De Orangerie is a 15th-century convent on the Kartuizerinnenstraat canal — the canal-facing rooms look across the water to the historic buildings opposite, and the interior carries the weight of a building that has accumulated its character over five centuries rather than assembled it. The drawing room is the building's social centre: dark oak panelling, floral chintz wallpaper, an iron chandelier with orange-shaded lights, a working fireplace with burning logs, and a heterogeneous mix of antique furniture that suggests accumulation rather than curation. The books on the shelves and the portrait oil paintings on the walls are consistent with a room that has always been used. The hotel has ten rooms, which is the correct scale for this kind of building. The breakfast is formal and substantial. De Orangerie is not a design hotel — it is an old building being used well.
Historisch Centrum, Bruges, Belgium