are there any great hotels in brussels? business hotels?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...el-2011-a.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...tay-amigo.html

Do you need to be in the center, near Avenue Louise, or elsewhere?

I'm a fan of the Conrad Brussels. I was very happy with this hotel.

Have so far tried the Conrad and a junior suite at Sofitel, both in the Louise area. Neither was terrible, neither was memorable. Am giving up next time and staying at the Sheraton at the airport!

Depending from your needs, Amigo (located just off the Grand Place) provides a decent stay. Not properly a business hotel, in case is that what you are looking for.

There are no GREAT hotels, the amigo lacks service, every time I use it I regret it , there many good working hotels.? But know great.

I've got a night here coming up in a few months. The Conrad is now a Stegenburger, The Sheraton at the airport I mentioned in my post above was horrid -- forget luxury, it was tired even when compared to other Sheratons.

The ideal hotel for me would be near Brussels Zuid where Thalys/Eurostar stop, but close subway range (like the Ave Louise area) works too. I don't think Amigo is well-sited in this regard, Anyone got any new ideas?

Thanks in advance.

There's a brand new Pullman that opened at Midi about four or five months ago.

Thinking of including Brussels into my long holiday plan since it's just a short train ride from London. Any recommendations? Shortlist a few properties from TA and "The Hotel" looks good. Anyone with experience on this property?

Also a bit OT, should I be concerned with crime-rate like mugging or pickpockets in Brussels as a tourist? Conflicting answers in most travel forums but Brussels like Barcelona seems to have a bad rap for petty crime.

We had a truly horrendous time at the Amigo last Winter, which I covered here - http://www.headforpoints.com/2014/12...migo-brussels/

Some of those circumstances were unique to us (such as giving away our guaranteed connecting rooms and then - after we'd squeezed the kids into a standard room - still charging us for the unused 2nd room on the other side of the building).

Other things, such as running out of food at breakfast and not replacing it, poor wi-fi, non deliverability of newspapers and crowds of drunken locals making noise outside your window in the middle of the night, less so.

Location is great, though, you can't knock it for that.

Sorry I don't know "The Hotel", but I stay often in Brussels at many different hotels. As it is for tourism, I'd leave off the Aloft, Sheraton, the old Hilton, Crowne Plaza, etc. Those are primarily for business. The new Hilton Grand Place used to be an excellent Le Meridien with the best location for tourism, but when I tried it last summer as a Hilton it was pretty awful. It might be better now from reports. The new Pullman at Brussels-Midi is nice and stylish, but it is mainly for people arriving late or leaving early on the Eurostar or Thalys. If this is you, you might consider it but book an exec or suite.

The Sofitel is pretty nice, but also make sure you book an upper level room. This is where some of the high end lobbyists stays so the bar scene is generally businesslike during the week. I have no idea what it is like on the weekend, but the rates are usually much cheaper on weekends at all these hotels. Brussels is a business/political town. So for that reason my top hotel recommendation to you is https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/be...dentale-bruges

It is a short train ride from Brussels in the gorgeous town of Bruges and I think you will enjoy your holiday weekend much, much more there. Maybe on your way home you can stop at Brussels Central station and take a walk around the center to see the Grand Place, etc.

Around the train stations, especially Midi and Nord, you'll find some seedy areas and there are pickpockets around. But if you keep your head down and walk with purpose you'll be fine. Central station isn't too bad and it is a very short walk to the Grand Place where you'll find hundreds if not thousands of tourists.

Thanks for the advice.

I am referring to "The Hotel" as in this :

http://www.thehotel-brussels.be/en/home.html

The name of the hotel is actually called "The Hotel" Looks great from website.

I stayed there more than 10 years ago and it was excellent. I have not been back or heard anything about it since.

Brussels still is a bit of a mess for really good places to stay. The Amigo is not perfect and it is overpriced - but location and general experience mean it is still one of the better hotels. I have tried others (Dominican, LeMeridien, etc), and they are not really super either.