Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent
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Hotel Details
Location
Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent · Ghent, Belgium
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Key Highlights
- ✓Service & Staff: The staff receives exceptional ratings for their friendliness, helpfulness, and attentiveness, going "above and beyond" to ensure a memorable stay.
- ✓Variety: Options range from "Not-so-Standard" rooms (20 sq m) to spacious suites (35-37 sq m) and penthouse rooms, some offering stunning city views or large private terraces.
- ✓The service at Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent is consistently highlighted as exceptional.
- ✓Proactive Assistance: Staff are noted for providing excellent restaurant suggestions and going "above and beyond" to ensure a memorable stay, even assisting with room changes when requested.
- ✓Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent is generally considered to offer excellent value for money.
Expert Review: Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent
Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent, a Michelin Key Selected property, consistently receives high praise for its vibrant atmosphere, chic design, and prime location in the heart of Ghent. It's lauded as a hip hotspot offering a unique and luxurious experience for both travelers and locals.
1. Overall Rating & Sentiment
The general consensus for Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent is overwhelmingly positive, with an impressive overall rating of 8.9 on Agoda and numerous "Exceptional" and "Wonderful" ratings on Booking.com. Guests frequently describe their stays as stellar, amazing, and great in every way, highlighting a feeling of comfort and satisfaction.
2. Key Highlights
Guests consistently rave about several aspects of Yalo:
- Location: The hotel's central position is a major draw, placing guests within very short walking distance of Ghent's main attractions, restaurants, and shops.
- Design & Vibe: Yalo is celebrated for its modern, chic, and trendy design, described as having a lively, cosmopolitan, and even "rock 'n' roll" feel. The open-plan bar and restaurant area is particularly popular for its vibrant ambiance.
- Service & Staff: The staff receives exceptional ratings for their friendliness, helpfulness, and attentiveness, going "above and beyond" to ensure a memorable stay.
- Amenities:
- Rooftop Bar: The stunning rooftop bar, open from April to August depending on weather, offers breathtaking panoramic views of the city, including landmarks like the De Krook library and the Boekentoren university library.
- On-site Parking: The convenient underground car park is a significant advantage, especially in a city center location.
- Fitness Room: A well-equipped fitness center is available for guests.
3. Room Quality
Yalo offers 92 thoughtfully designed rooms that blend comfort and modern aesthetics with an "extra touch of rock-'n-roll."
- Comfort & Design: Rooms are well-appointed, clean, and feature luxurious XL box-spring beds with toppers, wooden parquet floors, and stylish design furniture. Guests frequently comment on the comfort of the beds.
- Amenities: Each room is equipped with a Nespresso machine, Chromecast TV or flat-screen smart TV, vintage USB-radio or vinyl player, minibar with Nobel wine, and walk-in rain showers with Grown Alchemist care products.
- Variety: Options range from "Not-so-Standard" rooms (20 sq m) to spacious suites (35-37 sq m) and penthouse rooms, some offering stunning city views or large private terraces.
- Soundproofing: Rooms include soundproofing for a pleasant stay, though some guests noted occasional tram noise outside, which reportedly stops at night.
4. Dining Experience
The hotel's restaurant and bar are popular with both guests and locals.
- Restaurant (Chef Jasper Maatman/Sam d'Huyvetter): The restaurant, led by chef Jasper Maatman (and previously Sam d'Huyvetter), is highly regarded, serving "tasty food" and "delicious sharing dishes" with a focus on local, fresh, and responsibly produced ingredients. The dinner menu features Mediterranean-inspired dishes, including grilled meat and seafood.
- Breakfast: An extensive and delightful breakfast buffet is available, featuring a variety of local, fresh, and artisan products, including pastries from The Bakery of Joost Arijs, Callas jams, fine cheeses, charcuterie, and coffee from Koffiebranderij Vandekerckhove. Both cold and hot à la minute dishes are offered. Breakfast costs €32 and reservations are recommended, especially on weekends.
- Bar: The luxurious cocktail and wine bar is described as vibrant and a great place for people-watching.
5. Service & Staff
The service at Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent is consistently highlighted as exceptional.
- Friendly and Helpful: Guests frequently commend the staff for being very friendly, helpful, attentive, and pleasant.
- Proactive Assistance: Staff are noted for providing excellent restaurant suggestions and going "above and beyond" to ensure a memorable stay, even assisting with room changes when requested.
- Efficiency: Some staff members, particularly in the restaurant/bar, have been praised for being super friendly and efficient.
6. Location & Accessibility
Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent boasts a superb, central location in the Brabantdam area, just east of the city center.
- Walkability: It's "smack dab in the middle of everything Ghent has to offer," with restaurants, shops, and major sights like Gravensteen Castle, St Michael's Bridge, and the Belfry of Ghent within very short walking distance.
- Transport: The hotel is easily accessible by car via Gent Zuid and has its own underground parking. A tram from the train station is also a convenient option. It's approximately a 59-minute drive from Brussels Airport (BRU). The hotel is located in a low emission zone.
7. Value & Pricing
Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel Gent is generally considered to offer excellent value for money.
- Affordable Luxury: With an average room price around $205, it provides an upscale experience at a surprisingly affordable rate compared to the average hotel room price in Ghent ($147).
- Price Range: Recent bookings on KAYAK showed prices between $186, while other sources indicate starting prices from approximately $133-$135 for a 1-night stay for two adults. Offers such as "Young & Dine" and "The Ultimate Date Night" provide specific dining and stay packages.
8. Common Complaints
While overwhelmingly positive, some minor recurring issues have been mentioned:
- Breakfast Buffet Collection: One guest noted that breakfast buffet collection started before the advertised closing time of 11 AM.
- Room Noise: Some rooms facing the street can experience noise from passing trams, though guests also noted that trams stop at night.
- Water Pressure: A comment mentioned low water pressure in the shower.
- Cleaning Issues: In a few instances, guests reported rooms being dusty or not cleaned properly upon arrival, or issues like a misaligned clock or a missing hairdryer sleeve.
- Bathroom Design: One family found the textured glass wall in their family room's bathroom uncomfortable for privacy with teenagers.
- Food and Drink Pricing: Some guests found the prices for food and drinks to be high.
Sources
Points to Consider
- •While overwhelmingly positive, some minor recurring issues have been mentioned:
- •Cleaning Issues: In a few instances, guests reported rooms being dusty or not cleaned properly upon arrival, or issues like a misaligned clock or a missing hairdryer sleeve.
Google Reviews
1,537 reviews
Recent Guest Reviews
Flo
We visited for dinner as a family and had a mixed experience. The starters were truly excellent — especially the oysters, the black truffle flammkuchen, and the pork belly. They were well prepared, flavorful, and set high expectations for the rest of the meal. Unfortunately, the main courses did not meet the same standard. The lamb tajine was overly sour for our taste, the lamb meatballs were qu...
Freya Rawlins
I visited Yalo Hotel for breakfast with my husband and our 18 month old after a recommendation from our Airbnb host. The restaurant is gorgeous and the food offering in the buffet was amazing. We had a long slow breakfast and tried lots that the buffet had to offer - my personal favourite was the shakshuka, the praline croissants, but just the bread and butter was delicious too! We came on a Frida...
Lissa Blahnik
I stayed here for 2 nights in November. From the moment I walked through the door, the hospitality was evident- very friendly and helpful. Check in process was quick and easy. The room is the standard European size. The bed was very comfortable and the room was equipped with coffee, hot water kettle and a cool retro record player and records! (Unfortunately I didn’t get to try it). The hotel is mo...
Miguel P.C.
A very beautiful hotel in the middle of Ghent. Nice room, clean and with enough space. The shower was great very spacious and with plenty of hot water. Service was fast and kind. Breakfast was really nice. I enjoyed my stay. I have to come back but on holidays.
Jeremy Low
Stayed for several days in one of the larger rooms, which was clean and modern. My reservation didn't include breakfast, and I didn't opt in or eat breakfast once throughout my stay, but I was strangely charged for breakfast several days after checking out. Otherwise I would have liked to rate this higher.
Irma Zandl
This review is strictly for the public spaces e.g. lobby seating, bar, restaurant, the shop in the lobby etc. I did not stay here but based on what we saw when we dropped in to check it out, this hotel is perfect for people traveling to Ghent on business. Lots of meeting rooms, spacious lobby areas to work or meet up in. The vibe and ambiance is amazing.
Marriott
