Room with a view (Hotel Amigo)

Member Name: sarajackson

Product:	Hotel Amigo
Date:	22/08/03 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Central Location, Charming Restaurant, Attractive Guest Rooms

Disadvantages: Somewhat Unpredictable Service, No CD Player in Room!, Nothing else

The Hotel Amigo is the first Rocco Forte Hotel outside of the UK that we have stayed at, having enjoyed immensely the hotels belonging to the small chain in Cardiff, Manchester and Edinburgh. Our confidence in the brand was such that when we had some frequent flyer miles to use, the fact that there was a Rocco Forte Hotel in Brussels, made this our destination of choice.

I booked originally through the Hotel website at a rate of 225 euro a night for a Deluxe Room. Prior to our stay my husband became eligible to join the Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club, and to take advantage of their benefits, we changed our booking and booked through the LHW website. Luckily the price was still 225 euro. Before our stay I e-mailed the hotel to confirm our Leaders Club membership had been noted, to make enquiries about food served in their bar and also to confirm our dinner reservation on one night of our stay. We had filled out the online restaurant reservation form, but as happened at the St David's Hotel in Cardiff we didn't receive any confirmation, so felt compelled to e-mail the hotel anyway for confirmation. The e-mail responses were helpful and swift ? possibly more efficient than the responses from their UK hotels.

The Amigo is housed on a site where a prison once stood, although it has been a luxury hotel for many years, even prior to the purchase by Rocco Forte Hotels. It is steps away from the Grand Place, and from the Gare Centrale (which has efficient links to the airport) it is about a 10 minute walk (possibly 5 minutes if you don't get lost amongst the narrow streets!). The red brick façade of the hotel, in a Spanish Renaissance style, blends in very well with its surroundings, and the overall image is very understated. The hotel has a steep dark slate roof with gabled windows, and was actually smaller than I expected ? I am still adjusting to the fact that not all landmark hotels are huge imposing buildings!

Th
e entrance to the hotel is on one corner, through a small glass porchway, past the uniformed and not particularly welcoming doormen. The stone floor of the compact lobby is strikingly different and the small dark wooden reception desk and plain cream walls, together with red velvet chairs dotted around to relax in, and give the hotel an intimate and clubby feel. Both the bar and restaurant lead off the lobby, so this area is the main focus of the hotel.

It was only 10am but we checked in anyway. On our booking we had requested a room on the 6th Floor which had balconies, although as a Leaders Club member we were entitled to a room upgrade anyway. When we checked in we were told we had been given a room on the 6th floor. I wondered whether if we hadn't made the specific request we would have been given a room in a higher category or whether the rooms with balconies were considered an upgrade anyway. Although Rocco Forte Hotel staff are always extremely professional and never over familiar (that is one of the attractions) I think the Amigo staff were slightly less helpful and somewhat brusque, or maybe that was just the language barrier. Either way, no mention was made of us being Leaders Club members, or of our dinner reservation. We were shown up to the room by the bellman.

The public areas and corridors were all very new looking, but still managed to be inkeeping with the style of a landmark hotel. The walls were all in a crisp cream colour and the floors were covered in a subtle striped green carpet. Due to the style of building the corridors weren?t particularly wide but at the end of most of the corridors were windows looking out over the rooftops giving the space a light and airy feeling. Our room was on the Rue Amigo side of the hotel directly behind the Hotel de Ville. You entered into the main bedroom space, which on first impressions was of fairly average size ? although actually just the bedroom space was probably com
parable to the space in other European Hotels including the bathroom. It did not feel cramped but is was more in the style of European hotels than Rocco Forte's modern hotels where space is generous.

The main bedroom space had a very light green/beige carpet and light cream walls, with bed covered in a cream linen bedcover and beige/green throw and with a beige woven fabric covered headboard. The medium brown leather topped desk and green covered chair were positioned in the corner of the room nearest the window. The windows were obscured by linen nets, and also had rich forest green drapes with patterned edging. The TV was contained within the almost obligatory wooden TV unit at the bottom of the bed, which this time was in a stylish mahogany and beech veneer. The unit also contained drawers and the minibar. The walls were punctuated by Tin Tin prints which really added a lovely quirky touch. Rocco Forte Hotels again managed to combine stylish furnishings with modern touches that result in an impressive, comfortable and relaxing space.

Closet space was ample with two large fitted wardrobes, complete with trouser press and safe enclosed. In keeping with most European hotels, there was not an iron and board in the room or tea/coffee making facilities. We had wondered if the rooms would have CD players, an item that seems to be creeping into a lot of 5 star hotels, and one which personally I always appreciate. Unforunately at the Amigo, there was no CD player. The room had two telephones, good subtle lighting and a normal hotel style TV with a variety of channels, including the BBC. A small table and armchair was positioned in front of the French doors which led to a small balcony. Although small the balcony really did add to the appeal of the room, as the view was exactly what you expect of Brussels. The spire of the Hotel de Ville was so close you felt you could practically touch it, and either side the view was extensive
over the rooftops of the city.

What the room may have lacked in space was more than compensated for in the bathroom. This room was approximately 16 feet long and 6½ feet wide, with cream tiling and a large vanity unit along one side with green marble top and modern style taps. Above the vanity unit was a large cream framed mirror. Sound from the TV was piped into the bathroom and there was also a very useful wall mounted magnifying shaving mirror plus bathroom scales and telephone. The bathroom had the addition of a bidet, but did not have a separate shower. However the large bath had two shower heads and was of good quality, so we didn?t mind too much. The floor had cream floor tiles accentuated by a central strip of green marble floor tiles with co-ordinating mosaic tiling. The bathroom also had a balcony of the same size as that leading off the bedroom, and this was a really nice touch, as it was good to get some natural light into the bathroom, and let the sunshine in too, with no fear of being overlooked. If you like being childish it is fun to stand on one balcony while your partner stands on the other, and wave at each other ? little things please us! In short as usual with Rocco Forte, the bathroom was fantastic.

Looking at the floor plan on the back of the door, (which is fast becoming a habit of mine, to check what the size of the other rooms are!) I noticed that the majority of the rooms were of a similar size to ours, and that ours benefited from two balconies which most of the others did not, so I felt pretty reassured that the hotel had been quite kind to us.

On our first evening, before dining we visited the bar for a cocktail. There was a fairly good selection of classic cocktails, although no Cosmopolitan I am afraid to say. I decided to order a Tom Collins, my husband as usual opting for a martini. Both were very good, fairly generous measures and reasonably priced (for Europe) at 12 euros each. That e
vening we also dined in La Verlaine, the hotel's restaurant. On entering the restaurant we were greeted very warmly and shown to our seats on one of the large curved banquettes by the window. The style of the restaurant is very stylish and modern, with neutral tones and light green leather banquettes all along the edges of the room. The walls were decorated with Tin Tin inspired prints, and the whole atmosphere was one of relaxed elegance. We were given menus in English ? quite a relief, and for the first time ever while dining out I was surprised that no prices were alongside the items. It took me a while to realise that only my husband's menu had prices ? it was quite an amusing old fashioned idea!

For starter I ordered the Asparagus, Flemish style, while my husband chose the Bouillabaise. For main course we ordered the whole lobster. The white asparagus I had for starter was the most disappointing part of the meal, as it was severely overcooked, so much so that to try and cut it turned it into a stringy mush. The colours of the dish were also a little bland looking. My husband said his Bouillabaise was actually extremely good. From my point of view the restaurant redeemed itself with the main course however, which was lovely. The lobster was tender and flavoursome, and really hit the spot. For dessert I had enjoyed my main course so much, that I felt prepared for a rich scrumptious dessert. I chose the chocolate soufflé, which was the highlight of the meal. So rich and yummy without being sickly. My husband ordered a lemon pudding which he also enjoyed.

The following evening we decided to eat in the bar. Again we had a cocktail, but this time I chose the hotel's signature cocktail, which had won an award. It contained Grand Marnier, apricot syrup I think and other ingredients that because the cocktail was so good, I cannot recall. My husband commented it was rather sickly, but in my opinion it was just the right si
de of being sickly, as the flavours mingled really well. We had decided to sit in an alcove at the far end of the bar, but were soon 'ordered ' to leave when we ordered our food, by the rather abrupt barman. Why is it in hotels if you find any member of staff with an attitude it is in the bar? For the rest of the evening we sampled some Belgian beer, steering clear of the rather acquired taste Blond beers, and opting for the Chimay Bleu and Leffe Brune. Both were good, and the Chimay rather too strong for me (as my head in the morning testified). For our meals we ordered a Croque Monsieur (for me) and a Entrecote Steak (for Monsieur!). The Croque Monsieur far exceeded my expectations ? if only bar food was always this scrummy. We decided to order a dessert, and a more friendly barman also brought us the restaurant menu which he said we could order from. My husband decided to sample the Chocolate Souffle this time, myself going for chocolate overload with the Chocolate Mousse. Both, as you might expect in Belgium, were lovely. The barman was gradually coming to life as the evening went on (and our bill increased) and he became positively enthusiastic when we were just observing the range of spirits on offer. He sprinted across to our table, only for his face to drop when we asked for the bill! Although I enjoyed our meal, if I had my time again I wouldn?t subject myself to the rather off-hand bar service and instead I would dine out at one of the many restaurants near Grand Place. After our bar meal we went out for a walk, and the atmosphere down the narrow alleyways where the restaurants have outdoor eating areas was really buzzing, and I did feel that I may have missed out on something by staying in the hotel bar that evening.

As is usual with Rocco Forte Hotels, our comments on the guest questionnaire were responded to; this time both by e-mail and letter. This is always a reassuring touch, and something you know wouldn't happen
at an equivalent Marriott (if there is such a thing!).

I would say that of all the four Rocco Forte Hotels we have stayed at, the Amigo was my least favourite, mainly due to the customer service being slightly inferior. However on most other factors I rate the hotel very highly; the food was extremely good, the room charming, and the convenience to what Brussels has to offer is pretty unbeatable. The hotel also has a lovely atmosphere. Although the hotel room rate wasn?t inexpensive, it was fairly competitive, and the cost was made worse by the poor exchange rate. Actually I realised that the price wasn?t too bad when I stayed two weeks later at the Westin in Dublin paying 300 euros for what was a far inferior product.

Our rate included breakfast, and this meal was probably the most disappointing aspect of the hotel. In the restaurant a small table was set out with a rather poor selection of pastries, and another display had cereals and a less than impressive choice of continental items. On both occasions when we went for breakfast we weren't told what breakfast was included. The first morning I just had a couple of items from the pastry selection and my husband had a bowl of cornflakes. The following day we both had some cereal. When we
checked out we noticed that there was a 10 euro supplement added to our bill, and on enquiring what this was we were told it was the extra charge for the continental buffet on the first morning. We were shocked at this, not only because it seemed rather underhand to charge extra for such basic items as cornflakes, but also because on no occasion had we been told what we were entitled to. Our reservation stated that continental breakfast was included, and you wouldn't really assume this just meant the meagre choice of croissants
etc. As it turned out we were being charged 10 euro for a bowl of cornflakes! The extra charges for the breakfast on the day we left hadn't been posted to
our account but I am sure if we hadn't complained we would have had a 20 euro supplement for our two continental buffets that day. After a little debate the hotel agreed to refund the 10 euro, but I was disappointed that we had this problem. Usually the fantastic thing about Rocco Forte
Hotels is that you can rely on everything being in order when you check out.

If I was ever in Brussels I would definitely stay at the Amigo, as I am sure that regardless of the few problems we encountered, no other Brussels hotel would come close to this standard in terms of atmosphere and the feeling of luxury.

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