I just spent two nights in this 16th century guesthouse in Brugge. I think it was recommended in the Gallivanter's Guide or some such publication.

Bonifacius is right in the centre of Brugge, almost next to one of its churches. It is in a beautiful building and looks and feels like someone's private home. There are only three guest rooms. The most expensive of these would be the recommended option as it offers views over the canals and the church. The other two rooms (we had the middle option) offer a view over a side street. Not unpleasant, but not spectacular.

There is a gorgeous public living room with a fireplace, and lovely small windows that look out over the canal, comfortable seating, a computer, free tea (several loose leaf teas) and coffee/cakes throughout the day. There is also a stunning little rooftop terrace which we made use of to eat our take-away salads in the evening (which you can get from Quatre Mains, a 10-minute walk away).

Our room was very pretty. It did have two downsides - because this is an old buidling, the shape of the room is awkward and there is a lot of lost space. We had a 'seating area' that faced a wall and that subsequently we never used. The second downside, and this is a biggie, is that the house if very noisy. The wooden floors mean that you can hear every footstep other people take. We got up early but if we had not, we would have been frustrated with our next door neighbour's kids running around, sounding as if they were in our room. The more expensive room at the front would probably have this problem a little bit less.

The rooms are pretty in a classical style but with mod cons such as an LCD TV, good airconditioning, and excellent bathrooms (ours had a jacuzzi and a separate shower). The renovation of the rooms into hotel rooms was well done, we felt. There was also a minibar with free beer and softdrinks.

Hospitality is offered by the owner who also manages the nearby larger 't Pandje. There were some pre-departure issues to do with a lack of replies to enquiries etc but on arrival these were graciously resolved. The owner does a great job looking after her customers and offers a very personalised and professional service.

Breakfast was excellent with very good pastries, excellent juice, eggs cooked to order, fruit salad, cheeses, and lots more.

Overall we really enjoyed our stay here. It was special to be in such a beautiful old building and we felt we got value for our money. If you are a late riser you might be concerned about the noise and I would try to book the front room suite in that case. We give this place a firm thumbs up and would ourselves come back here in the case of a return visit to Brugge.

A couple of other Brugge observations:
- we did not find de Karmeliet worth 3 Michelin stars, not even 2. Have the E60 euro lunch special if you must but don't dine there.
- food in Brugge in general is very expensive. We lunched out and had dinner on the rooftop terrace, which was more fun anyway.
- we had lunch at the Kafedraal, which has a lovely garden. The food was quite good, but espensive.
- as for chocolate, I was not nearly as impressed as I was in Paris. My favourite after extensive sampling was Van Oost, which was more expensive but very good.
- in Gent we ate at Passion. What can I say - avoid this place.

We loved Brugge and highly recommend it!