HOTEL DUKES’ ARCHES — Hotel in Bruges

I was due to stay 2 nights in this hotel in October 2019, but I didn’t get passed check-in – my reservation had been cancelled (according to the hotel) The reason that I am writing this rather strange non-review is that I really wanted to stay at the Hotel Oud Huis de Peellaert, but couldn’t. In late 2015, my wife made a booking for us to stay there for 2 nights in September 2016, as part of a European tour. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the 2016 trip because in early 2016 my wife was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She passed away in March 2017 and I decided that if I ever go to Brugge, I’ll stay at the same hotel she chose. So in January 2019 when I made plans to visit Brugge in November 2019, my travel agent booked the Hotel Oud Huis de Peellaert at my request. Upon arrival at the hotel reception at approx. 15:00 on 1st November, I presented my passport and hotel booking document provided to me by my travel agent. After some extensive clucking around behind the desk by the young receptionist, I suspected something was wrong, so I asked if there was a problem. I was told my reservation had been cancelled. I asked who had cancelled it. She replied that it had been cancelled through Expedia. I then referred her to my booking documentation provided by my travel agent, which included a booking reference number. I explained to the receptionist that it had not been booked through Expedia. She said that is only the travel agents document and the booking reference number doesn’t carry any meaning. The young receptionist then reached across her desk to some type of filing tray and pulled up (it must have been on the top of the pile) the record of the original booking, with a diagonal line drawn across the page. I asked when it had been cancelled. She said January 21st. I only paid for it on 22-January, so I am not sure how this could have occurred. I also received no refund, which I said to her was very unusual. She then picked up her phone and played with it for a bit without actually speaking with anybody, got onto her computer and changed pages a few times, then came back to me saying that she had been able to book me into a similar room at a hotel of a similar standard that was only 50 metres down the road. By this stage I am thinking that I have nowhere to stay, so I reluctantly accepted the arrangement with the other hotel in Brugge, after confirming that I would not have to pay any extra. After leaving the reception at the Hotel Oud Huis de Peellaert, I started thinking about what had just occurred. My reservation had been cancelled without my (or I later found out, my travel agents) knowledge My reservation had been cancelled by a company that to my knowledge had nothing to do with the booking I had received no refund after the alleged cancellation If the booking had really been cancelled in January 2019, why was a copy of the original booking so easily obtained by the receptionist It appeared that I was already booked into the other hotel, without any extra payment required. I now suspect the hotel had over-booked their rooms, but I can’t prove anything. At least the other hotel accepted me without any problems, and in fact, I probably got an upgrade...

This is a 2-star hotel masquerading itself as a 4-star one. When you arrive, it is quite impressive: an old mansion with marble everywhere and high ceilings, fancy hotel staff that tell you that parking everywhere is expensive and that unfortunately all restaurants are booked for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner, and the rest are closed. As tourists who didn't make reservations well ahead of time, we were quite scared. When we got to our room, we were then disappointed a second time. This thing was tiny. Ok, perhaps that's our fault for booking a cheaper room, but it was also poorly laid out. For instance the mini bar/fridge was facing the bed, but the gap was so narrow that it wouldn't even open all the way. Everything also looked fairly dated. The sheets and towels were scratchy, and the wallpaper and furniture looked worn. And speaking of furniture, the bed had two narrow mattresses rather than one wide one - this is in a room which did not look like it could be reconfigured to separate the mattresses. We booked a "garden view" room, but this garden was growing cars because we were overlooking the parking lot. Additionally, there was no price list handy for the mini bar. At some of other hotels I stayed in for this vacation, this indicated that the minibar was complimentary, but not here. My next set of complaints stem from the staff not being very informed. While parking in Bruges is expensive, I was able to find rather cheap parking at the train station. Additionally, contrary to what we were told at the front desk, plenty of restaurants were open and still had available spots for lunch/dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas. We were even able to get a table at Malpertuus for Christmas Eve dinner and had a lovely time. So, all in all, my wife and I were not pleased with this hotel. As a whole, it seemed like a hotel pretending to be high end. The room seemed rather shabby although with luxury trimmings (nice alcohol in the mini bar, fancy soaps and lotion, Nespresso). The staff were friendly, but in that high end way where if you must ask about something, you...

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the experience I had during my recent stay at your establishment and would like to address specific points.

Upon check-in, I was informed that the premium room I had reserved was not ready, which I understood and accepted. However, I was surprised to notice that during the same process, my brother, who registered after me and booked a lower-category room, received his room immediately, along with detailed instructions to explore the city.

While waiting in the hotel lounge with my husband, I assumed my brother would also come to wait with us. Upon realizing he wasn’t with us, I went to the reception to inquire about his whereabouts. At that moment, the receptionist first expressed surprise and asked if we were together. Later, she informed me that he had already entered his room.

The situation became more perplexing when, subsequently, requesting a room with separate beds for my brother, I was assigned his room, despite having booked a premium room, and my brother had paid for a lower-category room.

When I consulted with another receptionist, I was assured that all rooms were premium, including my brother’s. To avoid causing inconvenience to my brother, I did not pursue the complaint at the reception.

Furthermore, I observed that other guests who arrived after me were welcomed with a welcome cocktail. This added to the extended wait, negatively impacting my experience, especially considering that my husband wasn’t feeling well and needed to rest in the room. However, we could only access our room when my brother requested a switch to a room with separate beds.

This lack of coordination in guest registration further contributed to the confusion and negatively affected my experience at your hotel. As a customer, I am disappointed, feeling that the expectations for reserving a premium room...