I will be going to Belgium for the week of July 4th. My travel agent has booked us to spend 1 day in Antwerp, 3 days in Brugges and 2 days in Brussels. Here's my dilema, the hotel in Brugges will be $222 per night (De Tuilerieen) and Brussels will be $119 (Le Meridien). If you had to choose either spending 3 nights in Brugges and 2 nights in Brussels or vice versa. The hotel in Brugges is twice the cost of Brugges.What should we do?

Stay longer in Brussels. There is MUCH more to do there; most of the main sights in Bruges can be seen in a day.

If cost is a factor in your general planning I'd stay in a cheaper hotel in Bruges too; it just sounds a bit odd to me, given Le Meridien in Brussels is nice, 5* and very central, that you've managed to double their room rate for your stay in a smaller town.

Inkspot -

If you like larger cities, stay in Brussels longer. If you prefer a medium size town, then Brugge would be better. Personally, I'd stay longer in Brugge and take a side trip to Ghent (20 minutes on the train).

In the mean time, I'd have your travel agent try to find you something more affordable in Brugges. We stayed there last year in a lovely 2-3 star hotel that ran E62.00 double - Hotel Cavalier. The website is:

http://users.skynet.be/hotel/cavalier

Hope you have a wonderful time and find Belgium as charming as we did. Happy travels. Peace.

Robyn

Thanks for your suggestions. Did the hotel Cavalier have air conditioning?

I'd suggest you ignore your travel agent and find a better, cheaper hotel in Bruges. Ask here or check out hotels.com or do some further internet research.

Inkspot -

We stayed at the Hotel Cavalier in the beginning of April last year, and were happy it had heat! Sorry, can't answer the question about A/C.

Robyn

Inkspot -

Apparently the web address I gave you for the Hotel Cavalier is no longer available. Try this site instead. I didn't see any mention of A/C.

www.hotels-belgium.com/hb-brugge-cavalier.htm

Good luck and have a safe journey. Peace.

Robyn

We happily stayed at the Ter Duinen in Brugge as a result of a recommendation on this board. The rate was way less than $222/night. Type Ter Duinen Brugge into the search box at the top of the page and all the messages referencing this hotel will appear in the list on the left hand side of your screen,