I booked two nights for Friday 18 and Saturday 19th August 2006 for a room at De Vriese Bed and Breakfast, Predikherenstraat, 40, Bruges. I was advised that the room is without a bathroom, which is reflected in the price of 50 euro per night including breakfast. I was not happy to find out on the day a) that the shared shower was two floors down from my room, b) the poor standard of cleanliness – there was a strong bad smell in the shower room and in both toilets, probably due to bad drainage and damp problems. C) there were dead flies on the floor of the toilet in the basement near the shower room.

To say the least, the idea of going to the toilet and having a shower was disgusting. I explained to my hostess that I did not wish to stay for the following night because of the problems above. She first tried to sell me another room at 60 euro with en suite bathrooms, but it was right next to the street – the street is very busy with trucks, motorbikes and cars. She was then very rude and said she does not at all approve of my complaint. She eventually asked to be paid upfront for the first night which I agreed to do. Their website and the official toursit guide clearly say that they accept visa. This was not the case, as she said that she will not take a visa payment for one night. It was not very nice really.

And if you are a light sleeper, forget it. The room I was in was on a corner of two streets just right next to the canal. The view was fabulous, the sleep resltess. I realised only afterwards that the brown dotted roads on the bruges map are the main roads. Avoid at all cost if you don't like trucks in your dreams.

Altogether, fine if you don't mind noise and smell and inconvenient loos, but unfortunately, at 50 euro with all this it is a bit on the expensive side. On the upside, you get a large room with three large windows with exceptional views of the canal, breakfast was fine, egg, vache qui rit portion cheese, coffee from a flask. There was also a kitchen sink and some cuttlery in the room but no cooking facilities. NB I was not sure the sheets were clean.

Now, you can't say you did not know.