12 of the best hotels in Bristol – Times Travel

Spiritual home of Brunel, Banksy, Massive Attack and Wallace & Gromit, the southwest’s largest conurbation has a well-earned reputation for creativity and quirkiness. Once one of Britain’s most important harbours (the city earned much of its riches on the proceeds of the slave trade, a legacy it’s only now beginning to reckon with), these days Bristol is better known for its arty side: it’s awash with interesting galleries, museums, gig venues and theatres, and many of its neighbourhoods are gentrifying fast.  

In the city centre, big chain hotels predominate. Though short on charm and catering mainly for business travellers, they are at least practical and well placed for exploring the lively area around the Floating Harbour. For historical cachet, base yourself in the posh suburb of Clifton, an upmarket area northwest of the centre, whose graceful Georgian buildings look more akin to Bath than the rest of Bristol (it’s also home to Brunel’s landmark suspension bridge, completed in 1864). Don’t miss a walk around the Floating Harbour with its striking cranes, the arty area around Spike Island and a visit to the brilliant SS Great Britain — a groundbreaking Brunel-designed steamship restored to its full 19th-century splendour.

Main photo: Artist Residence Bristol (Booking.com)

1. Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin

Best for views
If it’s a view you want, well, they don’t get better in Bristol than here — the once-tired Avon Gorge Hotel, now run by the upmarket Hotel du Vin chain. The hotel’s USP is its knockout location: plonked on the edge of the Avon Gorge with an uninterrupted vista over Brunel’s striking suspension bridge, and the bars and restaurants of Clifton a stroll away. The Georgian building has been given a contemporary spruce-up, with the trademark HdV muted colour palette, but it’s worth noting that not all rooms have the all-important view. For a spoil, go for the Signature Suite, with twin rolltop baths and a panoramic bay window. The hotel’s restaurant, Goram & Vincent, is a popular Clifton meeting spot and, of course, the wine list is great.

Spa N
Pool N
Price £££

2. Artist Residence Bristol

Best for offbeat style
Bristol’s coolest new hotel, bar none. It’s the latest in the small family of Artist Residences that have popped up around the country, and showcases the same witty style, sense of fun and junk-shop chic and that have made the others such a hit. This one is typically offbeat: a former boot factory in the fast-gentrifying neighbourhood of St Paul’s, with varying rooms ranging from “broom cupboard” (actually very cosy) to loft suites and a split-level lookout apartment with its own spiral staircase. As always at the Artists Residences, it’s the decor that makes it: splashy art, upcycled furniture, exposed brick and a sense of individuality to every room.

Spa N
Pool N
Price £££

3. Number 38 Clifton

Best for period luxury
To call this place a B&B really doesn’t do it justice. It’s more like a small, super-exclusive boutique hotel, with some of the most luxurious rooms in the city — including suites that bring dual aspects of both the city and Clifton Downs. It’s in a twin-fronted Georgian townhouse, with period architecture still intact, but cleverly modernised: a bathroom concealed inside a cupboard, a fancy metal bath squeezed in alongside an old-fashioned sink, sleigh beds positioned to make the most of the views. It feels very contemporary, but somehow stylishly old-school too. Continental breakfast is included, but there’s no restaurant. If you’re driving, you need to ask for a permit to park on the street outside.

Spa N
Pool N
Price £££

You might also like

4. Bristol Harbour Hotel

Best for spa
Another British mini-chain that has way more character than the big multinationals, Harbour Hotels have renovated two former banks in the heart of the old town — and created one of Bristol’s top boutique hotels in the process. On historic Corn Street, surrounded by Georgian architecture and just along the street from eclectic St Nicholas Market, the building has real grandeur: neo-Venetian columns, Portland stone and huge sash windows (ask if you can have a peek inside the old Sansovino banking hall). Rooms are lovely — spacious and well-furnished, with quirky decor to liven up proceedings — but the star feature is the spa inside the old vaults, with massive steel doors still in situ.

Spa Y
Pool Y
Price £££

5. Hotel du Vin Bristol

Best for central location
Hotel du Vin’s original Bristol location might lack the views of its sister hotel, but it’s handier for the city centre and the harbour. It occupies another landmark location: a former sugar factory, grade II listed and featuring cast-iron pillars and bare brick walls. Rooms vary in size and, depending on their position inside the building, some feel a little dingy — ask before you book, and trade up as much as you can afford (the mezzanine suites are lovely). There’s a good bistro, but finding nearby parking can be a headache (and expensive). 

Spa N
Pool N
Price £££

6. Brooks Guesthouse Bristol

Best for value B&B
Decent B&Bs are rare as hen’s teeth in Bristol, so this place is a find: central, stylish and good value, with some surprising features thrown in for good measure (including, rather brilliantly, four “Retro Rocket” Airstream caravans on the roof). Standard rooms are comfy if rather generic, but rates include a great cooked breakfast. The building is set around a gated courtyard off St Nicholas Street, a great location in the heart of Bristol; the nearest parking is an NCP site, which can be booked at discounted rates.

Spa N
Pool N
Price ££

7. Paintworks Apartments

Best for hipsters
The Paintworks is an exemplar of Bristol’s changing character: an old industrial site that’s been reinvented as a creative hub, with design businesses and artists’ studios aplenty. These five loft-style apartments pick up the hipster vibe: with their open-plan layouts, shiny wooden floors, steel staircases, funky furniture and bespoke artworks, they’re part apartment, part art gallery. Some have one bedroom, others two: standouts are The Brick Loft (mezzanine, wooden beams), White Loft (Roy Lichtenstein-style mural, fixie bike on the wall) and River Loft (view).

Spa N
Pool N
Price ££

8. Bristol Hotel

Best for smart simplicity
The brutal concrete exterior won’t be to all tastes, but whatever your opinion on the architecture, inside the Doyle-owned Bristol is a smart, efficient and really rather swish city hotel. Rooms have big beds, good showers and, in the main, fine views of the harbour. The River Grille Restaurant is a popular hangout for city workers, and the adjacent NCP car park (£12 per night) is really handy if you’re driving, and relatively cheap by Bristol standards. 

Spa N
Pool N
Price ££

9. Bristol Marriott Royal

Best for getting close to the action
The Marriott’s USP is heritage. No hotel in the city can match it for period grandeur; this was, once, the city’s foremost hotel, occupying a spot overlooking College Green, though sadly much of its former style has been eroded by successive corporate renovations. The old girl still has flashes of style, especially in the lobby and public areas, but the rooms are disappointingly bland. Still, the busy bars and nightclubs of Park Street are on your doorstep, and the harbour is only ten minutes’ walk downhill. Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and the university are five minutes’ walk up Park Street in the opposite direction, with the genteel streets of Clifton beyond. 

Spa N
Pool N
Price ££

10. Leonardo Hotel Bristol City

Best for no-frills comfort
If what you’re after is a smart, sleek business hotel that’s keenly priced and short on frills or fuss, the Leonardo pretty much fits the bill. It’s a relatively new addition to the city, in the fast-changing area north of Temple Meads station, so the surrounding area is still something of a work in progress. Rooms are unstarry but very comfortable, and amenities include a large lounge-bar, restaurant and gym. The only option for parking is at the large public car park nearby.

Spa N
Pool N
Price ££

11. Mollie’s Motel & Diner

Best for a taste of the US
A slice of Americana hits the Bristol suburbs here, with an upmarket vibe courtesy of owners Soho House. As the name suggests, it’s styled as a motel with matching diner: banquettes, neon signs, bar stools and all (it even has its own “general store” where you can pick up coffee and bath stuffs). Sleek wood and steel lend the rooms a more modern, mid-century vibe. The main thing to note is that Mollie’s isn’t actually anywhere near Bristol city centre: it’s just off the M5 at Cribbs Causeway (not that you’ll hear the traffic, as the soundproofing is excellent). It’s 15 minutes’ drive into the city (and about 25 to the airport).

Spa N
Pool N
Price ££

12. Berwick Lodge

Best for extravagant style
Victorian manor, school, psychiatric hospital and now boutique hotel — Berwick Lodge has been many things since it was built in 1890. It’s a wonderful building, gabled, bay-windowed, brick-built and surrounded by acres of grounds (including a helipad). The rooms have been styled to reflect the house’s upper-crust origins, with a touch of Turkish ostentation courtesy of owners Sarah and Fevzi Arikan: huge sleigh beds, clawfoot tubs and rococo mirrors that would look right at home in a renovated château (unsurprisingly, this is a popular wedding venue). It’s a long haul from central Bristol though: 20 minutes by car, but ideal if you’d rather be out in the country than in the middle of the city.

Spa N
Pool N
Price ££