wizla

LOUNGE -

wizla

......... well, 25 mins of happy hour left and the lounge never got busy all night but there is a pleasant atmosphere and the canapés were very nice , some prosseco appeared too, not that I'm going to have any when there is hoegaarden in the house!
Going for a wander to find a restaurant....will report back!

thunderlounge

Nice to hear. Will be at this property in December and looking forward to it all.

wizla

Yes it's a nice hotel....all good so far....feel quite looked after.

Left lounge at end of happy hour , went for a wander stumbled upon this American restaurant , nice burger!....manhattens I think it was called, ended up at this little Belgium bar sampling the local beers and watching some street jazz which was strangely entertaining.
Now back in room, aircon/heater works very well......was cold when I got back , soon warmed up.
As I came through many folk still in bar......Belgium is live!.
In the morning I plan to use gym before breakfast .......will report back!

thunderlounge

Thanks @wizla!

Will be in Brussels to check out the Christmas market, and the hotel is right around the corner.

wizla

No problem, it's nice to know folk read my reviews , kinda makes it all worth it.

Woke up late ( thanks to all that Belgium beer, it's 9am I've just been to lounge to grab a take away coffee......... nice spread , 4 hot items ( bacon chicken sausage, rice , scrambled egg ) the cereals and yogurt look good too........only a few people present, I think the hotel is quiet as the lifts don't seem busy at al and are super fast.
Off to the gym then breakfast........will report back!

TIP - lounge cuppachino is nice but requires an extra expresso shot!

thunderlounge

Sounds great. Actually your reviews of other properties (Bankside, Tower, etc) were quite helpful on helping me pick a hotel in London for a leisure trip. Although I ended up booking elsewhere for the right location and tube lines.

wizla

I didn't bother with gym as it was very busy but did go down to get some photos for you guys however due to the folk in there I felt it rude to take photos .....it's quite small with two of everything and a few pulleys .
Breakfast had a nice selection but it was a bit of a calamity, there was some amazing looking breads and waffles , the hot section was tasty too ( no beans ).
Firstly we went to get some cereals, came back and the juices was gone, got more juice and hot food and whole table cleared , talk about over zealous waitress!....it's was busy too because it's a small room.
Check out was swift and I'm on my way.

CONCLUSION- it's a very nice Art Deco style hotel that was nice , very clean and it felt classy , I quite enjoyed the executive lounge and the bed was super comfortable ( I hardly ever lay in until 8-30! )...... Brussels is nice too.....would definitely return and this hotel would be my first choice.

TIP - the chocolate granola at breakfast was very good!....make sure you hold the bowl whilst consuming or they will take it away! ��

ROOM NO - 505

NEXT STAY - Hilton Antwerp ( I'm here now )

TheWiseOne

Anyone have an update on this place in the past few months? Planning on being in Brussels in May but worried about the noise of renovations and the lack of provisions at breakfast and in the lounge.

TIA for any feedback.

Delectatio

Stayed with my partner for the weekend 3 weeks ago and we were not impressed.
No construction noise though (but I presume they don't work during the weekends).
Lounge was moved to where it used to be years ago, next to the bar, small, very warm and the food offerings in the evening were ridiculous (left over bread rolls from breakfast, cups with cold green beans and popcorn...).
Some recent reviews suggest that the lounge has re-opened though.
Drinks were red/white wine, beer and vodka/gin/whiskey. The 'lounge' was full so many people took their drinks to the lobby.
Breakfast ok but downgraded (no salmon, no Italian ham, coffee was now self service...).
Room was very hot, AC didn't work, staff was not worried about us having a sleepless night because of this (we removed the duvet from its cover in the middle of the night).
We won't return if we don't get signals that things have improved. For us not worth the money at all.
(We used to be regular guests here pre-covid).

RK23

Just stayed here for a night and didn't have a great experience. The rooms were uncomfortably hot and the temperature control didn't work so I had to keep the windows open. There was a lot of noise outside as it is either right by a police station or there were a lot of incidents around the train station at the time... Also being a weekend, a lot of people enjoying the late evening quite loudly, I do not blame them, sounded like they were having a lot of fun.

Check-in was very bumpy and definitely the worst experience of my vacation. Arrived around 1pm to check-in and the room manager said they were fully booked and that I should come back at 3pm at normal check-in time but she would hold my bags. That sounds very reasonable, however, she did not even look up my reservation and just took my bags instead!!! All the other front desk agents were doing their jobs properly and actually checking if guest rooms were ready. After the rooms manager stowed our bags in the back, I had to force her to at least look up my reservation. I was extremely polite, never mentioned my status, and just wanted to have her check. What do you know, my room is ready and I was upgraded to a junior suite... You could hear her disdain reading "As a Diamond member, you have been upgraded to a junior suite and your room is now ready." I believe that this is probably the sole employee creating a lot of issues at check in as other recent reviews mentioned a potential racial profiling experience during check in that made another guest feel uncomfortable. I am definitely one of the younger guests that stays at hotels and look a lot younger than I am so I believe that played a large role.

That left an awful taste in my mouth and I would be hard-pressed to stay at this location again if I were to visit Brussels. The only upside was the room was large, breakfast was decent if you want something quick, and the location is great.

flyme2

Very sorry to hear that. There's really no excuse for such dismissive behaviour. Just goes to show how one bad experience can really taint the rest of a stay. I've stayed here on numerous occasions and, thankfully, have yet to encounter such behaviour. While the Executive Lounge game of musical chairs has been annoying, the suite upgrades have been consistent, and breakfast, pre-COVID, quite good.

I had a similarly unpleasant experience at the Marriott Grand Place years ago and have never returned, so I can certainly sympathize with your sentiment. On a lighter note, looking younger is definitely not a bad thing.

dts9

Had anyone stayed here recently? I am seeing some so so reviews regarding breakfast, lounge temporary location, and air conditioning.

As a diamond, is lounge now open in old location with drinks and appetizers in the evenings. How is the selection and what are the hours.

As a diamond, is breakfast in the lounge or main restaurant? If main restaurant, can you order eggs etc or is diamond breakfast benefit limited.

is the AC fixed? Reading those reviews from March 2022 is enough time book the Marriott.

thank you.

akm

Any recent experiences? Trying to chose between Hilton and Radisson (both Grand Place). They cost about the same (in points). I just have gold status in both. I know that Hilton may provide free breakfast but the discrimination (in any form) issues worry me.

DELee

Uh, the discrimination of what and/or from what?

David