Portinari Hotel, Bruges

Advantages: A good small and friendly hotel with excellent service. Great location too!
Disadvantages: Steep (very) stairs to bedrooms.

...During our recent trip to Belgium we stayed in Bruges. We had never stayed there before and, when planning the trip, didn’t know any hotels to base our decision on which to pick on. Our group was quite large (there were to be 17 of us in total) so we needed a decent sized place, but not in a huge and impersonal hotel. We also wanted to be well located in the centre of Bruges, but not too far away from the railway station (or at least easy to get to by public transport). So the criteria was small(ish), friendly, clean, good location, decent breakfast, good transport links and not too expensive. Were we asking too much? Our trip organiser (who was also in charge of transport) had a scout around and came up with the Hotel Nicolas. ~~~WHERE IS IT? The Hotel Nicolas can be found at 9 Niklaas Desparsstraat in the centre of Bruges... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Very Central, Attractive Listed Building, Good Facilities
Disadvantages: Part of a Chain and Past its Prime...

...In 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte was invited to stay at the 'Hotel du Commerce', Bruges, during an official visit to the city. He accepted the invitation. A superb triumphal staircase and a sequence of beautiful, 'Bonaparte halls' were especially commissioned within the then 200 year-old Hotel to mark the occasion. However, in what must surely have been a heartbreaking and insulting blow to all concerned, Napoleon cut short his official visit, and in the end he didn't even stay in Bruges at all. Today, nestled behind the winding and cobbled St.Jakobstraat, a quiet side street in Bruges' town centre, stands the old 'Hotel du Commerce', or to draw upon it its new and rather clumsy, official title, the Best Western Premier Hotel Navarra Brugge. It is a charming position for a hotel, just a brief stroll from Bruges' beautiful Market... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Luxury Location Comfort Service
Disadvantages: Cost

...A Beautiful hotel in a perfect location; central and just minutes away from the main sqaure. The hotel overlooks a very pretty canal and we had de-luxe rooms with canal views. Sumptuous rooms, plenty of space and every possible extra. Delicious breakfasts. Very warm, friendly and informal service which you would not expect in a hotel of this calibre; we were made to feel very welcome and special. Expensive but very well worth it; if you are going to spend two or three days walking round one of the loveliest cities in northern Europe, why not have a gorgeous room to retire to. No restaurant, but several first class dineries within five minutes walk, and a very late bar at the hotel on a cosy room with fireplace. Faultless.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful