Need Brussels hotel recommendation

[bellesgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bellesgirl]

We will be in Belgium for a week in September and plan to use Brussels as our base. As a senior, you can travel anywhere within the country, same day round trip for under $10 pp. We will be doing day trips to Brugge, Ghent, etc. so we would like to be near a train station, but also centrally located to all the sights in Brussels. Since we probably will not be spending much time in the hotel, we don' need a lot of frills although a kitchenette or breakfast buffet would be helpful.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

This isn't what you asked for, but I'd recommend that you do more than day-trip to Bruges. It is so charming! We stayed for 3 days and could easily have stayed longer, and you can day trip from Bruges instead of Brussels. Bruges gets crowded during the day when all the day trippers come in, but after 4:30 pm it is nothing short of magical. (pretty darn nice during the day even if crowded!).

In Bruges (june 2014) we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Bruges. It is not, as you requested, near the train station but it is in the heart of the charming old section of town. It is also dead easy to get several free nights there courtesy of the Chase IHG credit card which makes up for the 10 min taxi ride

In Brussels we stayed at the Radisson Blu. It was fine; well located near a good part of town for restaurants and a few sites but overall a letdown for us after 3 days in Bruges.

Anita

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

We just stayed in the B-Aparthotel at Grand Place about a month ago. Complete 1-br. apartment, with kitchenette, walkable to the Brussels-Central train station (about 2-3 blocks). Cost was 99 Euros a night. It was also pretty walkable to everything in Brussels that you would want to see (assuming you like to walk). The train ride to Bruges is less than an hour, but I would not really stay overnight there, it's a day trip. Make sure to visit the Chocolate Line in Bruges, you can't get their chocolates any other way. There are also some nice chocolate shops there, and lunch at the Cambrinus Beer Hall was surprisingly good.

For the Aparthotel, check in is a little different. The only onsite staff are the maids, who are there during the mornings on weekdays. To check in, they email you a code that gets you in the front door. They also email you a second code that gets you into a lock box in the lobby, where your key is located in an envelope with your name on it. They have an offsite office that is open during normal business hours, in case you need to talk to someone. We found the arrangement to be very convenient.

Oh, they also have a free washer and dryer for the guests, downstairs in the parking area.

http://www.b-aparthotels.com/

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I feel we got the best deal using priceline. A 4 star hotel right in the center for about $110 a night.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

The center of Brussels is such a great place. I hope that it is still the same from many years ago.