The Hotel Brussels — Hotel in Brussels

I booked 5 nights at The Hotel Brussels for a room with 2 twin beds and a sofa. It was originally for my sister and I, but we had another sister join in last minute. We ended up staying in Paris the first night, so we didn't even use the room that night. The second night we did not arrive until after midnight due to delays with the train. What should've been a quick trip from Paris to Brussels ended up being quite the adventure! We were exhausted to say the least. The 2 front desk personnel were very helpful and understanding when we checked in. The elevators are small so we separated to go up to the room. I got up first. My sisters came up about 5-10 minutes behind me with a rude and condescending manager. Apparently they were having trouble at the elevator and the manager stopped and asked what they needed. When my one sister told him that I went ahead of them with the key, the manager asked them with how many were staying in the room. She told him 3 and, this is crazy to even have to type, but do you know this man called security! He proceeded to tell her that he needed security so she could understand the "severity" of the situation (of seeping 3 to a room with 2 beds and a sofa). He even tried to get loud and indignant with my sisters. He caught on quickly that that sort of unnecessary bullying just wasn't going to work (one sister is a 65 yo retired engineer and the other is a 60 yo, all but dissertation educated, inner city public high school teacher, and I myself am a 40 yo registered nurse and mom of teens lol). He and security proceeded to escort them to the room where he then explained to me that we would need to purchase another room for the night for the 3rd person. Problem is that they didn't have any rooms available except their $1000+ / night superior suite. Comical. Remember, it was after midnight when we arrived. By the time all had died down with this manager and going back and forth with the front desk, staff coming back and forth to our room it was after 2am. The end result was we stayed in the room that night because they didn't have another room available that wouldn't cost my first born child. They intended for us to pay for a second room for the remaining 3 nights but i could not with good conscious give them a penny more of my money. So, we told them one of us would leave and the other 2 would stay.... put a do not disturb sign on the door, and got the hell out of there first thing in the morning. They say they were all booked up and couldn't offer any real assistance other than for us to pay something crazy for a second room. So we kept our room booked up :) and booked another room (which we all 3 stayed) at B&B Hotel Brussels Centre Louise which was such a clean, fun and welcoming experience close to many delicious restaurants within a very short walking distance. Best decision we made. The ultimate problem with The Hotel Brussels was this one manager. I can say the rest of the staff were as helpful as they could be before and after our encounter with the A-hole. They were even a little humble, as in embarrassed, in our encounters after the fact. It was just such an unfortunate experience given that in our entire time between France, Belgium, and the Netherlands it was this one sole individual that left a nasty taste and killed the vibe on an amazing trip. The other problem, which honestly was a small inconvenience since we got the hell out of there so quickly, the toilet was clogged and wouldn't flush in our few hours in the room. The Hotels Brussels was the dark cloud that crept its way into our trip! The hotel change was also so very refreshing due to the dirty and hectic vibe right outside of The Hotel Brussels and the stuffy/ snooty and unwelcoming vibe inside. It definitely lacks charm, in...

Firstly I think this review has to be taken in the context that for me, Brussels in general has the worst customer service and friendliness of any city I've ever visited and I've been travellling extensively for 35 years all over Europe. It is very rare for anyone in a cafe, shop, or bar to smile, or be remotely friendly or care about the service you are receiving. I've never experienced anything like it in any European city I've visited.|| Another comment to make before getting on to the hotel is passport control at Brussels airport for non EU travellers, it is scandalously bad, it took over an hour, with the queue not moving, the customs officers going off on their breaks despite the queue being huge and there wasn't anyone in the EU and Diplomat queues. Allow for this if you are arranging onwards travel.||The hotel is in a great location in the city centre, check in can be done yourself on arrival and is quick and very straight forward.||We were on the 21st floor, the room was fairly small but had a wonderful view across the city. One aspect I didn't like is the toilet is visible from the bed, I've never been in a hotel room before where if I'm in the bed I can see my partner in the toilet!!!!||We had access to the executive lounge. Again it had wonderful views, it was on the 24th floor, however there was only 2 bottles of Stella, no staff on hand and the food selection had nothing I'd remotely want to eat, so it was a complete waste of money.||The bar and restaurant:|At night at the weekend it can be extremely busy, again they had no Stella, they ran out, how does this happen when the factory is 10km away!|The service is truly appalling. It's almost impossible to get a waiters attention when sitting at your table so we had to repeatedly go up to the bar. There was one waiter in particular, who is there at all times who never ever looks at you, acknowledges you, or says anything other than grunts...I can genuinely say he was the rudest waiter I've ever encountered anywhere in my entire life...how any hotel would allow there staff to be like that is truly incredible!!!!| The food offering in the restaurant was limited and overpriced, we had a steak and a burger there, they were absolutely fine but nothing more.| The one plus was we met a lady, someone who I assume was a manager in the hotel lift, she was the only person in our entire trip that took an interest in what service was being received and when we advised, in passing, there was no beer in the exec lounge she very kindly insisted despite us saying it was fine, to arrange for 4 beers to be put into our room in a cooler for free.||In the foyer there was a very handy shop where it's self service and it has beers, drinks and snacks and is a much better idea than hotels which have vending machines. It also means you avoid the rude and ineffective waiters.||I also had a massage whilst at the hotel, the spa is on the 25th floor. Again incredible views from the relaxation area. It's a bit strange you can't get changed there and I've never been to a spa that didn't have a reception desk or anyone to meet you on arrival. I'd to go back to my room to change. The massage itself was great though and I thoroughly recommend it.||Breakfast was dissapointing, coffee from the machine was poor, the sausages are the horrible cheap hot dog type, the bacon is streaky and over cooked, and the butter was tasteless. If you don't go early it's hard to get a table and any that are free will be dirty initially! We also planned to go to the exec lounge for breakfast on our last day but despite it saying it opens from 7 it was closed at 7:20.| |All in all the views are spectacular and the hotel is in a great location, what lets it down and is something that would be so easy to fix...

The Hotel is centrally located within walking distance to just about everywhere you would need to go for food, pharmacies, entertainment, etc. It is an extremely tall building which offers an incredible view of the city.|The check-in desk area is rather small, but they do keep people moving so once you arrive you're not standing there too long. To the left of the check-in desk is a small unattended pay as you go snack bar. There's also a large bar area in the back that serves breakfast and evening drinks.|The elevators are rather small, but there are enough of them so that your weight is not too long. You need to get a good jump on them because if anybody shows up after you they are surely going to try to jump on in front of you. Watch out for the Bell staff as well because if they are helping some what their luggage they will also run over you if you're not watching. I found that to be kind of rude but it is what it is.|The rooms are very nice inside. There is limited Security in terms of deadbolt locks and additional locks on the door. We were interrupted twice by the housekeeping staff even though we had a do not disturb sign on the door. The lighting in the room is plentiful with controls on both sides of the bed that operates everything including the electronic curtains. Probably the most uncomfortable part of this hotel room is the bathroom area. It's Hit or Miss whether you're going to get a shower door, or just a half shower door, or even a bathtub that you have to step over. If you do get the bathtub, be extremely careful because the edges are very high and there are no anti-slip pads in the tub. It would be easy to step over and hit the wet floor and slip. This definitely needs to be addressed by the management staff and at the very least place mats in the tub to help people avoid falls. The toilet is located directly behind the door and it leaves very little room while taking care of business. The TV channels are plentiful and there is something in many different languages. The view from the room is very nice but if you have a particular desire be sure to ask the staff which side offers the best views. The Wi-Fi seems to work extremely well in the hotel and throughout. We felt relatively safe there walking around at night and even during the daytime.|Overall, this was a very nice hotel to stay at. With the exception of the possible slippages in the bathroom, the rooms are nice. There are amenities such as a refrigerator, ironing board and iron, and plenty of closet space to hang up your clothing. It is hit or miss as to whether you get a sofa by the window or just a chair. Overall I would highly recommend this hotel to all...