I was in Brussels for two days to attend TravelMagic, where I presented on maximizing miles and points. The conference was being held at The Hotel, and in the interest of full disclosure, the cost of my room was covered by the conference.
First of all, I think this hotel deserves an award for its name. It’s always fun to get in a taxi and say “take me to The Hotel, please.” “Which hotel?” “The Hotel.” “Yes, but which one?”
The Hotel used to be a Hilton and was independently rebranded just recently. Quality of the hotel aside, I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to fill an independent (non-chain/non-affiliated) hotel with over 400 rooms. It’s almost unheard of nowadays.
The Hotel looks fairly bland from the outside, though is more stylish once you step in the doors.
The Hotel exterior
The lobby sort of has a “W” feel to it, minus the stuffiness.
The Hotel lobby
The Hotel lobby
On the side of the lobby was even a cart with some water, gummy bears, and marshmallows.
Snacks
Check-in was efficient, and we were quickly given keys to our panorama suite on the 25th floor, which we had been upgraded to.
Elevators
The suite had an entryway with ample closet space to the right and the bathroom to the left.
Panorama Suite entryway
Panorama Suite entryway
To the left was the living area, featuring a couple of chairs with a coffee table, and an “L” shaped couch.
Panorama Suite living area
Panorama Suite TV
Also in the living area was the minibar, and all of the contents were complimentary.
The Hotel minibar
The Hotel coffee machine
To the right was the bed and a desk area.
Panorama Suite bed
Panorama Suite desk
The room boasted awesome, panoramic views.
Panorama Suite views
The Hotel had a quirky welcome gift waiting on the desk, consisting of a handwritten note, a box of chocolates, and a “Handbook of Style” (which I could certainly use). 😉
The Hotel welcome gift
Back near the entrance on the right was some closet space.
Panorama Suite closet space
Opposite of it was the bathroom, which featured double sinks, a massive walk-in shower, toilet, and even a heated towel rack.
Panorama Suite bathroom
Panorama Suite sinks
Panorama Suite shower
Panorama Suite toilet/bidet
The toiletries were C.O. Bigelow branded, the same as the Andaz properties in New York.
Toiletries
I thought the room was beautifully appointed, and it’s worth noting that the hotel even has free Wi-Fi. The catch — and this is a huge catch — is that it was excruciatingly slow.
In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there’s a decent gym on the 23rd floor with nice views of the city.
The Hotel gym
The Hotel gym
There’s also some nice meeting spaces on the top floors, which we used for TravelMagic.
The Hotel meeting space
Breakfast was included with our room at the hotel’s restaurant — creatively named The Restaurant — which is located just off the lobby.
The Restaurant
The breakfast selection was pretty standard for a European hotel, though they had both cookies and brownies. Yum/damn them!
The Restaurant breakfast buffet
The Restaurant breakfast buffet
The Restaurant breakfast buffet
The Restaurant breakfast buffet
The Restaurant breakfast buffet
The Restaurant breakfast buffet
As far as Brussels itself goes, I actually really liked the city. It took a day for it to grow on me, but it has some beautiful architecture and pedestrian zones. Below are just a few pictures. Pardon the angles because I was trying to take a single angled picture for Instagram, and, well, that just didn’t end well.
Brussels
Brussels
Brussels
Brussels
Brussels
Brussels
Anyway, I had a really pleasant stay at The Hotel. The issue is that I always try to stay at chain hotels whenever possible to maximize elite benefits and points earning potential, and without a loyalty program or belong to a hotel group I think they’ll have a hard time filling 400+ rooms a night, unless they can really attract the convention crowd. If I weren’t into points/status, though, I’d definitely consider staying here again if the price is right.
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