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Kempinski Dukes' Palace Hotel

KEMPINSKI DUKES' PALACE HOTEL, BRUGES
By : Jason Pollock

Gay Travel: Pride Life enjoys five-star luxury in Bruges

Tucked discreetly away from the bustle of Bruges’s busy town centre but within walking distance of all its mediaeval attractions is the five-star Kempinski Dukes’ Palace Hotel.

This magnificent and impressive mansion house has an illustrious history. It was the ancestral home of the Dukes of Burgundy for centuries since Duke Phillip III first took occupancy in 1430. Not that any of their lordships would recognise their old residence now!

Managed by the Kempinski group the Dukes’ Palace’s 93 rooms and 22 palatial suites skilfully combine oriental and ancient features with the latest in swish contemporary design and flat screen technology.

The entrance is impressive and our welcome at reception (and from all the immaculate staff) was befitting of the high standard in customer service which this giant amongst hoteliers strive to achieve at all of their hotels worldwide.

Our comfortable room, a junior suite, was furnished and decorated to a high standard with a bathroom and shower unit stocked with Molton Brown products. It still retained an original moulded ceiling and the feeling of opulence is heightened by deep red curtains and antique furnishings.

The Bar Atelier on the ground floor with its extensive and beautifully manicured garden has become something of a hot spot for Bruges’s young movers and shakers and for international visitors. Its unique towering paintbrush sculpture is surrounded by comfortable sofas and armchairs with service second to none. In the winter guests are encouraged to relax around a roaring fire.

The hotel’s gourmet Manuscript restaurant has also cut a name for itself in a town where restaurants abound and is renowned for its traditional Belgium cosine.

The Dukes’ Palace’s canny designers have utilised a basement space to create a small oasis spa centre with an outdoor relaxation garden stretching 2,500 square metres adjacent to a 20-metre pool, sauna and team room, three treatment rooms and a boutique but well-equipped gym.

A range of treatments is on offer many of which last the whole morning and include specialty prepared meals.

Kempinski Hotel Dukes’ Palace offers standard nightly rates as from 199 Euros in a Double Superior Room. For more information, please visit kempinski.com/bruges or call +32 50 44 78 88

Take the Eurostar from London and local link from Brussels Midi

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