Breakfast with a View! (Hotel Arlequin)

Member Name: Catmantes

Product:	Hotel Arlequin
Date:	15/02/02 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean, Very Good Value, Excellent Location

Disadvantages: Can be noisy outside

I need an adventure. So I whizzing across Flanders on Eurostar to Brussels. I know nothing about the place except it's the European Capital and home to NATO.
I picked the first hotel out of my Time Out guide.

Location: Right in the heart of Brussels, 2 mins walk from the Grand Place, 3 mins walk from Bourse tram/pre-metro station. Situated in an arcade between two city centre streets lined with restaurants and and cafes.
The Petite Rue des Bouchers is crammed full of restaurants catering to Tourists on a cobble lane. Here you'll get Mussles and Frites for about 12 euros, which I thought was expensive, but turned out to be very competitive.
The other entrance is on Rue de la Fourche, which is very different. Here you get a string of local cafes that serve cheap but good food, with a Moroccan influence. Also there are a couple of gay cafes that altogether adds up to an intimate street: something for everyone. Here, tourists mingled with local teenagers eating chips, with a sauce and a can of coke.
Being so central did have one disadvantage: the noise from air conditoning units was loud when you had the window open, so it's a good idea to keep the windows closed.

Prices:
I paid 66 euros each (£40 for a Friday and Saturday night. Good going for a city centre location. Especially to my surprise when I discovered that a buffet breakfast is included.

Rooms:
Spacious, comfortable beds, with good bathrooms. Always clean, and bathrooms supplied with all the 'little' things you would expect.

Service:
Rooms clean everyone morning, except for Sunday: you receive a phone call to ask if you want to be disturbed on a Sunday for the cleaner! Reception staff knowledgeable, always helpful, and patient if you want to speak in French. They also have a luggage safe, so on you r last day you can leave the bags and don't have cut the last day short.
All rooms had cable TV, so I learned about Princ
ess Margaret?s death in Brussels (however I have to say, I was more intrigued by the French version of the 'Weakest Link).

Breakfast:
Served between 07h00 and 10h00. It's a buffet and situated on the 7th floor in a kind of conservatory and wow! What a view of the old city, up amongst the roofs of the Ilot Sacre.Cereals, Bacon, Scrambled Egg, Meats, Cheeses, Breads, Croissants, Yogurts, etc, etc, etc. You?re free to feel up on the buffet as much as you want. Everyone does. It's saves on thinking about lunch!

Conclusion:
Excellent value for money. Will stay again. Room was warm comfortable, cleaned every day, Breakfast good quality and fab view of the old town. I stayed for four days, weekend rate for a single about £40, and about £50 during the week. Total price for the four days 274 euros/£174. This represents excellent value for staying in the centre of a major European Capital, which gets you an en-suite bathroom, all services you would expect, and especially the 'extra': Breakfast with a View!

Summary: