Welcome to Hotel Ter Driezen in the charming little town of Turnhout, Belgium.
I actually forgot to take a photo of the facade of this four-star hotel so I had to resort to grabbing the above photo from their website. Don’t you just love small European hotels? They’re so understated and quaint.
Let’s step inside into the foyer, shall we?
The hotel building, dating back to the 18th century, is steeped in history. Prior to being converted into a hotel, it used to be the official residence of the town mayor.
If not for the engraving, I’d have thought the heavy brass key holder dates back from the 18th century, as well…
We were given a room in the 1st floor (that’s 2nd floor to you, my Filipino readers). The owner was kind enough to help carry my bag up the wooden flight of stairs. That’s the one thing you have to consider if you’re staying in a small European hotel — they don’t usually have lifts.
And yes, my Filipino readers, that’s a small figurine of the Santo Niño you see near the banister on the left hand side. I only found out later on (thanks to Wikipedia) that some 3/4 of Belgium’s population are Roman Catholic.
The landing looked so cozy I stood rooted for a few minutes on the spot where I took this photo.
We were told that no two rooms are alike in Ter Driezen. So this room that we got is not representative of the other rooms. That’s an antique wardrobe in the corner and a boarded up fireplace behind the chair. Writing table cum tv stand with LCD flatscreen TV not shown in the photo.
Unfortunately, I was too tired that day to ask to see the other rooms. In fact, to prove to you just how tired I was, I didn’t even bother asking to have our room changed. I mean, I was with my husband and they gave us twin beds?!
By the way, it was a relief to find out that the toilets have been renovated to include 21st century plumbing and facilities.
Breakfast the next morning was in this beautiful dining room that overlooks a small garden.
The setting was so romantic. For a breakfast. I mean, when people say ‘romantic’, I always associate it with dinner, don’t you?
They served the most lovely and moist apple cake which I had second
helpings of. Okay, okay, maybe I had thirds. Or maybe even fourths. It
was that nice 
After breakfast, we immediately checked out as we had to rush to a meeting (and continue our journey to Antwerp by train afterwards). While DH settled the bill, I snapped a few photos of the hotel’s delightful drawing room.
As of this writing, Ter Driezen’s room rates start from €112 per night for a single room, from €157 for a double. Room rates include breakfast and taxes, as well as free use of the hotel’s wireless internet facilities.
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Hotel Ter Driezen
Herentalsstraat 18
B-2300 Turnhout
Belgium
Tel: +32(0)14 41 87 57
Fax: +32(0)14 42 03 10
Email: info@ter-driezen.be