Hilton Brussels (City) (The Hilton Brussels City)

Member Name: buttonman

Product:	The Hilton Brussels City
Date:	01/04/02 (389 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location,Grub

Disadvantages: No Pool!

If you are heading to Brussels and have a few quid or someone else is paying you could do a lot worse than put your feet up in the Brussels Hilton. Located in the southwest edge of the Petite ring that circles the city the Hotel is ideally located with the Louise subway right at the front door. With 434 rooms over 25 floors the hotel is a large operation and visible from a long way off - handy for those bad people who get drunk and lost.

The location is in a posh bit of town with rows of designer shops right outside. I had to fit Irene with blinkers for fear she'd blow her pension fund on a Gucci thong. It also attracts a lot of the have-nots with beggars a constant sight. Most seem east European and none were shy pushing their kids in your face. They weren't aggressive though and caused us no hassles. The Grand Place is a 15-minute walk away but the pub district is a lot closer. McDonalds and a cinema are also close by - yup it's five star all the way with me!

We booked via the Hilton web site and paid a reasonable £75 a night bed and breakfast. The rate is per room not person so save cash and shoe horn relatives in. Check in was fine although they did get my name wrong and gave us someone else's room but they did seem pretty efficient although I'm sure they were talking about me in Flemish! The hotel has 25 floors but the top 12 are executive floors meaning that even in a five star hotel you can still feel inferior! We were given a room on the fourth floor and it was ideally located on a corner giving great views of the park outside and city beyond. One slight moan relates to the lifts. There are six but only three for use by the common people. This sounds OK but one day we came back to find a Tupperware convention booking in and the wait was endless.

The room is all that you'd expect - well furnished and clean. The television had 20 or so channels including BBC1 and MTV. The pay for view movies were ok, Planet of
the Apes and the like but 15 Euros (£10) seemed steep. They also show hardcore pornography, which isn't scrambled right away, so watch out, or you'll see a few seconds of filth! The mini bar was well stocked but expensive. 5 Euros for a bag of crisps? Only the EU commissioners would pay that.

There was a kettle and cups but no tea bags. After a fruitless search we called down to be told they were in a sealed container in the fridge and a bargain at 5 Euros - I could get a bag of crisps for that! This seemed a bit mean especially as you only got two teabags and two coffee sachets. What next? - charge for toilet paper by the slice!

The bathroom was great with a power shower that could knock you over. Little things like a heated towel rail add to the class as do the test tube style toiletries that will be adoring mother's Christmas stocking!

As we are on a health kick we tried out the fitness room. I was a bit disappointed that there was no pool or sauna and the fitness room wasn't that great. It had two treadmills, a rowing machine, a stair climber and a punch bag. Luckily no one else was there on our visits but it could get very crowded!

Breakfast was however not in the slightest bit disappointing. They described it as an American breakfast and that would explain the girth of our trans-Atlantic cousins! Along with the usual cereals and juices there were Danishes, cold meat and cheese, loads of fruit and lots of fried delights. There was also this porridge stuff but better. It was like oatmeal covered in condensed milk and honey. It was a bit sickly after three bowls but I struggled by!

The other facilities were very nice too. A nice quiet bar is on the ground floor with free American papers and comfy leather seats. The drinks were expensive though with Irene's Baileys costing £6! There is also a steak restaurant and an a la carte both of which we avoided for fear of wallet failure. We did go in after a
night out for coffee and dessert and were glad we did. The sweet trolley was groaning, as was my belt after this white chocolate number with vanilla sauce. This snack came to £22, which was as much as dinner but twice as nice.

On the whole the hotel was a good choice. Reasonably priced and centrally located we had a great-pampered time and wouldn't hesitate going back. I am actually returning in three weeks this time with my pals. Sadly though this time we are staying at the Jacques Brel youth hostel. Something tells me it may not be to the Hilton's standard?

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