Hotel du Vin Bristol

Though they’ve wisely dropped the tongue-twister from the official name — go on, try saying “bistro Bristol” — the Hotel du Vin Bristol is very much in the family business, bringing wine, design, and fine French-inflected bistro fare together under a single roof. Or a row of roofs, properly speaking — the Hotel du Vin makes its home in the wonderfully named Sugar House, itself a landmark row of 18th-century warehouses in the heart of town, a few blocks from Bristol’s renovated docklands.

The forty rooms and suites are classic urban-industrial retrofits, from loft-style double rooms to suites that are actual lofts in the split-level sense — some have sitting areas upstairs, others bathrooms with one or even two roll-top bathtubs (showers, throughout the hotel, are of the high-flow walk-in variety). The emphasis placed on the bathroom is one example of the transformational experience the Hotels du Vin aim for, but a minor one.

Of course the major example is what’s downstairs. The lounge, the billiards room and the popular bar set a social tone. You don’t call your hotel the Hotel du Vin unless you’re serious about wine, which this establishment certainly is. And it’s no less serious about its Bistro, a favorite even for Bristol, a town where high-quality dining experiences are in plentiful supply — it's open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.