I wrote this review because if you travel casually, that is, without a plan and just for the fun of it, you may sooner or later find yourself in some little European town that is neither a tourist trap nor a business center and need a room for the night.

That's what happened to us in the small Belgium city of Stavelot. Stavelot is about an hour South East of Brussels, so we could have driven to the big city and stayed in some fancier and more expensive hotel, but we like the countryside and had driven around the area all day. We picked the Hotel D' Orange because it was mentioned in one of our tourbooks as having an interesting history and a clever concierge, whom, buy the way, we never met or saw.

Nothing spectacular here. Modest accomodations. Reasonable prices. Creaky stairs and unlit hallways. The room was clean. The bed was comfortable. A double with bath for one night in September, 2006, was 92 Euros.

The hotel is on a side street and the area was quiet at night. We had to park our rented Mini Cooper close by the front of the hotel on the street, but this presented no problem. I called ahead froom a nearby phone booth to make sure they had a room and got an English-speaking person on the second try. They were very casual and welcomed us. The rest of the staff was courteous and pleasant.

Historically, the hotel goes back into at least the last century and there are may interesting photos of its development over the years under the same family ownership.

We had dinner in a nearby cafe and were treated well. It is worth noting that we spent more on dinner than on the room. Two turbot entrees, dessert and two drinks was 98.50 Euros. There are some tourist attractions in the area and the city is not far from Spa, but otherwise this is pretty much off the beaten path.

Having a headcold and not feeling great, we looked for a pharmacy in the morning and found one that provided antihystamine and throat lazenges for about 10 Euros. (I have added these little expenses to give the traveler some idea of what it costs for occassional items on the economy these days.)

Would I recommend you go? Not unless you just want to goof off for a few days, avoid the hassel of Brussels and not encounter any other Americans or Brits. That DOES have its advantages!

Have traveled extensively through Europe and their B&B's. Property was clean and had convenient parking. Rooms were nicely decorated and the rate was reasonable 55 euros. Breakfast was adequate and they have a nice early morning sitting room to enjoy coffee. The main drawback is we got ripped off with a telephone call to the U.S. from our room. I always ask prior to placing a call how much it will cost (estimate). I spoke with my wife for 2 minutes and my father left a voicemail. When we checked out after breakfast the gal at the front desk charged us 25 euros for the two calls. I know what they should cost approx. and 25 euros was not the answer. Pay in cash for a better room rate. Would I stay here again? Yes, but wouldn't make any telephone calls!!

-Shawn (Phoenix, AZ)