On a city break, for us the hotel is all about location, location, location. “Martin’s Brugge”:http://www.martinshotels.com/en/hotel/martins-brugge/the-hotel was ideally placed in Bruges; a 15-minute walk from the station, bars, restaurants and a small supermarket within spitting distance and the historic sites on our doorstep.
Arriving at 12.45pm, we were told that check in wasn’t until 3pm and I got the impression they stuck to this even if they had rooms ready beforehand. Still there was a bag room with complimentary lockers
The hotel is modern and our room 209 was on the second floor but there were four lifts and we never had to wait long. The room was best described as ‘compact and brown’ but we soon realised it was well designed with open shelving and hangers, bedside lights, full length mirror, safe, TV and desk with plug points. But there were no tea and coffee making facilities or mini bar/fridge: a complimentary bottle of water was available on arrival but not replaced although we later found a water cooler at breakfast where you could refill your bottle.
The bathroom was a reasonable size with complimentary toiletries, rubbish hairdryer and really powerful shower over the bath with tons of hot water (perhaps a little too hot).
There was air conditioning but we liked having the window open which wasn’t too noisy despite it overlooking the main street: we enjoyed hearing the clip clop of the horses on the cobbles and the bells ringing at the Belfort directly opposite.
The ground floor bar opened at 5pm with happy hour from 8pm to 9pm (two for one on beer and soft drinks). We discovered a fabulous gin and tonic menu with an extensive range of gins and premium Schweppes tonic which we’d not seen before. We tried the cardamom and ginger and the pink pepper. At around €11 each weren’t cheap but they were excellent and dangerously moreish!
Breakfast (7pm to 10pm) was included in our package but was otherwise available for €17 or €12 if booked the night before. The breakfast room was large, bright and clean dining room and everything was help yourself, including tea and coffee. There was a good selection of both hot dishes (bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, grilled tomato and baked beans) and cold dishes (fruit [albeit tinned], cereals, fridge of yoghurts, good selection of cheese, cold meats, breads and pastries). There was a variety of juices and the opportunity to juice your own oranges.
The hotel also had a small interior courtyard but unfortunately it wasn’t in the sun during the day.
