When I planned to visit Namur, I knew I definitely had to stay in Hotel Les Tanneurs. Its the most historic hotel in the whole of the city. Today its a combination of a historic hotel, contemporary hotel, a gastronomic restaurant, a grill restaurant and a roof-top bar. This is definitely one of the most unique hotels in Belgium.
LES TANNEURS, NAMUR
OLDEST HOTEL BUILDING I'VE STAYED IN & THE BEST HOTEL IN NAMUR!
To begin with, the first thing you need to see in this hotel would be the floor of the gastronomic restaurant. That would give you an idea of how old it is actually!!!! Have a look at the floor and wall stones where I'm sitting in the below pic! Look at the passage to the cellar from the restaurant, in the next pic, at its flooring & walls!
The actual origins of this is unknown. All we know is that its original foundations are older than 14th C CE!!!! That's perhaps the oldest 'hotel' building I've stayed in (the next would be Ghent River Hotel - the very unique 16th C house converted to hotel)! Its been mentioned by Theophile la Paien (1314-1377 CE) that here was the guardrooms of the fortifications. By 17th C CE this was the street with the tanneries and the old guardrooms were used by pr*stitutes to do their 'business'! Around 1650 CE, these were burnt and its believed that it was by Celestine Nuns who wanted to put an end to the 'business'. Unfortunately what they didn't realize was that the fire could destruct more than just the guardrooms!!!! Almost all homes, which were built of wood, were all burnt down!
Anyways, even after this unfortunate event, the streetwalkers continued their services till.......... 1990!!!!!! That's almost 3 centuries........... The ruins of the fortifications was bought by the gardener of the nuns and soon houses of the Quartier des Tanneurs was built there in 1670-1716. Today, 15 of these houses have been combined together to form this fantastic 4 star hotel with a rather fascinating history making it one of the most historic hotels in Namur, or in whole of Wallonia itself!!!!
This main historic wing of the hotel has 31 rooms and the hotel has a brand new, contemporary building, just beside with 4 rooms in it. This contemporary wing is perfect for elderly persons esp., with bad knees (I'll tell the reason soon), wheel-chair bound persons and those who need a kitchenette in room. The terrace of this building has a rooftop bar.
ROOMS OF HOTEL LES TANNEURS - BEST NAMUR HOTEL
Like most other historic hotels, each room is completely different from one another. Since the original architecture & layout of the old houses have been maintained, the hotel set-up is rather........ quirky! Each floor is not in the same level! Some rooms are in one floor while some are in duplex! The prices are a range, different for each & every room with no slabs or categories! You can book a particular room itself online!Here's the unbelievable thing - 8 rooms are equipped with sauna - inside the room. This is perhaps the most pampering thing I've ever experienced in a city hotel. While jacuzzi is common in many city hotels, I've never been to a city hotel with a private sauna within the room!!!!!! This is something expected only in resorts in far-away places, not in the city-centre!!!!!!!
We had a look at a few rooms that were not occupied when we visited. Here are some that stood out.
ROOM 303 OF HOTEL LES TANNEURS - LUXURY HOTEL IN NAMUR
Room 303 has a quirky set-up which seemed like a bad idea in the first instance, but then its a rather excellent idea! The jacuzzi is at the foot of the bed - open jacuzzi, without a separate 'room'! While water spillage was the first thing that crossed my mind, when I further thought about it - 'I could rest in the bed and watch TV or sit in the jacuzzi with a glass of sparkling wine in hand and watch TV'!!!! Well......
ROOM 307 OF HOTEL LES TANNEURS - FAMILY HOTEL IN NAMUR
Room 307 is one of the rooms with a sauna! This also had a jacuzzi that's large enough to fit 2 adults and a kid!!!! All this in the privacy & comfort of your own room is something that was totally unexpected in a city hotel! There is a separate storage rack as well. This is a duplex as well with toilet, jacuzzi and sauna in mezzanine floor. This is the reason why I mentioned earlier that some rooms may not be suitable for senior citizens, esp., with bad knees. If one needs to use the toilet in the middle of the night, they have to climb a flight of stairs. With its sauna and jacuzzi and duplex style, I'd say this is the perfect honeymoon room.
Being true to the original architecture has some disadvantages though. For eg., both this room & room 303 were a duplex with the jacuzzi in the mezzanine floor, which unfortunately has no railing for a certain part. This room may not be suitable for families with toddlers who might hurt themselves trying to climb or jump!
ROOM 318 OF HOTEL LES TANNEURS - 4 STAR HOTEL IN NAMUR
The next room we saw was room 318, This is also one of the rooms with a sauna. Its original woodwork ceiling is interesting. The bathroom with small jacuzzi and sauna were a short flight of stairs below. This was safer without the above mentioned issues in 303 or 307.
The next room we saw was room 318, This is also one of the rooms with a sauna. Its original woodwork ceiling is interesting. The bathroom with small jacuzzi and sauna were a short flight of stairs below. This was safer without the above mentioned issues in 303 or 307.
The hotel has quite a few parking lots and meeting rooms as well, esp the ones in the attic and cellar are quite unusual!!! The cellar meeting room is called Kurbali (closed in summers) and is a part of the original fortification.
The hotel provides a buffet breakfast, which is, like most other European hotels, is only ok for vegetarians/vegans. It has a wide variety of meat & cheese slices, breads, cereals etc. I'd love it if they could add some mashed potatoes, hash browns, salad etc to make it more healthy and tasty for us instead of us filling up on breads! They did have some fruit salads with cream cheese and which was fantastic!
Pic Courtesy: Hotel Les Tanneurs, Namur
On Google Maps: Hotel Les Tanneurs
Nearest Railway Station: Namur
From Namur: 0.7km (9 mins walk)
To Book online: Hotel Les Tanneurs
Room rates begin at €70 (for double room)
Breakfast: €13
Breakfast: €13
Hotel Ph no: +32(0)81 240024
MY NAMUR TRAVELOGUE:
Namur Citadel, Guy Delforge Perfumery, Jean Chalon Garden, Railbikes of Molignee, Domaine des Grotte de Han, Les Jardin d'Annevoie, Wepion Strawberry
P.S: I was invited by Wallonia Tourism to experience the city for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
amazing place!
ReplyDeleteHotel Les Tanneurs looks like a lovely choice for this part of Belgium. It's very boutique which suits me well, and I love that there's a sauna in 8 of the rooms. The jacuzzi at the foot of the bed sounds fab too!
ReplyDeleteMy first look at the pictures had me thinking this was a medieval castle turned hotel. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had a contemporary wing too. I too have not heard of many or any hotel rooms with sauna inside. That must be wonderful in the colder months. The jacuzzi at the foot of the bed sounds very pampering to me!
ReplyDeleteWow I would love to stay here it looks so medieval and cool! The The Kurbali cellar meeting room is beautiful -- I could almost see it as a nice venue for a wedding reception or special party. It's incredible that you can stay in a 14th century building -- will definitely have to put this on my list. You always find the best places to stay!
ReplyDeleteOMG That is freaking old hotel, yet so grand! I could imagine those old bricks tells a lot of stories (how I wish they could talk). The rooftop bar looks amazing too, very relaxing :D
ReplyDeleteThe story behind this hotel is very interesting about how nuns tried to abolish the business of tannery and then after fire also this continued too. This really looks like the oldest hotel with so many interesting story behind and even the construction of this hotel depicts how ancient it is. This looks like historic tourist place instead of hotel as there is so much to know and see in this hotel itself. Sauna inside some rooms is very nice option to pamper us within all privacy. Also the cylindrical roof above the bed looks very unique and quirky. I love that you always find some interesting places to visit and even the hotels of your choice are very unique.
ReplyDeleteI have never stayed in a historic hotel before. I love that every room was different! I tend to opt for the most convenient resort option but reading this has me thinking I should be more creative with my bookings!
ReplyDeleteHotel Les Tanneurs indeed sounds literally like a blast from the past. What a fascinating place to wake up in. the 14th century CE, literally sounds like traveling back in time to another intriguing era in history. The story behind the hotel is indeed dramatic and poignant. But what really had my attention is the way that this historical landmark has been converted into a hotel with all modern luxuries and amenities, but keeping the historical structure still intact.
ReplyDeleteI always loved hotels with some historic past and HOTEL LES TANNEURS, NAMUR was no exceptions. I like the fact that they made a historic building to such a modern stay. It still has a medieval touch to it yet it looks really sophisticated. I would love to stay there.
ReplyDeleteThis hotel has such an interesting history! For being such a historic building and merging different buildings together it looks cohesive ans it certainly has modern amenities. I would live one of those rooms with a sauna.
ReplyDeleteI would much prefer to stay in a historic hotel with lots of character than a new age modern hotel. This stay looks very neat!
ReplyDeleteIt's always great to stay somewhere with a bit of a backstory and some character. Looks like a really interesting place to stay.
ReplyDeleteThe medieval setting looks interesting! On the other hand the modern touch make guests feeling comfortable. It is nice choice to stay.
ReplyDeleteI love staying at places that have a story. I am always down to stay at a historic hotel, even better when they are modernized. I have never stayed at a hotel that had a sauna in the room, that sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteA historical hotel that has foundations from way back in the 14th century sounds so cool! I would love to stay in the oldest hotel in the city and one that looks like that, with stone walls, would be just so awesome. I love that they also have a rooftop bar and rooms with sauna and Jacuzzi, what can beat that?
ReplyDeleteLooks like an exciting place to stay. People normally visit something from 14th century as a museum, but here you can actually live for a while. That must be really insetting atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI would love to stay in a place like this. History, but also a good interior. Going to save it for future reference and send to my friend who is going to that place and is a historian! Looks very interesting place to stay.
ReplyDeleteAnna