House of FRANQ — Hotel in Antwerp

This review is for both the hotel and the michelin star restaurant FRANQ.

Restaurant FRANQ was excellent. I had the set menu for lunch and everything was delicious. Some dishes were really spectacular. I don't remember the specific ingredients but I have added photos of some of the dishes. They also brought out lots of extra dishes which I love. I ended up sitting for over 3 and a half hours and enjoyed every minute of it. Also keep in mind that I ate this lunch solo. I love going to michelin star restaurants solo because I really feel that I can take in the entire experience to the fullest. The service was excellent and the restaurant staff were consistently very nice and professional throughout my stay.

For the hotel, I had a good experience overall but not spectacular. Maybe that is line with the fact that this is a 4 star hotel and not a 5 star. The building and rooms are beautiful. I love the way the renovations that they've done but still kept the character of the building. Check-in process was smooth and they offered me a welcome drink while I waited, which was a nice touch. I didn't have much interaction with the staff but on a daily basis they smiled at me and when I asked basic questions they seemed friendly enough. Some people at the front desk were friendlier than others. However, what really brought down my opinion of the hotel was their response when I requested flexibility with the check-out time. My flight was late in the evening so I requested if I could check-out at 1pm instead of the standard noon time. Now keep in mind that I have made this request many times in the past when staying at other hotels and every time they have said absolutely no problem with the exception of one time when they checked the schedule for the day and apologized that they could not accomodate me because they are fully booked and the hotel staff will need the full time to turnover the rooms for arriving guests. Totally understandable! But in this case, when I made the request the receptionist just said no that's not allowed. No checking if it would be possible or anything. That really irritated me because it shows a lack of flexibility and customer service which is something that I very much value. And unfortunately because it happened on the last day of my stay it has left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall I think I'd recommend this hotel as a standard 4 star experience and nothing...

We would not stay again for the following reasons: the hotel lobby, breakfast area, and staff were excellent, but our room was a huge disappointment. It's important for you to know that we traveled with our three-month-old baby, so the hotel room was crucial as we spent most of our time there with the little one. Firstly, we had indicated that we were coming with a baby. Nevertheless, there was no crib provided. When we asked for one, they did bring it but did not set it up with sheets. Fortunately, I had brought some sheets myself, but I found this unpleasant. Additionally, the mattress was plastic. I understand this is common in most hotels, but for a hotel with such a rating, I expect more. Babies sweat in them, but they also don't breathe at all, posing a risk for SIDS. It doesn't seem like much effort to invest in better quality mattresses. But our biggest disappointment was the room itself. I had to pay 230 euros for a family room even though we were traveling with a baby. I thought it might be necessary, but upon arrival, we found out we had two rooms. This was completely unnecessary since the baby obviously wouldn't be in another room. So, I believe we could have taken a standard room, which was much cheaper. But even then, the room we got had no window. Okay, there was a window, but it overlooked a high wall of a very small courtyard. So, no natural light entered the room, and it felt like sleeping in a bunker. This was extremely unpleasant. I don't think such a room should be offered at the same rate as the others. It should be cheaper, and it should be mentioned that the reason is the lack of natural light. Then at least you can make the choice yourself. I wouldn't choose such a room, but at least we would have had the choice. Now we paid 230 euros to sit in a bunker. Additionally, we asked for a late check-out. Believe me, not because we wanted to stay longer, but because it was necessary with our baby. For this, we had to pay an extra 30 euros. And when we expressed our dissatisfaction at the reception, we only received a 'oops,' and that was it: so, I didn't find the stay worth the money at all. In my opinion, they score low in terms of value for money. The breakfast was good but too limited, especially for 30 euros per person. We...

I would not recommend this hotel. It is highly surprising to me that they are featured in the Michelin guide when the most basic things are missing. Yes, the lobby is really grand and artsy, but the room felt like it belonged somewhere else. It is very worn down, both in the hallway and inside the room. The room felt stuffy and had a rather unpleasant smell. We got a towel with a big hole, there was not enough toilet paper, the soap dispenser in the shower was empty (during all of our 3 night stay) the slippers had been used and was stained yellow and with black hair on them. They were stuffed inside the bathrobe, so needles to say I didn’t want to wear that either. After one of the cleanings, there was a large black stain on the shower floor. I have never previously experienced the shower to be more dirty after cleaning than before…

The staff is friendly, but unfortunately it doesn’t compensate for the standard of the hotel.

The location of the hotel is pretty off, and even though it’s on a quiet street, there’s not enough sound isolation to keep out the...