Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels:
Accommodations Listings
Included in this section:
49. Bruges: Pickled in Gothic
50. Amsterdam's Counter-Culture
49. Bruges: Pickled in Gothic
Sleeping in Bruges, Belgium
(€1 = about $1.40, country code: 32, area code: 050)
Bruges is most crowded Friday and Saturday evenings from Easter through October, with July and August weekends being the worst. Many hotels charge a bit more on Friday and Saturday, and won't let you stay just one night if it's a Saturday.
Hotels
Hotel Heritage offers 24 rooms, with chandeliers that seem hung especially for you, in a solid and completely modernized old building with luxurious public spaces. Tastefully decorated and offering all the amenities, it's one of those places that does everything just right yet still feels warm and inviting — if you can afford it (Db-€192, superior Db-€238, deluxe Db-€286, includes breakfast, skipping their fine breakfast saves €17 per person, non-smoking, air-con, elevator, Internet access, sauna, tanning bed, fitness room, bike rental, Niklaas Desparsstraat 11, a block north of Market Square, tel. 050-444-444, fax 050-444-440, www.hotel-heritage.com, info@hotel-heritage.com). It's run by cheery and hardworking Johan and Isabelle Creytens.
Hotel Cordoeanier, a charming family-run hotel, rents 22 bright, simple, well-worn rooms on a quiet street two blocks off Market Square. It's the best cheap hotel in town (Sb-€65–75, Db-€70–85, twin Db–€80–95, Tb-€90–105, Qb-€110, Quint/b-€130, these cash-only prices valid with current edition of Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels book, Cordoeanierstraat 16–18, tel. 050-339-051, fax 050-346-111, www.cordoeanier.be, info@cordoeanier.be, run by Kris, Veerle, and family).
Bed-and-Breakfasts
These B&Bs, run by people who enjoy their work, offer a better value than hotels. Most families rent out their entire top floor — generally three rooms and a small sitting area. And most are mod and stylish, they're just in medieval shells. Each is central, with lots of stairs and €70 doubles you'd pay €100 for in a hotel. Most places charge €10 extra for one-night stays. It's possible to find parking on the street in the evening (pay 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m., 2-hour maximum for metered parking during the day, free overnight).
Koen and Annemie Dieltiens are a friendly couple who enjoy getting to know their guests while sharing a wealth of information on Bruges. You'll eat a hearty breakfast around a big table in their comfortable house (Sb-€60, Db-€70, Tb-€90, €10 more for one-night stays, cash only, Wi-Fi, Waalse Straat 40, three blocks southeast of Burg Square, tel. 050-334-294, www.bedandbreakfastbruges.be, dieltiens@bedandbreakfastbruges.be).
B&B Gheeraert is a Neoclassical mansion where Paul and Roos rent three huge, bright, comfy rooms (Sb-€60, Db-€70, Tb-€90, two-night minimum stay required, cash only, strictly non-smoking, fridges in rooms, Internet access and Wi-Fi, Riddersstraat 9, five-minute walk east of Market Square, tel. 050-335-627, fax 050-345-201, www.bb-bruges.be, bb-bruges@skynet.be).
Best Budget Options in Bruges
Hotel 't Keizershof is a dollhouse of a hotel that lives by its motto, "Spend a night...not a fortune." It's simple and tidy, with seven small, cheery, old-time rooms split between two floors, with a shower and toilet on each (S-€25, D-€44, T-€66, Q-€80, includes breakfast, cash only, free and easy parking, laundry service-€7.50, Oostmeers 126, a block in front of station, tel. 050-338-728, www.hotelkeizershof.be, info@hotelkeizershof.be). The hotel is run by Stefaan and Hilde, with decor by their children, Lorie and Fien.
Bruges has several good hostels offering beds for around €15 in two- to eight-bed rooms. Breakfast is about €3 extra. The American-style Charlie Rockets hostel (and bar) is the liveliest and most central. The ground floor feels like a 19th-century sports bar, with a foosball-and-movie-posters party ambience. Upstairs is an industrial-strength pile of hostel dorms (90 beds, €16 per bed with sheets, 4–6 beds per room, D-€50, lockers, Hoogstraat 19, tel. 050-330-660, www.charlierockets.com). Other small, loose, and central places are Snuffel Backpacker Hostel (56 beds, €14–18 per bed includes sheets and breakfast, 4–14 beds per room, open 24/7, Ezelstraat 47, tel. 050-333-133, www.snuffel.be) and the minimal and funky Passage (€14, 4–7 beds per room, D-€50, Db-€65, prices include sheets, Dweerstraat 26, tel. 050-340-232, www.passagebruges.com, info@passagebruges.com).
50. Amsterdam's Counter-Culture
Sleeping in Amsterdam
(€1 = about $1.40, country code: 31, area code: 020)
Greeting a new day by descending steep stairs and stepping into a leafy canalside scene — graceful bridges, historic gables, and bikes clattering on cobbles — is a fun part of experiencing Amsterdam. But Amsterdam is a tough city for budget accommodations, and any room under €140 will have rough edges. Still, you can sleep well and safely in a great location for €100 per double.
Amsterdam is jammed during tulip season (late March–mid-May), conventions, festivals, and on summer weekends. During peak season, some hoteliers will not take weekend bookings for people staying fewer than two or three nights.
The Toren is a chandeliered, historic mansion with a pleasant, canalside setting and a peaceful garden out back for guests. Run by Eric and Petra Toren, this recently renovated, super-romantic hotel is classy yet friendly, with 38 rooms in a great location on a quiet street two blocks northeast of the Anne Frank House. The capable staff is a great source of local advice. The gilt-frame, velvet-curtained rooms are an opulent splurge (tiny Sb-€115, Db-€200, deluxe Db-€250, third person-€40, prices bump way up during conferences and decrease in winter, rates do not include 5 percent tax, breakfast buffet-€12, air-con, elevator, Internet access and Wi-Fi, Keizersgracht 164, tel. 020/622-6352, fax 020/626-9705, www.thetoren.nl, info@thetoren.nl). To get the best prices, check their website for their "daily rate," and in the "remarks" field, ask for the 10 percent Rick Steves cash discount.
Hotel Ambassade, lacing together 59 rooms in 10 adjacent houses, is elegant and fresh, sitting aristocratically on the Herengracht. The staff is top-notch, and the public areas (including a library and breakfast room) are palatial, with antique furnishings and modern art (Sb-€195, Db-€195–235, spacious "deluxe" Db with canal view-€250–275, Db suite-€275–375, Tb-€235–275, extra bed-€40, see website for specials, rates do not include 5 percent tax, breakfast-€16 — and actually worth it, air-con, elevator, Internet access and Wi-Fi, Herengracht 341, tel. 020/555-0222, www.ambassade-hotel.nl, info@ambassade-hotel.nl, Roos).
Hotel Keizershof is wonderfully Dutch, with six bright, airy rooms in a 17th-century canal house with a lush garden and a fine living room. A very steep spiral staircase leads to rooms named after old-time Hollywood stars. The enthusiastic hospitality of Mrs. de Vries and her daughter, Hanneke, give this place a friendly, almost small-town charm (S-€70, D-€75–90, Ds-€100, Db-€115, 2-night minimum, reserve with credit card but pay with cash; tram #16, #24, or #25 from Central Station, Keizersgracht 618, where Keizers canal crosses Nieuwe Spiegelstraat; tel. 020/622-2855, www.hotelkeizershof.nl, info@hotelkeizershof.nl).
Hotel Brouwer is a woody and homey old-time place. It's situated tranquilly yet centrally on the Singel canal and rents eight rooms with old furniture and soulful throw rugs (Sb-€60, Db-€95, Tb-€120, cash only, small elevator, Internet access, located between Central Station and Dam Square, near Lijnbaanssteeg at Singel 83, tel. 020/624-6358, fax 020/520-6264, www.hotelbrouwer.nl, akita@hotelbrouwer.nl).
Best Budget Option in Amsterdam
Frederic Rent-a-Bike Guestrooms, with a bike-rental shop as the reception, is a collection of private rooms on a gorgeous canal just outside the Jordaan, a five-minute walk from Central Station. Frederic has amassed about 100 beds, ranging from dumpy €70 doubles to spacious and elegant apartments (from €46 per person). Some places are ideal for families and groups of up to six. He also rents houseboat apartments. All are displayed on his website (phone bookings preferred, book with credit card but pay with cash, 2-night minimum, no breakfast, Brouwersgracht 78, tel. 020/624-5509, www.frederic.nl, Sebastian and Frederic). His excellent bike shop is open daily 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (€10/24 hrs).
Updated for 2009. For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels guidebook.