Pentahotel Leuven — Hotel in Leuven

I saw that my review of years ago was deleted, I think because I made an assumption on what the stains on the pillow were. Look at the picture and make your own educated guess. But since I had such a bad experience in this hotel and they kept deleting the picture of the pillow after denying that their pillows are not dirty, I will die on this hill. So every now and then I’ll check if they deleted it and add the picture again. Also I see your response about how the unfriendly staff isn’t how they usually act.. if you look at your reviews I beg to differ, we also had a bad experience with your staff and I see so many other guests as well. I changed a few words on my original review so it should meet the guide lines.

My boyfriend shared the review: suspicious stains on pillows and unclear parking instructions.

I see you replied to him and said that you didn’t have a reservation made in his name for the past two years. That’s is because I booked the room. Since you said that the sheets are changed every night in a response to the stained pillow comment. I added a picture. You might want to also wash the decoration pillows sometimes. It’s not that nice that this pillow was touching the clean sheets. I was very pleased that housekeeping didn’t put them on the bed again the next day.

I see you did send me parking instructions. Maybe you can share them with the hotel staff as well since they weren’t able to tell us were the entrance of the garage was. We just put in pentahotel in google and were guided to the back of your hotel. The pictures would have been very helpful if we were to be in front of the hotel. But this wasn’t the case. The staff gave us an adress that should have lead us to the garage but it lead us to a brick wall around the corner. On the second try the hotel staff refused to show us on the map where the garage entrance was. So we walked outside to the front of the hotel to find the parking, then back in and out of the hotel to the back of the hotel were the car was. Because we looked it up ourselves we were able to find it. The girl behind the counter even said it was next to the cafe called monkey. We couldn’t find it because the cafe was called mont.

I also wondered about the process of payment. Because we booked a room for 214 euros. I had to reserve 50 euros extra, which is fine. But instead of reserving just 50. I had to reserve 264. When we left I had to pay 254 (40 euros for parking on top of the 214). They didn’t use the reserved amount for my payment. They actually reserved another 254 euros on my card and have now used it for a payment. So if you don’t want to give a deposit of the whole price that they still keep reserved after you’ve paid, then just pay by atm card up front and let them reserve the 50 on your card. They didn’t mention any of this before checking in. When you are traveling for a while it might block out your card if all hotels do this. So I think it’s important to know before you let them reserve the price of the room and an extra 50 just as a deposit.

Because of all this I think a 1 star review is more than it deserves. The room was okay but not worth the price and the shower was really nice. The location was perfect. For me I think how you’re being treated and that the staff is helpful is very important, together with clean pillows of course. I do recommend going to Leuven, besides the staff in the pentahotel everyone in Leuven was very nice and helpful. We had good conversations with the locals and bartenders.

PS. Stop deleting the photo of the dirty stained pillow that was on the bed please. Reviews are there to be represent the truth and since you denied it and my boyfriends review I feel like it is only fair to keep sharing it. I can do this forever. I also see that nothing changed after a few years reading...

Rooms are wel equipped and rather luxurious although not very roomy. Very well equipped with safe, mini bar and television. Bathroom is very well equipped. The shower is excellent. Breakfast is also very good with prosecco options. All drinks from automated machines, however but English as well as continental breakfast available as well as a wide selection of sweet rolls and dairy products. The interior is very modern and up to date and most everything works aside from a broken thermostat housing and a buzzing lamp.

Five star potential then, however ...

Parking is 20 euro per night which is expensive. You can park nearby at Ladeuse for same price - or less if you leave by car during the day. The price is only advertised after you book. The e-mail you get with directions to the hotel is thoughtful but not very professionally redacted.

Wi-fi is mostly useless. Faster wi-fi is available at surcharge, which is ridiculous, especially for a seemingly luxurious establishment such as this. After paying the 10 EURO surcharge for faster internet, internet is still stuck at the ridiculously low speed of 1.5 Mbps while 10 Mbps is advertised.

Staff speaks excellent English but below average Dutch which is a bit of a let down - having to repeat every sentence twice in the native language of the city you're in. Some staff is native Flemish, however. Staff does not bid you hello or good day as you walk past unless you initiate first. When returning later at night, staff was sat at a table away from the reception desk and did not notice us entering or could not care.

Laundry service is advertised on the website but not available at all. There is a dry cleaner right next door, though and they'll direct you to it. Still, a bit of a hassle. Could have offered to bring laundry there themselves.

Final verdict: very nice place to stay and worth its money if you don't come by car, don't need to use the wi-fi and don't expect the staff to be...

My recent stay at the Penta Hotel in Leuven was a disappointing experience that didn't justify its hefty price tag of €250 per night. My main gripe revolves around a persistent drainage smell from the bathroom that lingered throughout the day, an issue that seemed to be exacerbated by a bathroom fan that wouldn't stop running.

The room's aesthetic was further marred by a stained carpet and a rusty, stained coffee table, both elements that speak of the hotel's general state of disrepair. The lack of a proper wardrobe was frustrating, with only a rail provided for hanging clothes.

Requests for an ironing machine turned into an ordeal. Three times I was provided with broken, leaking machines that were frankly unsafe to use. Although staff are generally good but one hotel staff seemed ill-prepared to deal with such basic requests - my colleague had a disagreement with them after they claimed they had run out of ironing machines.

The breakfast was decent but far from impressive, certainly not enough to counterbalance the room's shortcomings and justify the hefty price. Two of my colleagues, who were attending the same conference, experienced similar issues, which suggests a systemic problem rather than an isolated incident.

Adding to the list of shortcomings, the Hotel provided a single, overly thick pillow for sleeping, which proved uncomfortable and resulted in neck pain. The lack of options or alternatives further underlined the hotel's inability to cater to basic guest comfort and needs.

In summary, the Penta Hotel in Leuven, with its neglected state and lacklustre service, failed to meet the most basic expectations for a hotel in its price range. I cannot recommend it and would urge potential visitors to consider...