The rumours are true – Bristol is banging. Brunel’s staggering suspension bridge, Banksy scrawled walls, sweeping Georgian crescents and a pulsing centre heaving with arts, food revolutionaries and people with passion make the city a special place to be. Visit the thriving docks, home to Wapping Wharf with its cluster of lively restaurants made from old shipping containers, sample Michelin-starred delights at Casamia or grab a latte at the Clifton Observatory’s cafe with 36-degree views of the city.
The best hotels in Bristol for location and value are:
Enjoy a soak with a view at the Avon Gorge
(Avon Gorge)
Neighbourhood: Clifton
The terrace of the Avon Gorge Hotel has always drawn a crowd. But, until relatively recently, the place was down at heel. Built in 1898, the glamour of the building, originally known as the Grand Clifton Spa and Hydropathic Institution, had faded and 60 per cent of it was left derelict. Enter now, and the extent of Hotel Du Vin’s £16.5m renovation is clear: think midnight blues, sumptuous velvets and sparkling chandeliers. Book the Laurent Perrier Executive suite for a bath with a view and sample the wood-smoked delights of the Goram & Vincent Smokehouse. The once shabby White Lion pub scrubs up well and the original spa (buried for decades under the floorboards) is a fancy events space. Look out for the wine cellar in the old Turkish bath.
Price: Doubles from £114
Berwick Lodge offers beds fit for royalty
(Berwick Lodge)
Neighbourhood: Henbury
The option to arrive by helicopter speaks volumes, not to mention the fact that Berwick Lodge’s gardener was once gardener to the Queen. Owners Sarah Arikan (a born and bred Bristolian) and her husband Fevzi pull out all the stops to give their customers the royal treatment. The couple bought the 19th century property, located on the northern outskirts of the city and surrounded by 18 acres of stunning parkland, in 2004. “We spent five and a half years working on it and putting it back to how we thought it would have been originally,” says Arikan. Each of the 14 rooms is impeccably designed and one, Troya, features a bed made from the pulpit of a church, which Fevsi picked up at Wells reclamation centre. Peckish? The resplendent 2AA Rosette Hattusa restaurant is a great choice for hungry guests.
Price: Doubles from £13
The countryside in the city: Number 38 Clifton offers exceptional views of the Bristol Downs
(Number 38 Clifton)
Neighbourhood: Clifton
Fans of…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…