HOTEL REVIEW: HÔTEL BURDIGALA BY INWOOD HOTELS
A hotel that pairs perfectly with the world-class vineyards in Bordeaux
Do you know the ancient Celtic and Roman name for Bordeaux? I didn’t either.
Turns out its name is reflected in the lovely five star hotel I called home during a recent trip to the French city. In board strokes, Hôtel Burdigala by Inwood Hotels (I’ll refer to it as Hôtel Burdigala from here on) was a stylish, comfortable stay. In more detail, it provided everything from an excellent drop-off rental car service, air-conditioned reprieve from the low 90 degree weather, and an impeccable location for our daily, necessary sauntering to some of the world’s best vineyards.
As always, I’ll break up my review in a few sections: hotel overview, room review, service assessment, value eval(uation), and answering the question of whether I would stay again.
HOTEL OVERVIEW
Located a convenient 15 minute walk from the old town section of the city, Hôtel Burdigala became my first choice of accommodation during a four person vacation to the ‘Wine Capital of the World.’ The managing group, Inwood Hotels, is a French company established in 2008 by Jean-Paul Bize. Since then, 13 Inwood properties have popped up in multiple iconic French cities: Paris, Cannes, Cap D’Antibes, Arcachon, Nice, and, of course, Bordeaux.
‘Art-de-vivre’ is something that is repeated throughout the group’s website. To experience the French ‘art of living,’ once must pursue a life of elegance, beauty, connection, and culinary delights. After staying at Inwood’s Bordeaux location, I’d say that all of those ideas are made evident in the hospitality experience. The design of the hotel is modern without being charmless. It is enveloped in autumnal tones that are delightfully reminiscent of a little-known leather shop called Hermès. There are seemingly endless communal spaces that encourage one to spend time outside of their room, including a gym, a large living room, a bar, games, and an outdoor terrace. The room service food selection was limited to little bites, but the hotel’s restaurant located just off the lobby, Madame B, has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand. (I’m also pretty sure it’s sacrilege to consume room service when one is staying in such a vibrant culinary city).
If I’m trying to find something wrong with this hotel, I would note that the elevator is quite slow. With 83 rooms housed on five floors and one elevator to service them, I think it’s easy to see how a daily pileup is inevitable. Other than that, I don’t have much to critique.
ROOM REVIEW
Our stay only included one type of room: the Duplex. Situated on the fifth floor, the split-level rooms were well-insulated from any street noise. They were bright, cozy, and perfect for those travelling with multiple suitcases.
The name aptly describes the layout; on the first floor of the unit was the bathroom, the small mini bar section, a living space, and TONS of closet space. A narrow staircase on one of the walls brought us up to the second floor which had the bed, a small desk area, and even more closet space.
The overall interior design of the space was modern and straight-forward. It didn't burst with personality, but it didn’t have anything that was offensive or tacky either. I’ll note that the complimentary chocolate macarons that were left for us in our rooms were absolutely delicious, and a welcome change to the traditional fruit plate that often goes untouched.
SERVICE ASSESSMENT
While nothing went wrong during our stay, we did have a lapse in our planning. The two vineyards we were planning to visit were about an hour drive away from the hotel/ Bordeaux. Although it would be possible to take a taxi from Bordeaux to the vineyard, we were told by our vineyard contacts that it would prove difficult to find a car to take us back to the city center at the conclusion of our vineyard tour. We were advised to either hire a driver for the day or rent a car.
For the sake of the timeline, I should tell you that we arrived on Wednesday afternoon and were going to our first vineyard at 10 AM on Thursday morning. So, how could we find a rental car on such short notice? Turns out the hotel receptionist had a great solution. He had a local rental car service stop by the hotel first thing in the morning and drop off a beautiful, spacious car for us. We were told that we could either rent the car for one day or extend the rental contract another day to cover our second day of vineyard-hopping. We didn’t even have to decide at that moment; the drop-off person told us to just tell the hotel receptionist when we returned from our grape-soaked escapades at the end of the day.
Having a quick, effective solution for a problem showed how competent and top-notch the service was. Phew!
VALUE EVAL
I booked our Duplex Rooms through Hotels.com four months in advance. Below is the price breakdown per room:
3 nights x 1 room - €1,227.30
Taxes on fees - €122.73
Mandatory fees - €15.54
Total - €1,365.57 ($1,601.09 USD)
At a nightly price of about $533 USD, I think the service, room quality, and location were well-worth the price.
WOULD I STAY THERE AGAIN?
Absolutely. The hotel’s location was close enough to the shops and downtown scene without being caught in the throes of it. As a temporary home base when visiting La Belle Endormie, I can’t ask for anything more!
Given that this was my first trip to Bordeaux, I would say that I am a bit surprised with how much I loved the city. There is an excellent food scene, ample museums, great boutique shops, friendly locals that invalidate any ‘stuck-up French’ stereotype, incredible architecture, and, obviously, top-notch wine. As we took the train back to Paris, we all left with the realization that we would love to come back one day. I’d like to think the pleasant hotel experience contributed to that feeling!
Hôtel Burdigala by Inwood Hotels is located at the following address:
115 Rue Georges Bonnac, 33000 Bordeaux, France
*Note that contrary to what is listed on Google Maps, check-in starts at 4 PM and check out is by 11 AM.*
Contact details can be found below:
Phone: +33 5 56 90 16 16