The Ultimate Guide To Bristol

We visited Bristol back in February, when my Dad wanted to attend a record and music exhibition so we decided to tie it into a weekend away exploring the city. We had never been to Bristol before, so it was a good experience and to see another part of the country. Check out my guide to Bristol to help you plan your next trip.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BRISTOL // EAT, SLEEP AND DO

We drove up in the morning and arrived there quite early. We dropped Dad off at the music exhibition and dropped the car off at our reserved parking spot using Just Park (which was a faultless experience). We then walked to the cinema, and got there just in time to catch a 10:45 showing of the new Bridget Jones: Mad About A Boy movie in their Everyman Cinema.

I can say we will definitely be going back, it was a whole new experience. We ordered our drinks and some popcorn before we went to our seats and then ordered a pizza whilst we waited for the movie to start. The film was amazing and probably the best one out of all of them – definitely bring your tissues if you haven’t seen it yet!

After the movie, we walked back to the car and got our bags to check into our hotel The Harbour Hotel. Once we got into our hotel rooms, we open some bubbles as we dried off from the rain that managed to catch us on our way back. We got to experience the very tiny hotel lift (which only managed to fit two people and two small suitcases in), it was used to transport money around the bank as our hotel was originally a bank building.

Once we had dried off, we got changed and headed out for some dinner. It was still horrible and raining so we tried to find somewhere not too far from the hotel. We came across a Turkish restaurant called Cappadocia that was really pretty and had lots of lovely decor inside. We picked a table upstairs and ordered our starters of a mixed meze platter and some breads with dips. I then ordered their smoked cod that came with a sweet potato mash and pomegranate seeds. It was absolutely delicious!

It was still raining and horrible after our dinner, so we headed back to the hotel bar to dry off and have a night cap before heading to bed.

NAVIGATE YOUR WAY AROUND BRISTOL…

The next day, we woke up at a decent time and headed down to breakfast at the hotel. I chose their Eggs Florentine and had some apple juice and a croissant before my eggs arrived. There is so much to chose from on the hotel breakfast menu, you would need quite a few days there to try everything. They have a nice selection of cereals, cold and hot options at the breakfast bar along with pressed juices, yogurts and fruit and pastries.

There are lots of cool places to check out in Bristol from bars to various activities like Flight Club which is a brilliant hangout spot if you love darts.

After breakfast, we headed back to our rooms to finish packing and took our cases to reception to check out. We then headed out to explore the city, starting off with walking down the famous Corn Street – which used to be filled with banks (including our hotel). It was a beautiful sunny day, thankfully.

It was brilliant taking in the quirky architecture, bars and restaurants and creative graffiti that is throughout the city. There are a few rough spots in Bristol and a lot of rubbish in the streets around the Uni zones but there are a few nice spots as well. We kept walking until we reached the quay and stopped off at a really cool cafe/restaurant called Ritorno Lounge. I ordered their hazelnut hot chocolate that came with chocolate dusting and lots of mini marshmallows.

Once we finished our drinks, we carried on walking around the quay and harbour, taking in all of the big boats and Canon’s House. We then came across an old derelict prison and a bridge house that was once used to operate one of the mechanical bridges in the city. Then we walked along Little King Street which was filled with lots of colourful pubs and little houses before coming back to the hotel to leave.

Before we left for home, we stopped to check out the Shopping Quarter as I wanted to go Hotel Chocolat to stock up on some more of my hot chocolate. We also walked through St Nicholas Market, which is directly opposite our hotel and is filled so many cool stands and stores to check out.

A LOVELY BANK CONVERTED HOTEL IN THE CENTRE OF BRISTOL

Our hotel, The Harbour Hotel is the former home of two nineteenth-century banks that have been joined together. It is located on the top of Corn Street, which used to be a famous banking district in the old walled city of Bristol.

AMENITIES

The hotel has it’s own spa which is located in the basement of the old banks. They offer a wide range of spa treatments including a small gym. You will need to book a slot to use the spa and gym as it is so small, only a small number of people can use it at a time. This is great because it won’t get overcrowded and will be much easier to relax.

They also hold weddings, events and conferences in the hotel in the massive hall which used to be the main banking hall.

THE ROOMS

There are a wide range of rooms and suits suitable for all of your needs. The rooms and suites are decorated with a loving blend of sumptuous materials and bold colour palettes inspired by Bristol’s modern edge. Our gold-standard rooms and suites become an inner-city oasis to rest your feet and sip on complimentary gin from the in-room decanter.

If you book directly with Harbour Hotel, you will receive one hour complimentary HarSPA access per day (usually £10 per person).

Each room comes equipped with a Hairdryer, Complimentary gin, Bramley toiletries, Nespresso coffee machine, Free in-room Wi-Fi and a fully stocked mini fridge.

LOCATION

The Harbour Hotel is located on Corn Street. It is a 3 minute walk from Bristol Bridge and the river and is a short walk up the hill and on the right from the Shopping Quarter.

02 PLACES TO EAT IN BRISTOL

01. Cappadocia

Cappadocia was our first restaurant find as it was so close to our hotel when it was raining so much on our first night. It was a beautifully decorated restaurant and ideal if you love taking selfies and photos for Instagram. We picked a table upstairs and had lots of lovely flowers sprawling the wall behind our table.

To start with we ordered their breads and dips to share before our hot and cold meze platter arrived. It was absolutely delicious. I then ordered their smoked cod that came with a sweet potato mash and pomegranate seeds. I had a few of their really yummy cocktails but unfortunately I cannot remember the name of it. To finish off, I ordered their Tiramisu Cheesecake that was so delicious and light, I could have eaten it all over again. My Dad ordered some Baklava, that I got to try and that was so yummy and crunchy.

02. Ritorno Lounge

Ritorno Lounge is a lot like The Ivy and also The Merletto Lounge (as it is part of the same chain) but very chill and filled with quirky corners and decor. We didn’t stop here for long but we grabbed a drink to take a break from walking. I ordered their hot chocolate with hazelnut syrup that came with chocolate dusting and lots of mini marshmallows. They have lots of awesome sounding dishes on their menu for brunch or even evening meals also. They have weekly deal nights that are ideal for uni students and a lot of students even work there to earn money or study there as they have study zones.

The decor is very quirky and eclectic. There is lots of dark hard wood furniture with mixtures of textures and patterns in the rugs, cushions and sofas. The lighting is varied with lots of random lampshades hanging together to create a massive chandelier in the middle of the restaurant with a mixture of other lightbulbs over the bar area and the study zone.