Recour ****

My friends and I only visited this marvellous hotel to eat in the restaurant as we were unaware of its existence when booking for our break in the area, but it was certainly an eye opener. The lounge was so relaxing and inviting, and the meal a most welcome surprise. The chef deserves recognition for providing such a memorable meal which was exquisitely presented and cooked, and made our last evening in the area one we shall never forget. From the various amuse-bouches to start with, right through to the delicious desserts, which were all set off with the most amazing handmade crockery - the whole thing a wonderful experience. Congratulations to all.

We found this hotel on booking.com and were pleased to receive the 50% discount for weekday stay. The old wooden spiral staircase was beautiful. Our room was luxurious and clean, complete with an oversized jacuzzi tub for two in the bathroom, the King Sized Bed was very comfortable, The Breakfast was a picture worth a thousand words! Absolutely the Finest Continental Breakfast Quality, Variety of Choices, and Environment we found in our 4 country tour, right here at Hotel Recour. The location was convenient to find in Central Poperinge, and made walking to Talbot House, The NATIONAL HOP MUSEUM, The Old Fiddler Pub for dinner (www.theoldfiddler.be), and around the town easy. It is also well located for a simple drive to nearby St. Bernardus & Van Eecke Breweries in Watou, and north to In De Vrede Westvletern Claustrum. The bowl of Hops in the Lobby added to the ambience, and it was nice to get a nightcap served to us in the lobby/living room and be able to charge it to our room. We heard other guests raving about the fine dining experience they had in the Pegasus Restaurant, as they went on and on about the food. We may have to save up for such an experience, on our next trip to Poperinge.

We found this hotel through a brochure called Quality Lodgings (qlhotels.com) that we picked up in Auberge du Pecheur (I've also reviewed this auberge). Recour's website lists all the available rooms and although we missed out on the 50% discounted week rate, they kindly slightly discounted our room on the Friday night in the main part of the hotel (but did not include breakfast). At these prices we expected a lot of bang for our bucks but our expectations were not fulfilled. The hotel reception is tucked away in a corner out of sight and on our arrival we spent a few minutes wandering the, admittably beautiful public rooms with their chandeliers, looking for someone to check us in. Our room was on the 2nd floor, in the eaves (there is a lift) and was delightful. Full of character, it had an enormous bed, superb bed linen, nice pillows, great mattress. Our night's sleep was excellent. A glass door from the bedroom/sitting room led into a large bathroom with free-standing bath, his and her sinks and toilet tucked around the corner out of sight (although right opposite a full length mirror which was the only jarring thing about the room). Wifi did not reach to the bedroom and was only available in the public areas - which for an hotel of this quality is, to my mind, quite a failing. Although they provided alcohol in the room's minibar, a kettle and tea making facilities would have been of much more use to us. We thought the prices for dinner very high and so went into Poperinge centre. I grant you that the quality of our meal would have been nowhere near that of the Recour's cuisine, but we had a pleasant meal, sitting on the square watching the locals promenade and it was such a lovely, autumn evening. Just a tip: If you cannot find enough electrical points to charge all your various phones/computers, look again because they may have been painted over in the same colour as the wall paper and hidden behind furniture.

I booked friends into this hotel on the recommendation that it was one of the two best in the area. It is for food but I was disappointed with what they got in regard to accommodation for the price they were paying. They were in the old building which had an slight air of faded chicness. They had a luxurious large bathroom but the bedroom had no carpet, an old fashioned tv and a recorder that didn't work, It was cramped - the only slightly redeeming feature was a balcony they could sit out on looking into a public car park but it was also beside the exposed gangway to the annex where breakfast was taken each morning. Anyone passing on it spoke to them. They enjoyed their breakfasts. The hotel's lunches were best value for a gastronomic taster but the price of their evening meals is for those who have business expenses. Not for everyday eating.