ANSWERED PRAYERS

Martin’s Patershof in Mechelen, Belgium, just outside Brussels, is a former house of worship that’s been converted into a hotel. Its history stretches back to 1231, when the Friar Minors, a Franciscan order, was established in the town.

They built the church and cloister in the late 18th century but sold it in the 1990s, at which time it was deconsecrated and turned into a hotel.

All the rooms have been wonderfully incorporated into the original structure, so now guests come and go amid arched ceilings, imposing pillars, and stained-glass windows in their rooms. Doubles from à144. ● See martinshotels.com.