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I have now been here five times over a period of 2 1/2 years, the first three stays as a HHG, then other two as HHD, and I like the hotel even though it has its drawbacks. In all five stays, I have been given one of the large King rooms facing Place Rogier (on the floor plan, they look almost twice the size of the rooms facing the other way).

Location. Perfect for the north part of the city centre. If you want to be close to Louisa or to the tourist centre, other hotels might be better. From Brussel Noord, it's a very comfortable five minute walk; the metro stop Rogier is in front of the hotel (currently, navigating Place Rogier is a bit difficult due to the ongoing construction work).

WiFi. The wifi policy has changed in the last two years: during my 2011 stays, they were handling everything with 24 hour wifi codes and IIRC, you needed one code per device, so when you were staying a week with two people, you got 4 x 5 = 20 codes. Now they are using the standard "name+room number" system which works fine. During my last stay, the wifi was very fast.

No executive lounge. I found some old posts saying that in lieu of EL, you get drinks vouchers. I do not remember ever getting those. The lobby area is lobby, bar, and restaurant at the same time (see also below), and the bar is frequently used for drinks of business and European Commission events in this area, so it can get extremely crowded with hundreds of non-guests standing around.

Restaurant. This makes the restaurant experience rather odd. Very few people actually dine in the restaurant, and you need to catch one of the bar people and inform them that you'd like to eat. Your dinner is then in the middle of a drinks party of unrelated people. Food quality was mixed (starter was excellent, main course not so much).

Room. As mentioned, the rooms facing Place Rogier are actually quite spacious with a chaise longue and ample free space. I have been consistently upgraded to these during all of my stays. (At the FD, it has been difficult to find out what the upgrade really was: the FDA did not mention any upgrade and when I asked about it the terse answer was 'the upgrade is free'.) No iron and ironing board in the room (only trouser press).

Gym. As far as I could see, both gym and spa including swimming pool are open 24h. The gym is not too great, but OK.

Breakfast. The breakfast buffet is fine, but there is nothing special. I'd say that it's at the level of the Hilton Berlin, and certainly much lower than the Doubletree Amsterdam. Eggs made to order are available. Newspaper selection in the breakfast room is rather restricted (WSJ is the only English language newspaper, and even the Dutch and French selection is not great).

Rates. Rates can go up considerably, but in many cases, I have been able to get excellent rates under 100 EUR, especially for weekends, Mondays and Fridays.

Summary. There are a lot of negative comments in this thread (possibly from the time when there were still three Hilton properties in Brussels with the other Hilton and the Conrad), but I have really enjoyed my stays here and since the prices are very reasonable, I will continue to stay here during my trips to Brussels.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I have just left after spending one night at the Hilton Brussels City. ( off to Hawaii)

Check in was quick and given room 427.

The corridor to 427 was narrow once you were at the end of the main corridor with 3 90degree turns.

The room was a little bit small with 3 differen hanging areas ( very narrow with only room for 2-3 coat hangers)

The bathroom was small ( only a shower , no bath). The room overlooked the rear of the hotel and you could occasionally hear the trains but the a/c drowned most of the noise)

The rooms were clean and well maintained with a lot of tv channels.

wifi was €20 per day if you have to pay and occasionnally kept cutting out.

The breakfast buffett was €30 ( but if you choose a B&B rate it is only €15 above the basic room rate) and was fine ( there was a bus tour party in when I was down so it was busy but the food was kept replenished.

The gym was small but ok ( I did find it very warm on the treadmill after 20mins).

The lifts are small so with heavy occupancy ( or a tour bus leaving at the same time you may have to wait)

Location is very good at Place Rogier ( about 5-10mins to Gare du Nord) and for the Grand place it is ok.

The rate I got was very good ( €99 pre pay inc breakfast)

Regards

TBS

Sisosig

Nobody noticed they now have a 3 minute waffle machine at breakfast?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I had another stay here on the 29th April after returning from Hawaii.

My room was not ready but I was given a voucher for a drink in the bar.

I went out walking to the Grand Place and when I came back the room was ready.

I was given room 737 which had an interior view of more windows.

The room was fine with good ac and quiet and the bed was good. The bathroom was a bit small but fine.

The TV had lots of channels.

The gym was a little small but fine.

I did not have breakfast at the hotel as I had an early flight from BRU (with lounge access) but took a cup of coffee from the coffee table that was outside the breakfast room.

Another short walk to Nord station for the train to the airport.

Overall it was a good stay.

Regards

TBS

whimsey21

Has anyone had a recent stay at this property as HH Gold? I'm debating between the Hilton (my usual choice) and the Marriot (which has a lounge). From reading the various threads on this property it sounds like its been quite variable through the years- sometimes offering breakfast, sometimes not. If I get breakfast and a reasonable chance of an upgrade, I'm likely to stick with Hilton. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

IMH

You will get a decent breakfast. I won't risk a guess on the upgrade -- as a Gold I was sometimes treated better than on later stays as a Diamond.

SteamyUncle

I would stay at the Marriott, except if you can grab a PR13CB deal, which IMHO is the only thing that can be attractive in this property.
For a comparable price, I'd choose the Marriott every time.

Diamond treatment is one of the worst I have ever encountered (no upgrade with PR13CB availability the day before...). No experience as Gold.

The location of the Marriott is also waaay better (probably the best in the centre, with Dominican, Amigo and Windsor), just in-between the Grand Place and Place Sainte-Catherine, and would allow you to get breakfast at the Pain Quotidien on the other side of the street (Rue Dansaert), which kind of defines Belgian breakfast.

whimsey21

I'm getting the same price at both properties, though the Marriott price includes club access. I have no status at Marriott though, so if there is some benefit to having status at the Hilton I'd stay there even though the location isn't as good (plus, I'd prefer the Hilton points).

hugolover

PR13CB died here a looooongggg time ago! Its even died off at RTM which until recently worked fine.

SteamyUncle

That IS true loyalty. If you happen to be a member of the public sector PR09PN applies for the week-ends. On the flexible side, D949900559 (gold Medal 15% discount open to everyone who likes karate) works there as well.

You are right...I usually don't follow the rates too closely on this particular aspirational property

whimsey21

Lately I've been wondering if my points/status addiction has gone too far. It has definitely paid off well in the past, but more and more I find myself wishing I could just choose the best hotel for each trip, rather than trying to find the one in the right chain, with the right promo, etc.

Does anyone else with experience at both properties have any feedback? I see complaints on the Marriott thread about that property as well...

fozziedoggie

FWIW, I spent several nights at the Hilton Brussels this past May. I thought the location was just fine for a leisure traveler/tourist; about 20 minute walk to most sites within the city center. The EL was unremarkable, but definitely adequate. Of course I had just arrived from Hilton Budapest (castle) where the EL has a very good reputation thanks to one particular long standing employee ^

I would have no issues staying at the Hilton Brussels again.

hugolover

Hilton Brussels City has no EL unless you stayed on a Wednesday where there is a sort of small HHonors reception in the Living Belge restaurant (or whatever its called).

fozziedoggie

LOL...maybe that's why I deemed it unremarkable. I started in Budapest, then on to Antwerp and finished in Brussels; I do have vivid memories of both EL's in Budapest and Antwerp.

Thanks for correcting.

hugolover

Yes Antwerp has an OK lounge that used to be really good before the cuts kicked in. Eastern Europe are in a league of their own.