Hotel des Quinconces Bordeaux Centre ★★★★★

An 1834 town house beside Place des Quinconces

The building went up in 1834, in the pale limestone that gives central Bordeaux its colour, and it has kept the marks of that period: tall windows, high ceilings, filtered light, and an original dovecote still standing on the property. The conversion into a five star hotel was done without stripping the house of its domestic scale, so guests arrive into what still feels like a private residence on Cours du Maréchal Foch rather than a lobby.

Nine rooms, no two alike

There are nine rooms in total, and the house makes a point of the fact that each one is different: a particular light, a particular view, a particular set of proportions inherited from the original floor plan. The decoration is restrained rather than showy, built on old parquet, well chosen fabrics and a narrow colour range. With this few keys, service is personal by construction, and the concierge desk works on a one to one basis with each arrival.

A secret garden and a glass roofed bar

Behind the house lies a walled garden, screened from the street and planted for quiet rather than for show. It is the element guests remember, and in a dense city centre it is genuinely rare. Inside, the salon bar sits under a glass roof that pulls daylight deep into the ground floor, and serves wine and small plates through the afternoon and evening. Together they give a nine room hotel two distinct places to sit, which small properties often lack.

Two minutes from the quays

The address is one of the best connected in Bordeaux without being on a busy street. Place des Quinconces, with its tram lines, is next door, and the quays of the Garonne are a couple of minutes on foot. Place de la Bourse and the Miroir d'Eau follow along the river, the Grand Théâtre and the Golden Triangle sit just south, and the CAPC contemporary art museum and the Chartrons wine quarter are a short walk north. The Cité du Vin is a direct tram ride from the square.

Why we selected it

We retained the Hôtel des Quinconces for travellers who want the opposite of a grand hotel: a nineteenth century house, nine rooms, a private garden, and a level of attention that only comes with a very small property. It is our recommendation for a quiet, discreet luxury stay in Bordeaux, particularly for couples and for repeat visitors who already know the city and want to live in it rather than tour it.