starflyergold

This was the first time I stayed at the Sofitel Louise. Normally I would stay at the Sofitel Europe in Brussels but on this occasion it was just too expensive due to it also being favoured by European leaders in town for a European Council meeting.

The Sofitel Louise is housed in a shopping mall with a tiny ground floor entrance with escalators leading you upstairs to reception. Check in was ok but neither overly friendly nor making any attempt to recognise Platinum status. When I requested an upgrade I was greeted by the old excuse "we are full", end of story. At that time I was too tired to argue as they were also not admitting that I had booked a smoking room.

The elevators to the room floors are hidden in a tiny corner next to the bar which was almost pitch black, very bizarre. The room (504) was not very big but perfectly formed. Quite modern in design (the hotel had a complete refurb in 2007). The bed was fine (not as nice as my stay in Paris just before this trip). Bathroom had a walk in shower but no tub. Toiletries are Hermes but were not properly stocked: all shampoo and no shower gel.

Internet is free (finally) if you use the network cable, otherwise WiFi costs € 9 for 24h via Orange.

The turn down service just makes the bed, no chocolates, no second clean or restocking toiletries. One bottle of water is free per day, otherwise a very limited mini bar is available (one can of beer only in the fridge).

The aircon does not let you go lower than 19c and the room was constantly too hot which I found very uncomfortable. No welcome gift was delivered during my stay which I mentioned at check out, however when I collected my luggage later a gift bag was hanging of my bags which slightly made up for the lack of Platinum recognition.

Throughout my stay I did not get a sense from the staff that they cared, especially not for their elite customers. This is in very stark contrast to the Sofitel Europe which is much better.

Would I stay here again? Not really. While the rooms are not bad, the service was not up to the standards I expect and to be fair I am used from some Sofitels (albeit not all). Given the choice I'd take the Sofitel Europe any day. It might not be that central but the metro has you in town just as fast as walking from the Sofitel Louise.

A-Club points have not yet posted but I only checked out less than 24h ago.

Cupart

They knew an Irishman was checking in = only one can of beer

Nice report starflyergold ^

bsb21

Great post!

I have heard that the Sofitel Europe is the better of the two and your experience certainly reflects this.

What was in this gift bag of yours?

starflyergold

Well since you asked: It is a Valrhona gift bag with a large Valrhona Les Grand Crus chocalate bar and Valrhona Equinoxe Dark Chocolate Candied Orange Peel.

And tasty they were too

bsb21

Not too shaby!

MorganB

Valrhona = Yummy!

camsean

Sounds pretty bad. Thanks for posting.

starflyergold

The be fair I would not say it was very bad, it is an ok property with decent rooms (the aircon being the only serious problem). The only real concern of mine was the lack of elite recognition.

I guess it depends which standards one applies, I'm just not that easy to please

PS: Points posted within 48h

starflyergold

Just completed my second stay at this Sofitel (After consideration I was willing to giving the property a second chance) and got a very nice upgrade to a junior suite, welcome gift arrived promptly and overall a very good experience. Highly recommended, especially in the sweltering heat the outdoor bar area was fantastic.

And this time the aircon was chilling the room perfectly.

(one gripe which I know many of you will not sympathize with, the hotel seems to be all non smoking without telling customers when booking, but this was handled by the manager very well).

Points arrived 24h later.

RichardInSF

I booked a junior suite for one night, and as a platinum, asked about an upgrade when I arrived to no avail -- seems unlikely they would even consider this even if the entire hotel was empty.

This is the minimum size room I'd stay in at this hotel; based on the floor map it is twice the size of a regular room. I'd say it was about 45sqmt. Interior decoration style is a bit quirky.

Welcome gift was some fruit, which I ate, and a bottle of champagne, which I didn't have time to consume (but whn gifted, made for a VERY happy doorman on check-out -- interesting to know that the doorman had a nice BMW as his personal car).

The turn down staff did leave me two small pieces of chocolate.

The hotel was OK, even though I agree with all the comments made by starflyergold. It was nice that internet was free.

This stay was my annual re-validation that the Accor program itself is fundamentally useless. It remains so IMO.

fb175091

Two night stay at the Sofitel Brussels Le Louise with no Accor status. In fact, the room was booked and prepaid by my host, so I have no idea what the rate was.

Entrance & Lobby. You enter the hotel via escalators that go from the small entrance to the first floor where reception and lobby are. The lobby is extremely narrow and does not feel very comfortable. A narrow path leads to the Crystal Lounge, a bar/restaurant.

Check-in. Very friendly.

Room. As far as I know, the room was a standard room on the 2nd floor with a King-sized bed and a small desk. Amenities were bathrobe, slippers and a rather extensive bath kit. Bath amenities were Hermes. Plenty of power outlets and a decent sized suitcase rack. (The information booklet states that all standard rooms are equipped with an iron and ironing board, but I didn't see one.) There were chocolates in the room.

Turndown service. Around 8pm and brings a new small complimentary water bottle.

Restaurant. The room service menu was not appetizing at all: pricey dishes with hardly any description (is anyone going to order something called "Pizza Vegetarian" for 21 Euro without any further description how big it is, what the toppings are etc.?). There is no real restaurant, only the Crystal Lounge. There was no menu posted anywhere, I needed to ask the barman for a menu. Since there were hardly any vegetarian dishes, I decided to skip the food entirely.

WiFi. Free WiFi of rather good quality.

Gym. Open 24h, not controlled by anyone (contrary to what the booklet says). Rather minimal: two bikes, a rowing machine, a stepper, and one cable machine.

Breakfast. Roughly at the same level as I have experienced in other Brussels hotels: Sheraton, Hilton Brussels City. Eggs made to order, juices, fruit, bread, cheese, cold cuts, cereal. They provide soy milk (always a nice sign), but the cereals are all extremely sugary (the only muesli was a chocalate muesli). OK, but certainly not worth the 24 Euro they charge.

Summary. Despite the negative tone of some of the points above, I enjoyed my stay, and would come back, but only if the price is right. I did not have the impression that the hotel was better than the Hilton Brussels City where I have stayed several times, so I would not be willing to pay more for it (and I expect that the Sofitel is normally much more expensive).

drzoidberg

Anyone stay here recently and can comment on elite recognition?

Thanks!

dodgeflyer

Stayed there this past weekend; had not been in I guess two years. Upgrade given as well as drink voucher without issues.

On the other hand, the hotel is looking tired and definately not 5* any more. Our junior suite was one of the least inspiring rooms I've stayed in for a while, decor dated. Same goes for the hotel overall. Next visit to Brussels which I think will come within 3 months, we've decided to stay at the Amigo or try the Dominican again - although not stayed there since its opening.

I'd look elsewhere, the platinum benefits do not make up for the hotel.

nicolas75

The Hotel (former Hilton, just next to the Sofitel) is a solid business hotel (rooms are not huge but nicely renovated, Panorama lounge is pleasant).

I love the Amigo hotel for the service and the warm atmosphere. Still the rooms are pretty unispired.

Any news of the Tenbosch house, which was a great small hotel with superb Scandinavian design (not cheap)? The internet site does not exist anymore.

As anyone stayed already at the new Pullman? Seems pretty good and of course convenient for the Thalys users.

starflyergold

I'll report on the Pullman next week.