Hotel nhow Brussels Bloom — Hotel in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode - Sint-Joost-ten-Node

Kinda baffled by the high reviews. Overall, the vibe is "well, they tried." Yes, the idea is cool, but the execution is subpar. Way too expensive for what you get. Especially considering the main pro (breakfast) costs extra. Lack of comfort (seating/beds), cleanliness, accessible amenities/common spaces (mostly locked or reserved), and diversity.

If you're here to explore Brussels as a visitor/tourist, I recommend literally any other top reviewed hotel. The location is not a good one. It's immediately off of a main busy street/intersection and you must cross those to get anywhere. Other than the garden next door, it's at least 15-20 minutes away to walk anywhere of historic/visual value. We won't be coming back to this hotel or part of town.

Pros: Great for a corporate housing situation where you need to fly in a bunch of colleagues and they need to work or stay a night for a conference. There are working spaces/conference rooms on level 2. They are locked but presumably available if requested. Later (noon) check out Large window/views (on highest floors) One person working reception was helpful and friendly on the day we left. The breakfast bar (which you pay separately for), is grand. Fresh juices, every kind of milk alternative, hot and cold options, I think I even saw champagne.

Cons: Paper walls, you will hear every neighbor, step, siren, car honk (and we were on the floor beneath the top floor) - see video with sound for example. Main/busy street, nothing nice in immediate surroundings. Construction on all sides. Cleanliness is subpar. Floors in the hotel room itself were gross. We actually put towels next to the bed as floor mats... Sink and bathroom walls weren't nice either, of course the walls are matte black so you see everything... What they lack in cleanliness they make up for in strongly smelling fragrances/products all over the hotel. It's really intense smelling everywhere, especially the elevators and shared common spaces. Not sure if it's something is in the air filters or cleaning sprays but it's painful. -This place is more about the cool/hipster facade factor than cleanliness and comfort. -I think the available art for sale is nice, however it feels disruptive/pushy to have that for sale in your actual hotel room. Why not have a gallery? Or use the large/open common spaces? Feels weird. -Lack of diversity in staff (and guests) -Bed stole our souls and our backs. -They kick you out of the breakfast room promptly at 10am. Even though check out isn't till 12. -The breakfast room is the only real, large functional seating area with cool vibes, but they render it inaccessible unless it's between the 6:47-10am breakfast hours. Why have such a large space/selling point and then make it unusable? There is a lower hangout space with couches but that is also not available for use unless you're with a private...

Nhow brussels bloom

This was our second stay at this hotel in the last 2 months, so you can take it as read that we liked it the first time.

The location is pretty good – 15 minutes walk from Bruxelles-Nord (do consider your route – the most direct one goes through a bit of a rough area), or about 25 minutes from the airport in a taxi with light traffic. About a 20 minute walk will find you in the tourist centre of town but being a bit further out the restaurants and bars are that bit quieter (I’m not sure they are particularly cheap!). If you like Turkish food, the street that runs in parallel has a brilliant selection of restaurants and bars, far from high end, but great food at reasonable prices. There is also a mini Carrefour directly opposite who significantly undercut and out stock the in house shop (although the in house shop is very convenient – especially if you arrive late at night).

The reception area is certainly a cool space, front desk staff are very friendly and helpful. It’s a shame that there does not seem to be a way to pay the hotel tax online pre-visit and check in online in order to save time, also there appears to be no facility for express checkout, which in our experience was fine, but the queues we saw when a coachload of people arrived were far from inviting and if you needed to check out before a journey or meeting and had to stand in line with 60 people checking in you would not be happy.

The rooms are very cool – I wondered if there were lots of different designs, however there were only very slight differences between our two rooms, fair enough. The theme was well done - we previously stayed in a big brand hotels ‘cool’ sub-brand and their theming was basically done with stickers and Sellotape, Nhow put thought and money into this hotel, but that was apparently limited to one room design.

The hotel appeared full on our second visit so we were allocated a wheelchair accessible room. There were not significant changes to the room with the exception of the bathroom which rather than having a shower side was a wet room design. I can understand why this design was chosen but it does of course mean the entire room “will” get wet as opposed to “might” get wet when you have a shower.

The absolute worst thing about this hotel which infuriates me enough that almost make me avoid it are the lifts. There are three, but often it appears that only one is available as you wait for ages and then the lift which does arrive stops at every floor to take on more passengers. There appears to be no staircase alternative as there are rooms right around...

The Good, the Bad and the horrible. I checked into this hotel thinking it would be a unique experience and It did (Kinda). I got checked in early thanks to the guy wearing glasses. ( sorry I forgot your name) The rooms are different from other hotel rooms which what peaked my interest. However, the cleaning area of the room was something right out of the table. The window was disgustingly dirty, the foam on the bed mantel was dusty and including the top of the bed filled with dust. The curtains that divides the bathroom area with the sleeping area was filled with stains marks and other horrible stuff ( placed photos). The tables was scratched up and not clean, I can easily remove the stains with my fingers. The bathroom had a few bulbs not working and it was very dark and black for my preference. I understand i can ask for the tech service to come up and change the bulbs however a hotel has a team where they check rooms before a guests arrives. The good thing is the breakfast which went until 12 on the weekend and had everythinga person can dream of including candy. I unfortunately paid a hefty price for a stained unclean room but got a good breakfast instead. The horrible part is the area surrounding the hotel. Filled with drug addicts and dealers and not somewhere you want to be at but, right next to you is a botanical garden and Carrefour. The garden you can witness junkies using drugs and Carrefour is where you meet scary people. The hotel is near a Brussels north train station. Which makes you feel like you're in a third world country. I wouldn't recommend being in that area if you care of your life. In conclusion, the hotel is unique, has a amazing breakfast, big gym, parking and a bar area. The rooms have a " artsy" element to them and unique touches. Some staff members in the reception are very sassy and have a horrible attitude but otherwise the rest are great to talk too and the area itself is something out of a horror movie. What an experience it was and for the price of this place I dont recommend...