17/08/2012
Just spent the last couple of nights in marK's excellent B&B accommodation on the edge of Poperinge (15 mins stroll into town). Nothing but praise for his friendly, flexible and accommodating approach.
4 of us shared the open plan apartment on the top floor of the two storey house - it's bright and clean with loads of comfy seating throughout; a double bedroom and en suite bath/shower room (great shower with loads of hot water, but the toilet is downstairs) at one end, a spacious lounge/dining area leading on to couple of sofa beds at the other end, and doors to a large balcony at the front of the building. As a family this meant that we chose to sacrifice the comfier double bed to the kids in order to be able to shut the door on the sleeping darlings and enjoy a couple of hours to ourselves in the lounge and on the balcony. The sofa bed turned out to be fine ;0) The TV offers local channels and there was also a Playstation & games available, along with a selection of board games & comics. There's also an honesty fridge downstairs containing beer and fizz, and there was no problem with our stashing some water and soft drinks into it for the following day. There were even bug screens on the windows to allow a mosquito-free breeze, something I wish I saw more of in rental accommodation.
Breakfast was plentiful and served at our choice of time (later the first day, early the second to catch the tunnel back home), with good coffee & tea, lots of choice of fresh bread and fruit, and on one morning, fresh apple & pear juice from marK's garden. The lovely garden is well worth a mention too - there's a tennis court and inflatable splash pool as well, both of which we particular enjoyed use of in the sunny August weather.
To be honest, I'd found this place after finding most other local hotels and B&B's booked up, and was slightly concerned at the lack of any tripadvisor reviews. I shouldn't have worried. Our 2 nights there were excellent, marK was a wealth of friendly and helpful information and an accommodating but in no way overbearing host, and the Hop Inn proved to be an brilliant base for exploring Poperinge & Ieper. It's less than an hour from the tunnel, too. We'll be back, and when we are, we'll definitely stay there again.
B&B Hop Inn