Ridderspoor Holiday Flats

My partner and I booked a nights stay at 18 Ridderstraat Apartment for Sat 11th December for us and our 11 month old son. We were super excited to be visiting Bruges for the first time and exploring the Christmas market and surroundings. However, with the rising cases of Covid once again and tighter restrictions it wasn’t worth the risk of travelling to Bruges especially with a young infant. We Completely understand that such private rental businesses that rely on tourism have been badly affected by covid but as soon as we booked the apartment in a matter of a few hours we changed our minds and immediately contacted the host for a quick refund. We thought this would be ok as it was a matter of hours since the booking was made with plenty of time before our trip was to be scheduled. Unfortunately the host was impossible to contact so we had to go through Airb&b several times to which our offer of a refund was declined. We understand that a refund may not be agreed due to booking policies etc but to be refused the option to move our dates to later on in the year is unfair. I find it disgusting that the host has greedily taken our money for a nights stay that we were unable to attend due to Covid restrictions and has not been willing to compromise with another date in the future- surely this can’t be allowed and we as a customer have rights! We do not have money to waste like that especially with a young family and Christmas approaching and just feel it’s so unfair that hosts can get away with not allowing refunds or change of dates, whilst being so rude with their correspondence. I don't expect to get anything out from our wasted booking but at least to let others be aware when booking such apartments via sites like Airb&b.

This is our third trip to these apartments. The first time was quite amazing, the second trip we had no hot water but that was fixed quite quickly and this being the 3rd time, after a 2 year gap we seem to have the same issue of no hot water. We didn’t think this would be a problem until after we had paid and were then told that no plumber would be coming out to do any repairs and if we call the owner, he would arrange somewhere for us to shower. The attitude of the management / ownership seems to have changed very much for the worse since our first visit. There are so many fabulous hotels in Bruges, we’ll be staying in one of those for our next trip.

Booked 4 nights accommodation in the first floor apartment. The building is situated on a quiet street, but just a short walk from the Markt and numerous restaurants. Also, an excellent location for exploring the canals. The apartment itself is perfect for a couple - whilst the kitchen is fairly small it had everything I needed. The bathroom is huge - bigger than some bedrooms I’ve stayed in. The bedroom itself is large, with comfy bed, sofa and tv. There is also the bonus of a small balcony with table and chairs - perfect for breakfast ‘al fresco’ The stairs to the apartment are narrow and steep, which might be an issue for anyone with mobility issues. Similarly, the combined bath/shower might be a slight problem. Check in very easy. I’ll be back P.S The floorboards are creaky :)