My fiance and I travelled with another couple and stayed in Carmen for 3 nights. The house is approximately a 10 minute walk away from the centre of Bruges. The house is traditional, characterful and well equipped. It had everything that we needed and was a comfortable base for us to return home to. We spent much of our time out enjoying the sights, history and Beers. The bathroom is a treat with a sauna function on the shower and a jacuzzi feature on the bath! Be aware that stairs to the top floor bedrooms are very steep and take some getting used to (in fairness they are more like a ladder than stairs and I felt safer coming down them backwards). The owner Chris Vos couldnt be more helpful and polite, I had regular email contact with him prior to and during my stay and couldnt be happier. I wouldnt stay in a hotel in Bruges again, knowing that Carmen is available, it will always be my first choice. Highly recommended.

We stayed at Carmen over Easter and loved the house. It is located only 10 minutes from the town centre and easy to walk to all the sites

The house has all the amenities we needed for a... more

Spent a great 5 days at Carmen during easter hols - family of four with children aged 14, 12. House was very clean, spacious, well furnished, with very comfortable beds and ample kitchen equipment... more

Carmen is a lovely flemsih house about a 15 min walk away from the Markt/Belfry in central old Bruges, its a pleasant walk along the canal, even in the Winter. Your host is a charming person... more

We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 teenagers, and we stayed for 3 nights around the 1st of january 2013. We really enjoyed our stay and the house is very well located in Bruges, very convenient to get to the old town. We particularly enjoyed the bath, and everything was Ok with the equipment considering that our children are not very young. That was great!

If you want a characterful property within easy walk of the town center then this is a good choice. As with all these old terraced houses they are small with long narrow rooms but authentic character. The living room is comfortable and the kitchen and dining table small but perfectly adequate for the needs of our family of four. We mainly ate out anyway. Chris, the owner, is very helpful and friendly to deal with and gave us a good rate for our four night visit.
The bathroom is very nicely equipped with sauna/ shower and jacuzzi bath with built in colour change lights and music. Master bedroom is large and dramatically decorated with good cupboard space. The attic bedrooms have characterful sloping ceilings and comfortable beds.
However there are a few things which need attention.
1) Stairs are a big issue. The first flight is so badly designed that even my eleven year old daughter kept banging her head because there is insufficient heat clearance with the roof! The second flight up to the attic is steep with no hand rail and the treads are not level. I measured with a spirit level and they are nearly 10 degrees off horizontal. This could result in a serious accident if wearing slippery socks. We told the kids to only go barefoot and treat them like a ladder so they would hold on to the stairs with their hands as they descended.
2) The attic space has two bedrooms with one tiny radiator and probably insufficient insulation. It was freezing and my daughter got so cold she could not sleep well even with a second duvet on. The kids did enjoy having their own floor and the sloping roof was characterful. A little space heater would solve the problem easily.
3) The master bedroom has a marshmallow mattresses which gave as much support as a hammock! I don't normally suffer from back problems but by the third night I had such bad pain I was unable to move. As soon as I returned home the problem resolved. What's more is that instead of a double bed it is two separate beds pushed together.

4) In need of a good handyman. Panels in attic bedrooms not attached. A curious younger child would be able to play with the boiler. Very slightly step between two attic rooms which is almost invisible and causes a significant trip hazard near the top of the stairs!
Wardrobe doors hanging off their hinges in master bedroom so don't shut properly. Some of the pebble tiles around bath have been removed and not replaced.

Bruges is a beautiful destination and Carmen is in a great location with lots of character. With a few tweaks I would have a happily given it a higher score.