Belgium

In Bruges I stayed at Lybeer Travelers Hostel (rate included continental breakfast and they have free internet). Lybeer has single & double ensuite rooms as well as shared bath dorms. Excellent location, about a 10 minute walk to hostel from train station. Easy walking to all the sights, resturants, bars, shops.

It's only an hour by train between Bruges & Brussels. To avoid the hassle of switching hotels, I'd just base in Bruges and do day trips by train or bus. You can pretty much cover sights in Bruges in about 2-3 days, but it is a very nice place to stay at night.

Belgium is great but if you spend all your time in Bruge, you will miss a lot. Hop a train for other areas. Brussels is worth 1 day tops, 2 in Bruge, hit the road one way or another to the east. Many parts of the country offer spectacular sights, ancient fortresses, charning towns. Durbuy(to rest), Bouilon, Namur, Dinant, Tournai, Ghent(a must),Ypres, countless other spots. Depending on how you get around, there is much more to see than just Brussels and Bruge. Frommers covers Belgium pretty well. Happy travels

We rented an apt in Bruges last year through VRBO.com. It was in the center of town and so convenient to everything. You can take day trips out of Bruges very easily. We stayed for 5 nights and wished we had had more time there.
Brussels, for us, was not worth staying a night, but like any of our recommendations, that's just one person's opinion.

We stayed in Brugges and made a 1 day trip to Brussels. We stayed a Absolut B&B, which was wonderful (But maybe not cheap). They have a wonderful loft room that sleeps 4, perfect for our family. Go to Dumond chocolates in Brugges for a slice of heaven. They are in Rick's book.

If you have 5-7 days in Belgium, I might ask what else interests you, because you may have time to fit in an extra destination.