice breakfast good location 15 mins walk to city centre very comfortable large bed

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Room literally in a boat, amazing experience, super close to the city center of Gand (wonderful city by the way). The owner treated us in the best way possible, welcoming and kind! Recommend it!

A brilliant experience! So unique, and really friendly and well run. Loved watching the sunset from my port window and seeing the ducks right outside in the morning. Lovely outdoor seating area on the terrace too. Great breakfasts.

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It's never been an experience to live on a boat - and it is a great experience now! Welcoming and very helpful hotel owner, pleasant room with real ship windows; great breakfast with the best quality products from organic farms, very close to the Old Town, and the last but not the least - very good Wifi connection.

Fantastic host and location

Amazing host. Feel like home

Owner/manager extremely friendly, and superb breakfast.

The Boatel was a great experience. The room and entire boat was spotless and comfortable. Sven was an great host and the breakfast was excellent. I would highly recommend staying here if you are in Ghent --a different type of hotel experience that is definitely not cookie cutter.

Because of the stairs I would not recommend it for people who have trouble climbing stairs. Otherwise, everything else was excellent.

It’s a maximum of a 20 minute walk to any of the regular sites. Also, the boat is in an nice quite location away from the regular tourist sites. The owner, Sven, refurbished the boat 20 years ago, and he is doing this as a passion and you can feel his love for it. And he was very helpful when we struggled from figure out the parking

Since it’s a boat, don’t take a lot of luggage.

We had the most relaxing stay. The rooms were spotless and cosy to return to in the crisp weather and we both slept soundly. Sven was the perfect host and provided a wonderful breakfast each morning. We also loved the ducks each morning just outside our window 😊

Spacious pleasant room with a nice view of the river. Good quiet location just outside the busier centre city. Captain Sven was friendly and helpful, providing a guidebook and a map with a great walking tour. The breakfast had so many choices, perfect to start off a long day of walking around Ghent. The WiFi was really good too. Would be happy to stay here again.

great location, lovely boatel, comfortable beds, very nice owner.

This was one of the most interesting and beautiful locations I have stayed lately. It has in it the soul of the place providing a beautiful experience. The beds were comfy, the place was clean, and the view.. if you add the family of ducks and birds that will literally feed from your hand.. The place was amazing. And on top of that the owner of the place, with his unique sense of humor and always trying to help attitude, made our stay in Gent the perfect one day experience.

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