Hotel Donny - De Panne - Belgium
Relaxing - Great Food - Interesting Location
The Hotel Donny is a few short miles from the French-Belgium border in De Panne. Northern Belgium. A smart family-owned Hotel that has everything you need for a relaxing self-contained break or a base from which to explore the region.
The Hotel Donny has an on-site wellness facility including a spa, pool, gym and access to treatments such as massage. The restaurant serves clean, fresh food that would accommodate all tastes. Staff are quietly discreet, relaxed and professional. While the hotel seemed to have a majority of non-English speaking guests, language was not a problem. My attempts at French were met with a quiet knowing smile and charm from the staff who then responded in faultless English. Upon learning I was trying to improve my French language skills they immediately reverted to French but slowed the tempo down to accommodate my efforts. The arrival of Dutch guests at the same time and of course the staff conversed in that language without hesitation.
Understated calmness and attention to getting it right make the Hotel Donny a location where you could easily spend a few days on-site using the facilities, eating and drinking while not needing to anywhere else. However as good as the Hotel Donny is, it would be a shame not to see De Panne and ride the 67km tram that runs along the coast.
De Panne itself is clean, well designed and has a wide selection of places to eat and drink. You do not spend a lot to eat well, Locals appear to gather in the De Panne cafes and restaurants, it was not all tourists. There is a tram stop right outside the Hotel Donny. Once you have parked your car in the Hotel Car Park you do not need to use it again to explore the area. The Belgians seem to have achieved what we British sometimes struggle with. There are cycle lanes that are separate from other traffic, the tram is more convenient than driving a car and the Police while armed and making themselves visible also ride bikes and appear to patrol and have an eye on things. De Panne is well worth exploring and the long wide beaches are ideal for getting some space. Used by residents for a multitude of outdoor activities they are so big you can easily be by yourself undisturbed.
You can drive around the area, parking is reasonable and the roads are clearly laid out, however with the tram you just do not need to. Driving becomes rather pointless. The tram is safe, cheap and efficient. It runs along the North Belgium coast traversing interesting towns and villages. The planners of Northern Belgium have not gone all anti-car, they just provided a more attractive alternative.
The Hotel Donny has a restaurant that serves meals to a much higher standard than you might expect. The food is modern and fresh and the menu caters for all tastes. Portions are generous and service impeccable. The Hotel Donny promotes itself as family-friendly and it certainly is. There is a children's menu but do not expect clowns and balloons. My own two 12-year-olds found themselves being treated as intelligent young people by the Hotel staff. Upon confirming they always ate from the adult menu the servers addressed them in a way to discuss what they might enjoy from the menu and also perhaps what they may not. It was an example of understated professionalism that ran through the Hotel Donny.
The hotel rooms are a good size and facilities such as towels and washing items are readily available. Guests are encouraged to be environmentally aware of the impact of not creating washing where it is not needed, however, if you want extra towels for use in the wellness centre they appear within seconds of being requested.
The Hotel Donny would be a good venue for the business traveller. It has everything you need and De Panne has excellent connections to get you to Brussels or other major Belgium cities if you need to be there.
We will provide more information about De Panne and the Hotel Donny in future articles, however do not take our word, visit it yourself - details below:
https://www.hoteldonny.com/en/contact-us-send-us-a-message.html?
