Hoogstraten Beguinage

A lovely hotel but despite booking 5 months early the twin room we requested was unavailable. Also, the hotel was fully booked so we were sent to another of their properties across the road. It was serviced by very steep stairs - no lift and we were two flights up. We would not have been able to get our luggage up the steep narrow stairs if the reception guy hadn’t helped. Checking out was really difficult navigating our luggage down the stairs. We had breakfast included but only went the first day because we felt we could do better somewhere else and we saw the waiter using his hands to refill the hash browns and then eat directly from breakfast buffet (berries). I don't think we saw the best of the hotel.

Very nice room. My only issue: the TV channel lineup does not include BBC News. And the very generous breakfast buffet (€17) offers cold scrambled eggs and mediocre do-it-yourself coffee. Very “sympathique” staff, however.

Overall the Hotel Fleur de Ville was a very nice place to stay in Brussels in the City Center. It was an easy walk to the Grand Place and the Christmas Markets. The luxury shopping area on Bd.de Waterloo was a pleasant walk of about 15 minutes. Restaurants were plentiful and varied in the city center area. The hotel has a restaurant, but I did not eat there except for breakfast. The breakfast was adequate but somewhat limited in its variation. There were hot eggs, sausage and bacon as well as cereal, cold cuts and cheeses. The hotel had a small bar with some limits on what cocktails could be prepared. The rooms were large and well decorated. The bathroom was clean with almost instant hot water in the sink and shower. There were good black out drapes. Most travelers would probably have been happy with the central heat but for my wife and I the rooms were too warm. We resorted to turning the system off and opening the windows a bit in the evening to cool the room for a few hours before bed then closing them and leaving the central heat off at night. Outdoor temperatures were 30 - 35F at night. The staff were very friendly and helpful at the front desk, bar and at breakfast. My wife and I enjoyed our stay and would stay there again.