by Antony Mason, The Telegraph, November 14, 2017
An insider's guide to the best luxury hotels in Bruges, for historic and contemporary interiors, sumptuous spas and great views.
Hotel Dukes' Palace Bruges, Belgium
9Telegraph expert rating
This is the only five-star hotel in Bruges. You might think it almost too grand for the little city, but the relaxed, professional polish of staff, pampering attention to detail and central location make this a special place to stay, and at prices that are often surprisingly affordable. The building was formerly a convent, rebuilt in neogothic style in the 1880s and now carefully refurbished in a scheme that mixes modern comfort with historic legacy. A wellness centre offers a gym and spa that includes a sauna, steam room, salt wall and massage suites. Read expert review. From £136per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Hotel Van Cleef Bruges, Belgium
9Telegraph expert rating
There is no other place to stay in Bruges quite like this: a small luxury boutique hotel in a neoclassical mansion with large terrace overlooking a pretty stretch of canal. Family-owned and managed, and designed with exquisite attention to detail; at once gloriously palatial yet intimate. The ample public rooms are decorated in elegant and comfortable country-house style, enlivened by striking contemporary art and fabrics – the work of interior designer Pascale Vanhaecke-Marcantuoni, who, with her husband Frederik, has made Hotel Van Cleef very much a personal project. Read expert review. From £155per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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The Pand Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
The Pand is a well-established boutique hotel of great comfort and charm, occupying a grand former town house. The property has been beautifully refurbished and stands in a quiet street close to everywhere you want to be in Bruges. In short, it is a wonderful place to stay. The intimate interior is redolent of the past, with a pine-panelled library/lounge featuring an open fire, antiques and curios, and old wooden floors – and an overall decor threaded with a comfortable, classic elegance. Read expert review. From £129per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Hotel De Orangerie Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
Romantic, sumptuous, historic; de Orangerie is one of a handful of small hotels in the heart of Bruges that established the city’s reputation for being not just a place to visit, but somewhere to stay and linger in pampered luxury. There is a theatrical opulence to the entrance, with a lobby swathed in fabric, but this soon melts into the old-world grandeur of the wood-panelled breakfast/tea room and adjacent lounge. Elsewhere the style could be called English Country Manor: light, floral and agreeably rambling (the building started life as a 15th-century convent). Read expert review. From £114per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Hotel De Tuilerieen Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
David Hockney, Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell, Brian May, the King and Queen of Belgium have all stayed here, as the photos in the entrance hall attest. Celebrity-glamour apart, this underlines the hotel’s four-star levels of comfort, and solid, professional standards of service. It occupies a stately, ochre-coloured building that dates back to the 15th century, and is equally elegant within, from the marble-columned, chandeliered breakfast room at the front to the pretty little garden terrace at the rear. There’s also a cosy, dimly-lit bar, panelled reading room, swimming pool and steam room. Read expert review. From £146per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Hotel Heritage Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
A privately-owned four-star hotel with the rare distinction in Bruges of having its own restaurant. The Hotel Heritage is a member of the French-based Relais & Châteaux group, and has all the virtues this affiliation would suggest: luxury, history, quality of service, and good cooking. The 18th- and 19th-century tone of the ground-floor public rooms has been carefully preserved, with chandeliers, mirrors, oak panelling, ceiling paintings, lavish fabrics and antique furniture. Read expert review. From £168per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Grand Hotel Casselbergh Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
This four-star hotel is grand, and has a remarkable history, restored in palatial style. Guests can enjoy its considerable facilities and comforts, as well as its prime central location, often at very attractive prices. There are two parts to the hotel: the old building at the front (three mansions fused together), and a neat, ultra-modern block at the back, overlooking the canal. The four lounges and staircase in the old building have been beautifully restored in 18th-century, stately-home style, while the fitness room, sauna and Turkish bath are in remarkable cellars dating back to the 14th century. Read expert review. From £102per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Hotel Oud Huis de Peellaert Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
This is like staying in a grand, aristocratic, 19th-century mansion in the very heart of historic Bruges. The hotel is part of the small but excellent Swan Hotel Collection, which ensures high standards of service as well as beautifully presented rooms. Think flattering elegance combined with four-star luxury. The impressive, high-arched lobby is in fact the old carriage entrance. The grand spiral staircase, with griffons supporting the treads, rises through the floors to a stained-glass skylight. The public rooms have chandeliers, oil paintings and antique furniture. Read expert review. From £94per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
The 'Cruyce' is the cross in the emblem of the Dukes of Burgundy, who made Bruges their capital in 1429 and became a byword for opulence – an apt reference for this luxury boutique hotel with just 16 rooms in the heart of historic Bruges. Behind the medieval façades are sumptuous but modern rooms, managed with refined professionalism. What’s more, it overlooks one of the most famous scenic viewpoints of Bruges, on a bend in the principal canal. Read expert review. From £160per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Crowne Plaza Brugge Bruges, Belgium
8Telegraph expert rating
This large, modern, four-star hotel stands at the very heart of Bruges, overlooking one of its most attractive historic squares. It may not have the intimate, antique charm of some of the city's hotels, but it has professional polish and a range of attractive features, including an indoor swimming pool. uests’ needs are admirably anticipated, for instance with ice machines on every floor. The fitness centre on the eighth floor has five exercise machines, a sauna and – rare in Bruges – a medium-size indoor swimming pool. Read expert review. From £115per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
This article was written by Antony Mason from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].
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