We have just returned from a long weekend staying at the Hotel Auberge St. Pol. This was a lovely little hotel, nestling in the lovely neighbourhood and mansions of Heist.

Although the hotel was a walk-in advert for Scapa Sports, we found the hotel was just what we needed for a short break. The hotel room was clean and spacious and we had a ground floor room with a small terrace, with a small garden beyond which we were told we couldn't use. Although we found the rooms quite warm in the night, the beds were comfy, and we left the patio door open during the night.

The only thing letting the room down was the bathroom and also the toilets off reception - the tiles seem to have been stuck in a retro 70's era. Although there was lots of fresh, clean, large towels and hot water - the main thing.

For a small hotel, the breakfast had everything you required and the buffet was regularly topped up. The bar closed at 11 pm, which was a bit of a disappointment when we returned to the hotel on the Saturday night for a night-cap.

We were informed by the manager on arrival of the facilities in the area and what to do and shown a location map of how to get around. The manager was very friendly and helpful at all times and appeared to be running the hotel on his own, most of the time. We were also told that from 2 pm the rooms would be cleaned, which normally you don't get informed about when staying in a hotel.

We parked our car up for most of the time in the hotel car park and did the 15 min or so walk, though the lovely neighbourhood of mansions to die-for, into the centre of town - although by evening we were very tired and drove into town, finding parking not a problem after 7 pm.

Although the weather did let our mini-break down, we enjoyed an afternoon at Brugge (around 30 mins travel by car) one day and Ghent (around 50 mins by car) the next.

We explored all the exclusive boutiques and galleries in Knokke, along the promenade as well as on the high streets.

Across the road from our hotel was the Butterfly Garden and just beyond that was the lovely Zwin Nature Reserve where we took a lovely long morning walk (in between the heavy showers) back to the beach front.

For a short break away, this was just ideal for our needs and hopefully, we will return.