After researching hotels on Expedia, I booked this hotel through Booking.com for 2 rooms for 5 nights for my husband, myself and our daughter. Unlike "Junco," we were not offered an upgrade option. The primary reasons for selecting this hotel were proximity to town center and attractions, option for breakfast, and the free WiFi. The location couldn't be better --- safe neighborhood when coming in after dark, easy walk to sights and restaurants, and relatively quiet for sleeping. As regards the breakfast, if I were to book here again, I would opt out. My husband absolutely must have his breakfast first off in the morning so we always include breakfast. By our fourth morning, our daughter had declined to begin her day with their buffet and I joined her at a nearby marvelous patisserie. By the next morning, my husband had joined us. Mind you, we are not picky eaters but some semblance of variety is appreciated. I particularly was saddened by the apparent lack of freshness to the breads and pastries. My musings were answered one morning at when we were standing on the hotel's front sidewalk and we overheard a bakery's delivery man stating that he needed a certain door opened up so that he could deliver the breakfast products --- obviously, for the following day since the time was 11a.m.! On to the WiFi. We truly required reliable WiFi as my husband needed daily contact with his business stateside and our daughter's overseas job mandated WiFi accessibility. Over the course of our five nights, I would guess that we had access only about 40% of the time that we were in the hotel. The front desk was truly helpful in attempting to correct the trouble, but to no avail. We would routinely suggested their need to contact their general manager about the situation as we couldn't possibly have been the only guests with this need. For our purposes, we resorted to my iphone and ipad to provide what the hotel had promised but failed to deliver in a reliable manner. My bottom line was that I added about $150 to the next bill from my phone carrier! On the afternoon of our final full day in Bruges, the desk clerk noted that we were free to use the business center of the Aragon's sister hotel in the city; this was the first time we had heard of this alternative, as inconvenient as it would have been. The offer was certainly kind but impractical. On the morning we checked out, I mustered all my Southern politeness to ask about the possibility of some small reduction in the bill for our not receiving what we had been promised as a "feature" of the hotel. I was politely advised that would not be possible. When my equally polite Southern husband went down to settle the bill, he again raised the issue of an amendment to the tab and he, likewise, was denied. Perhaps as a "parting gift" or in appreciation of his not raising a ruckus in a lobby full of people, the clerk handed him a box with three L'Occitane lotions in it. Hmmmm....
I do realize that for many travelers our "issues" will not resound with them. Everyone looks for different amenities in hotels. I merely wished to relate our concerns.
On the positive side, the staff at the front desk were exceptionally polite and helpful. The lobby was comfortable. The rooms were quite pleasant. My husband and I were well situated in a larger room than our daughter, but her room was fine for one person. The bathrooms were spotlessly maintained and spacious.
- Aragon Hotel Bruges
