I am so thankful I found this hotel for my three day stay in Belgium, Brussels. Currently when you…read morewalk in, the door is broken so you have to contact the hosts in order to get in. But no big deal because they are really good about getting you. It's a really smooth transition. The building itself is sleek and modern. When you walk in you see beautiful concrete stairs. We reserved one of the room on the second floor. Our room is drop dead gorgeous. The room is way better than the pictures I posted. The designers really did a great job and the decor matches the urban feel of the room. The owner told us they plan to build a restaurant in the basement. I am so excited about that because this is a hotel I would come back to in a heartbeat on my next trip to Brussels.

- Large blood or other dark stain in the middle of the bed comforter…read more- Lots of leftover pieces of food in the couch also stains on the couch - Large blind in the bedroom broken, could not open at all - Interior door handle broken, could not close door - Exposed socket on the wall (we had an 11 month old baby) - Kitchen sink leaked all over the inside of the cupboard, no hot water in kitchen - Dining room table was full of chips and paint coming off of it. Some things were fixed while most were not. After many follow ups, they eventually put us in a different apartment after staff originally told us no others were available. At the new apartment, we went grocery shopping only to find that the stove top and microwave did not work. The owner Arnaud Rasquinet promised compensention for the whole mess, even asking for our banking information to send it. Then he never did and ignored all our phone calls / emails. During our one week stay we constantly got the runaround, not my responsiblity etc. from staff, one was paricularly rude. They ignored texts and phone calls, forcing us to walk to the office with our baby every day to try and sort things out. We spent much time of our holiday in Brussels trying to contact staff, walking to the office, dealing with staff, transfering apartments, unpacking and packing. To top it all off they marked us as no-shows for our online booking presumably to prevent us from writing a review. We had to sort that out to avoid being billed for our stay a second time. Terrible experience and customer service. Never got any money back despite promises.

From the owner: La situation est idéale: au coeur de Bruxelles, sur la place en face de la fondation Jacques Brel,…read moreà deux pas du Sablon, du quartier des antiquaires, du Square (Palais des Congrès) et de l'animation de la Grand Place. A proximité d'un parking couvert. La décoration joue résolument la carte du confort avec des aménagements bien pensés. Carrelages et céramiques d'époque se combinent aux accessoires de haute qualité assurant un bien-être total : écran plat, minibar, ADSL, iPod, Literie de grande qualité (lits double 1m80)... Bar à vin en semaine. Petite restauration à midi. Possibilité de massage. (70 euros - réservation indispensable) Au rez-de-chaussée, la réception s'ouvre sur une table d'hôte et un salon invitant à la détente. A chacun des étages, une chambre et sa vaste salle de bain. L'une d'entre elles se prolonge d'une petite terrasse à l'intimité agréable offrant une bouffée d'air et de vert au coeur de la ville.

I had a brilliant experience at Les Ecrins. It was the first time i travelled by myself and the…read morerecepcionist was great with me. I rented a single room with shared bathroom and loved it. It was simple but meet the requirements and never had an issue with not having my private bathroom because it was very near my room. The breakfast was amazing: croissants, bread, tea, coffee, etc. Loved it! Also the location was excellent, near a subway station which I really didnt need to take. During the night, also I felt very safe. Very close to all the must see places in Brussels.

Pros: 1. The staff…read moreis very friendly and helpful and most of them speak English. 2. Very affordable for Europe and the location. 3. As far as location, it is very near the metro station and a short walk near the Grand Palace (the center of the city). 4. Basic breakfast (coffee, pastries, and bread) are served in the morning. Cons: 1. Very bare bones accommodations. 2. You are provided a standard key, rather than a card, to enter the hotel (and a card attached to the key to get into your room). I never asked, and it was never told me what the cost of a lost key would be. Presumably, there is a fee if you lose the key. I would ask beforehand. 3. There is no 24 hour concierge. However, I was told on the last day that one can ring the at any time to get someone if you are stuck. 4. The rooms I stayed in (I stayed in two different rooms over separate stays) didn't have shampoo, but one could ask for some. Also, the soap in the shower was not filled up on my last day. All in all a decent place to stay if you want something near the center of the city, but don't expect the full services one would find at a major hotel.