Review: Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is a beautiful city.

June even lived here for 2 years some time ago.

This time we are here to be tourists again.

You too like to visit Bruges? Click here to choose your activities.

We chose the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges as our basecamp.

For a couple of reasons: underground on site parking, reasonable price, located in the heart of the city, and excellent reviews and indoor swimming pool.

Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges

The Crowne Plaza hotel chain is part of the IHG Hotels & Resorts group.

Also part of this group are hotels such as Intercontinental, Indigo, Holiday Inn, regent Hotels & Resorts and Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas.

It is worth becoming a member of their IHG rewards programme to collect points, get free drinks, special offers and free room upgrades.

Highly recommended!

Video

We made a video of the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges.

You can watch it here:

Parking

There is a private 2 level parking garage underneath the hotel for hotel guests.

The parking entrance is located on the left side of the hotel entrance.

The way to the lower level looks a bit steep and makes a turn at the same time. But it is perfect doable.

We even had a bicycle rack with bikes attached to our car and were able to drive in and out without any problem whatsoever.

The price per night is €24.

An elevator and stairs take you right to the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges reception area.

Reception

Checkin in very swift.

The reception staff is very friendly and helpful.

As we are member of their IHG rewards programme, we get to chose whether we want our points to be added to our account or exchange them for drinks in the restaurant.

It is possible to rent bikes in the hotel as well, for €15 per day.

You can send the hotel an email in advance if you want to reserve a bike. There are not a lot of rental bikes here so if you want to be certain to have one when you arrive, let the hotel know.

Bar and lounge

On the left hand side of the reception is a hallway that takes you to the bar and lounge area.

Due to the pandemic this area wasn’t open yet.

It did look comfy and cozy though.

There are toilets next to the bar area as well.

Room

We stayed in room 201, located on the second floor in a quiet zone.

Because we are IHG clients, we received an upgrade.

We booked a standard room.

The room we got is a double bed city view category.

Bedroom

The odd shape of the room gives it an instant funky feel.

The decoration is simple but good.

Colors are grey, beige and turquoise.

The window in the back allows the daylight to come in which lights up the whole room.

Our room overlooks the medieval Burg square, and the square in front of the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges with trees and benches.

Right below is the hotel restaurant’s outdoor terrace.

The 2 wardrobe near the door contain plenty of clothes hangers, an ironing board, 2 bathrobes and a safe.

Bathroom

The bathroom is bright and quite spacious.

We liked the large and clean walkin rain shower.

The wide one sink vanity provides plenty of space to put your stuff.

The bath products are flagrant and restocked daily.

This bathroom is well lit, good.

Other services

In the room is a complimentary coffee and tea station with kettle.

Provided: 2 sachets of regular instant coffee, 2 sachets of decaf instant coffee, 2 teabags and a large sachet to make hot chocolate. Also on the tray: creamer, sugar and biscuits.

The large bottle of Chaudfontaine still water in the fridge is complementary as well.

Swimming pool

The indoor swimming pool on the 8th floor is a feature that you don’t find very often in hotels here in Bruges.

And for that reason the Crowe Plaza hotel Bruges also attracts families with children.

We tried to use the pool twice but it was always crowded.

Breakfast

Breakfast at the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges happens in shifts of one hour, from 8 to 9 am and from 9 to 10 am.

Not sure if this is because of the pandemic or just to prevent the breakfast area to get too crowded.

Apparently hotel guests prefer to lay in here at the Crowne Plaza because the 8 to 9 am shift (the one we chose) was always very calm. Not a lot of people in the restaurant. By 9 am the place is considerably more busy.

The restaurant consists of 2 breakfast rooms. When the weather is fine, you can even enjoy your breakfast outside on the terrace which is absolutely fantastic. The popular Burg square at 8 am is very peaceful, a delight as if you have Bruges entirely to yourself.

Breakfast is excellent.

The Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges offers a nice choice of breads, donuts, waffles and Danish pastries, cereal, toast.

Plenty of butter, marmalade, cream cheese, biscoff spread, pear molasses, Nutella and chocolate sprinkles.

There is a cold station with fruits (pineapple, grapes, apple, melon), yogurt, cheese, charcuterie and smoked salmon.

The hot breakfast buffet consists of scrambled eggs, omelets, hard and soft boiled eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns, mushrooms and baked tomatoes.

Coffee is strong and hot.

Breakfast costs €25 per person.

However you can often find a room with breakfast included for a much softer price.

Yes, breakfast here is highly recommended.

We filmed the entire breakfast buffet for our video, you can watch it in the beginning of this review.

Restaurant

The breakfast rooms also double as a restaurant for lunch, high tea and dinner.

It is called the Plaza Café.

We didn’t have lunch or dinner here.

However the menu looks good, and the place was always busy the times we walked past.

For lunch you can choose from the menu, or go for the daily lunch special: a starter and main course for €22.

On the à la carte menu you can find pastas, salads and typical Belgian specialties such as shrimp croquettes, beef stew, vol au vent chicken stew and shrimp salad.

Wifi

The free internet connection was fast in the room, the restaurant and throughout the hotel.

Location

The Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges is located in the heart of Bruges, on the Burg square right next to the Grand Place and belfry.

The train station is a 30 minute walk away.

There are no subways or trams in Bruges, however several buses take you to the city centre from the station.

Would we go back to the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges?

Yes definitely, and for all the right reasons.

Location, underground on site parking, good breakfast and reasonably priced rooms for a touristic city like Bruges.

Would we recommend the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges?

Absolutely, we have found our Bruges basecamp!

The Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges is a great place to stay if you visit Bruges.

Pros

• excellent location in the heart of Bruges
• private underground parking
• excellent breakfast
• friendly staff
• clean rooms
• very comfortable beds

Cons

• It’s a modern chain hotel, not a typical local style hotel.

Address

Crowne Plaza Hotel Bruges
Burg 10
8000 Bruges
Belgium

You can book here: Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges

We paid for our stay at the Crowne Plaza hotel Bruges and didn’t get or ask anything in return for this review.

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