Staying in Belgium with a Canadian military tour group for five days…read more
Positives - clean, friendly staff. Free WiFi. "modern" design with stainless steel washroom, hard wood floors, and IKEA looking furniture in the guest suites
Complimentary breakfast especially good - streaky bacon, sausage, eggs (not to order) done buffet style with fruit, croissants/Danish, and a selection of cold-cuts and cheeses, all you can eat.
Staff were young, friendly, and indulged some of our wishes - like watching Stanley Cup hockey in the lobby at 3:00am to 6:00am local time as it aired live in Canada. One of the group linked their computer to the TV and provided a feed for a group of not always quiet spectators (Calgary eliminated Vancouver the night I stayed up to watch, to much cheering).
Negatives -
- no room service. You can order snacks and drinks from the bar to take back to your room, but you have to carry it yourself.
- Many items missing from rooms - no tissues, for example, no coffee/tea in the rooms
- beds very small even by European standards. Double occupancy rooms had the beds touching; not at all what a North American would be familiar with.
- chairs were very small, cramped, hard wooden chairs, so sitting at the free WiFi was a bit of a torture chamber, if you planned on using the desk for any length of time.
- only a single ironing board and iron for the entire facility
- one (slow) elevator for the entire facility
- crazy stairwell with angular stairs would be a disaster in an actual emergency
I didn't pay, as part of a tour, so I suppose the price may be the real attraction here for those budgeting. As a base of operations for touring in which you will probably just sleep there and little else, serviceable, but really not comfortable by any stretch.
Staff ranged from helpful to indifferent (trying to order a pizza from the bar, some were successful a couple of times, while my last attempt resulted in them floundering around saying they would "look" but got busy with other customers and so I went out for a meal instead.
Most egregious, I came back from a dinner and found myself locked out of my room, as my card key was deactivated. A letter was taped to the door which babbled something about people found smoking in their rooms would be fined 115Euros. My only vice is talking to strangers on the Internet and so I was incensed. I don't recall much of the conversation with the desk staff, but I was quite full of wine and probably did not do Canada any diplomatic favours. I do remember using unParliamentary language and the desk rectifying the situation quickly with a new card key and apology, though I still have no idea what would possess them to leave such a note in the first place, it being quite impossible to have any application to me.
Staff did not seem to show any resentment after our regimental pipes and drums decided to host a ceilidh in the lobby and the police were summoned. But I admit I didn't speak at length with any of them about the matter.
Had better, had worse.
