Amber S
Google
This is a, shall I say, whimsical stay in Brugge. The host is so friendly and kind, I really wish I could rate our stay five stars.|The guesthouse is in the most incredible location in Brugge, and is situated within walking distance to all of the main sites. The area is so quiet at night (with the exception of one random drunk guy stumbling around singing christmas carols for a brief period one evening, which was actually funny) and the house itself is silent in the evening. The main entry to the house is difficult to find after the church and museum next door close, but once you remember how to get there (it is kind of around a corner in an alley) it is much easier to locate. There is the sweetest teddy bear store just next door as well. |The room itself is large and seems clean despite being rather shabby and in need of minor updates or modernizations (there is still a DVD player and 90s era track lighting if you get what I'm saying). The host provides water and beer, if you wish, which was a really nice touch. The bed, however, is quite bad. I did sleep well, probably due to jet lag, but the bed sags horribly - it is far past time for a new mattress. The pillows provided were supportive yet soft, which I appreciated. The bed linens were adequate, though being grey in color I can't speak to cleanliness. The bathroom is quite large with a nice big shower. The host provides plenty of soaps and a hair dryer, but some care should be taken to clean and repair the tiles. There is also some kind of lavender water to use after washing your hands, which smelled so incredible. You will need the lavender after using the towels provided. They smelled horiffic as though they had been washed, and then sat in the washing machine for several days before being dried. After using the towels I kept smelling the horrid sour smell on myself all day. More care needs to be taken by the host to ensure that the towels do not smell. The other thing I did not like was that there was no way to fully lock your room for privacy - the only lock was accessed via a code on the outside door. The interior door creaked open as we settled for bed, which was creepy - you have to really push it to get the latch to take. The room would be vastly improved with some intentional modernization (not taking away from the beautiful history), new mattress, and more charming soft furnishings. So much potential to make this guesthouse incredible rather than just average! |The breakfast provided by the host and his helper in the morning was good. We enjoyed berries with yogurt (there was mold on my strawberries) and a cup of pistachios, orange slices and grapes (odd mixture, but delicious), eggs with melted cheese, wild mushrooms (yum) and tomatoes, and fresh squeezed juice, coffee, and hot cocoa. Again, more care can be focused on the details such as making sure the berries are not moldy. While it might seem nitpicky, we were the only guests, so it seems like not much to ask that minor attention be paid to things like this.|This is a stay that only the most relaxed and chill of travellers will enjoy. The guesthouse is in need of updating with regard to furnishings and amenities, and greater attention to detail should be taken to ensure little things like smelly towels and moldy berries do not happen. |I am sorry to say that I personally would not stay here again. While the host is the most kind and friendly man and gave very helpful tips about Brugge, that does not make up for the smelly towels, sagging bed, shabbiness of the room, or moldy fruit. The cost of the stay was quite high for the quality of the room and next time we would prefer to stay right in the center of the city.
