Some of the readers of this blog may be familiar with the experience of continental ’boutique’ hotels. We are more used to the Travel Lodge-standard, or if we’re pushing the boat out, a Premier Inn! However, for four nights we’re staying in Hotel d’Orangerie, a very smart and ‘chi, chi’ little establishment tucked between the old town of Maastricht and the Mass river. There is a stone set into the wall in our room that has ‘1783’ engraved into it – I’m pleased to report that the room has been upgraded since then, with nice fluffy towels, plump bedding and stylish decor. We have a glimpse of the little courtyard garden from our window and as we descend the two flights to reception we pass lovely stained glass windows and tall dishes filled with various sweets. Unfortunately, I picked what I thought was a chocolate sweet last night – only to discover it has the unusua,l (and rather disgusting) flavour combination of salted aniseed – I think I’ll go easy on those!