I'm going through a web site of B&Bs in Bruges.... I've managed to narrow my list of potential places to stay down to 21 :eek:
How am I going to narrow down my list to something more reasonable?!?! My two main criteria are that the B&B has to be walking distance to city centre (within a couple of kms) and the room has to have a private bathroom.
If anyone is bored and wants to blow some time looking at bedrooms and bathrooms, check out these links and let me know what you think :) As an added bonus, it's a good way to pick up some decorating tips :D
Oh, and every web site is in about 4 languages -- when you open a site, look for the language options.
[url]http://www.bruges-bedandbreakfast.com/welkom.php?foto=1&taal=en[/url]
[url]http://users.skynet.be/dieltiens/index.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.finefleurbrugge.be/index.htm[/url]
[url]http://users.pandora.be/nico.van.dale/en/index.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.b-bverhulst.com/default.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.accentbb.be/eng/index.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.bb-bruges.be/[/url]
[url]http://www.arundel.be/arengels.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.number11.be/[/url]
[url]http://www.bb-speelmansrei-brugge.be/site.php?lang=eng[/url]
[url]http://www.brugge-man-bedandbreakfast.be/[/url]
[url]http://www.geerwijn.be/flash.asp[/url]
[url]http://www.denvijfhouck.be/[/url]
[url]http://www.bedandbreakfastbruges.com/[/url]
[url]http://www.bedandbreakfast-kwalito.com/uk/index.html[/url]
[url]http://www.bedbreakfastbruges.be/bedbreakfastbruges-englisch.html[/url]
[url]http://users.pandora.be/t-t.derudder/english/index.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.bedandbreakfast-bruges.com/en/reservations.html[/url]
[url]http://www.artandsoul.be/[/url]
[url]http://www.contrastbrugge.be/[/url]
[url]http://www.huyzehertsberge.be/index.html[/url]
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I am glad you chose that B&B, it looks really nice and I am sure you will enjoy it. Now that you have finalized it, you can move on to other plans to be made.
Well, we finally made a decision -- all three nights at Sint-Niklaas :) It was getting too complicated trying to sort out how to do one night here and two nights there, so we figured, let's just splurge.... go big or go home, right?! :D
Thanks for all the advice -- and Zulu, the links you posted were a great help :)
Oh, B&Bs are great!! They're so much more personal than hotels. We've been to the Maritimes twice, and stayed at B&Bs both times. There was only one that we didn't like so much, and that was the last night before we headed home, so we were sort of burned out by that point anyway and probably wouldn't have been impressed with a 5-star hotel!!
B&B owners are usually very friendly and helpful and outgoing. They can tell you about the places to go that you might not find out about if you were to stay at a hotel and follow the travel guide suggestions. One place we stayed at in PEI, the B&B owners treated us like royalty!! When we got there, they took our dirty clothes and did all our laundry for us. They called the theatre in Charlottetown to reserve tickets for us for a show one night. They gave us a book on PEI to bring home as a keepsake. Now, this was also an expensive B&B -- but it was our honeymoon, so we treated ourselves for a few nights :) And one place we stayed at in Nova Scotia, we sat up with the B&B owners till the middle of the night, eating popcorn and chatting. It was so comfy and relaxed and enjoyable :)
My hubby and I actually prefer B&Bs over hotels. So we haven't really been looking at hotel options. But yeah, 120 Euros is a lot for either a B&B OR a hotel!! And just because you spend a lot, doesn't necessarily mean you're getting your money's worth. But, from what I've seen and read about the more expensive B&B, it seems like a lovely place. So we'll just splurge for one night there, and the rest of the nights in Bruges (and on the rest of the trip) we'll stay at places closer to the 60 Euro range!! Or even better -- the nights we spend with friends will be FREE!! :D
And yes, we plan to stay at the cheapo place for the first two nights :)
You know what. It sounds so much more romantic to stay in a B&B. Very classic. A quaint little old town a cozy room with a fireplace and the snow coming down outside.
Can't get more "European" than that!
I'm off to plan my own trip, now that I know I'll have a job after christmas, I think christmas shopping in London it is. :D
We've narrowed our B&B choices down to two. One has a 5-star rating, the rooms are beautiful, it's one street away from the Market in Bruges, and it costs 120 Euros a night. The other has a 4-star rating, the rooms look nice, it's a few minutes away from the Market, and costs 60 Euros a night. I've read lots of positive reviews about it, and it apparently was named one of the best B&Bs in the world by an American newspaper (don't know which one).
So.... which B&B would you go with?? Or would you do one night at the expensive one and 2 nights at the less expensive one??
I HATE making decisions!!
Holy ****! 120 euros! You can get a hotel room for that price! Have you checked the hotel prices? It doesn't seem B&B is the cheaper way to go.
If I were you I'd do the cheapo one first, if it's good enough, then just stay there instead of moving between the two. Or have I completely misunderstood something?
I also like this new one. And I noticed that on trip advisor the first review was from another Canadian. Lots of good reviews and if you noticed someone mentioned that the owner gave them her parking pass or something.
I like this one and the more expensive one. For some reason, that I cannot put my finger on, I am not crazy about the other 60.Euros one, I cannot remember the name of it but it is not reviewed by Trip advisor and there is something putting me off it.
Parking for Sint Niklaas would be the same. In fact, I suspect that we could just keep the car in the same lot for both B&Bs, seeing as they're only about 0.5km apart.
My hubby wants to do one night in Sint Niklaas and two nights at the less expensive B&B. We could probably just walk over from one B&B to the other with our luggage, so it won't be too inconvenient to move :)
Now I've gone and brought another B&B into the mix -- 5 stars, 60 Euros a night, cool modern-llong rooms, lots of positive reviews..... help!! The Orange room is available two of the three nights we'll be in Bruges, so that works with our 2 nights/1 night plan:
[url]http://www.bedandbreakfast-bruges.com/en/reservations.html[/url]
I did not realize that you would have a car. In that case you have to consider parking. The lower price B&B mentions 9 euros for 24 hrs.
There is no mention on the Sint Niklaass one. I also am reading that the lower end B&B you would have to add 2.5 each for breakfast. Considering this the 60 or 70 is now + 5 Euros + 9 Euros a night.
Then again maybe sint Niklaasstraat has no parking.
Also I would email them that it is for 3 nights and ask for their best price.
Hmmmmm.... that's a really good point. Better to spend money on something that I'll have forever than a night in bed!!
You may also want to bring back some great gift for yourselves as a memory of your trip. I guess I think differently as as long as I was comfy at a B&B I would spend the Euros on myself >LOL Now if this great gift you find needs to be shipped home to Canada, the savings in the B&B would cover that. :)
Pearl, I agree that staying in one place all three nights is easier. But we're going to have a car, so between leaving one B&B and going to another B&B, the luggage can stay in the car. And I suspect that the two B&Bs are close to each other -- probably no more than 1km apart, based on the walking distances that Zulu found.
Zulu, I think the most number of nights we'll be staying at B&Bs is 6. We'll be staying with friends in Luxembourg the first and last couple of days of our trip. I really like the expensive one too!! But then I think -- how much time will we be spending in the room?? Probably just to sleep. And is it worth paying twice as much if the only time we're going to be spending in the room, our eyes will be closed?! On the other hand, this is our first-ever trip to Europe and it'll be the Christmas holidays, so why not go all out?!
I can see the problem, they both sound interesting.
I think that the Sint Niklaass sounds nicer but of course it is more money.
It really depends how long you are gong to be in Europe and how many other nights you have to spend in hotels or maybe you will be with family. If these are the only nights you have to spring for a room and it were me I would go with the nicer room.
I used my mappy map to get the distances and The Sint Niklaass is 0.41km to De Markt (center) and the other B&B is 0.65 km. Both by walking routes.
I am sure I am no help in helping you make a decision because I went for the more expensive one but I can always rationalize and come up with many reasons to go for it.
LOL
Personally I hate moving around so I would choose 1 B&B and stay there. You may check out of 1 place after breakfast with your luggage and not be able to get into another one until late afternoon. What do you do with your luggage all day? Also moving around takes time away from your vacation.
Oh yeah, sure, no problem :)
[url]http://users.skynet.be/dieltiens/index.htm[/url] - 4 star
[url]http://www.sintnik.be/[/url] - 5 star (I like the Rooftop room best, but it's booked :( We'd take the Belfort, because it's on the 2nd & 3rd floors and has good views. And the architecture is interesting)
sharing the names of the two, I will take a look and give my opinion.
Thanks for the info, Zulu :)
We've narrowed our B&B choices down to two. One has a 5-star rating, the rooms are beautiful, it's one street away from the Market in Bruges, and it costs 120 Euros a night. The other has a 4-star rating, the rooms look nice, it's a few minutes away from the Market, and costs 60 Euros a night. I've read lots of positive reviews about it, and it apparently was named one of the best B&Bs in the world by an American newspaper (don't know which one).
So.... which B&B would you go with?? Or would you do one night at the expensive one and 2 nights at the less expensive one??
I HATE making decisions!!
In case what I just posted is confusing. Here is an example using mappy.
Going from Number 11 B&B to DeMarkt (The Market in Brugge, center)
[url]http://www4.mappy.com/sidCEkiKQd4biDMn21w/ACFGT?anchor=0&option=0&xsl=2&ivsl1=v1&ivsl2=v2&ivsl3=v3&isl=i0&sel=europe&csl=i1%2Cv1%2Cv2%2Cv3%2Ci2&fsl=i1%2Cv1%2Cv2%2Cv3%2Ci2&gsl=i1%2Cv1%2Cv2%2Cv3%2Ci2&out=2&issl=i1&iesl=i2&imult=0&flash=1&iveh=car&isveh=sedcar&wni1=Peerdenstraat+11&wci1=&noi1=&tni1=Brugge&pci1=8000&tci1=&a10i1=&xi1=&yi1=&csi1=4326&cci1=56&wni2=De+Markt&wci2=&noi2=&tni2=Brugge&pci2=8000&tci2=&a10i2=&xi2=&yi2=&csi2=4326&cci2=56&imode=2&x=19&y=5[/url]
Good Luck
Ask the three remaining if there price includes breakfast and taxes.
If you go to this site and type in two addresses it is similar to mapquest but much better for Europe. Then you can get a truer idea the distance to center of town.
The trick is to find a big landmark in cener and get the actual address, then the address of B&B. Then use mappy and put down in the bottom Pedestrian to get the real walking map and time.
[url]http://www4.mappy.com/?lang=en[/url]
Yeah, I've heard about the somewhat ancient sanitation!!! However, I've looked carefully at all the bedroom and bathroom pics of the B&Bs we've selected, and they all have nice toilets :D
Our top three choices all have rooms available when we plan to be in Bruges. So now it might be hard to narrow it down to one.....
Hey, there's nothing wrong with getting bitten by bed bugs!! I was eaten up by them in Paris, but what are you gonna do, we were staying in the danish house, that pretty much explains it :D
I think you'll be fine with whatever B&B you chose. Just remember, comfort and sanitation in Europe is still a little Victorian, so be prepared for the hole in the floor that functions as a toilet :D
Thanks for the tips :) The reviews I read were quite helpful. One place that I had on my list has I think 4-1/2 stars. but one person complained about getting bitten by bed bugs there :eek: I crossed that one off the list!! And I added a few more places, based on the ratings and reviews. And one of them ended up being in our top three :)
It never ceases to amaze me how you can always find helpful info here on pretty much any topic -- you ladies are GOOD!! :D
I managed to narrow my list down to eight. Then my hubby picked his favourite three out of those eight. So I wrote to the three of them to ask them about availability. I then removed two others from my list of eight, and wrote to the remaining three as well, just in case our top three all fall through. So now I'm down to six :)
If you can't find what you need on Tripadvisor (which is a great site), you can also check on fodors.com - check the European forum. Someone may know the particular B&B.
tripadvisor.com is a great resource for unbias reviews of lodging. The B&B list is quite extensive and you can view the photos taken by people who actually stayed there. I use this site often. :)
Great info, thanks Zulu :) Except now, my list is even longer!! :eek:
If you go to this site, they will list B&B by popularity . And you can read peoples reviews.
[url]http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g188671-c2-Brugge_West_Flanders-Hotels.html[/url]