Brussels Hotel Info Request #2
 

Well, here I am again. The hotels recommended by Fodorites to my first request are already booked for the dates I am going to be there. Please advise if you know anything about the following:

Hotel Bedford
Hotel Atlas
Hotel de Boeck's
Hotel Beverly Hills

I am not finding any "deals" - some hotels are not even having "weekend specials." Any and all recommendations are welcome.

Atlas always prices their weekends lower than weekdays. Look on the website price list.. We've stayed twice, it's clean and decent, good continental breakfast, free pc in the lounge, wifi in the hotel rooms (ask for such a room, otherwise find a 'free' unsecured site). About 2-3 blocks from Grand Place, 6.5E taxi fare from Gare Midi....I'd go back again.
www.atlas-hotel.be/

I don't know those hotels, but I can recommend Residence Le Dixseptieme,27 Rue De La Madeleine, where I stayed for a couple of weekend nights last September. I don't recall the price, but I do know I went through Expedia after researching centrally-located hotels on many websites and in serveal books.
Jess

How about Priceline? People have been getting the 4* Renaissance Hotel for between $ 50-60 per night plus taxes and fees. The last two times we tried, we got the Renaissance for around that price. It's a nice hotel around the corner from the EU and Luxembourg Train Station. It's only about a 25 min. walk to the Grand Place.

All those hotels are pretty crap. I know - as one of my friends owns one of them.

What is your budget and what are your dates.

Lawchick; your friend is going to be pleased with your recommendation! (-:

He knows - he's selling it!

I'd like to know what is 'crap' about the hotel we stayed in. Personally, I totally missed it.

Its horses for courses I guess Travelnut. The fact that I got rather badly mugged twice almost just outside the hotel has always put me off that particular street.

Depending on when exaactly people are travelling to brussels there is often a much better price quality ratio at hotels other than those mentioned by the original poster.

Well, that would sour a person.. Is it reputed to be an unsafe area or do you think those were more of a 'random' act? Late at night?

Ooooh, I feel so good! Yikes, I never knew it would be such a problem finding a decent hotel at a decent price.

Lawchick - I will be there Sept 8-12 and all recommended places are full. I've checked Booking, Expedia, Travelocity. Also, I do not want to pay $300+ a night for a room to sleep in.

It's not particularly unsafe...but Brussels is not the safest place in the world generally.

It was fairly late at night - like about 11pm, after dinner.

I've been living in Brussels for 6 years. I'm a sturdy 6ft woman and I don't walk anywhere on my own at night. I have no such qualms in any other major European city - but not in what is now my home town.

I have also been attacked by a junkie with a machette on Avenue Louise - the most expensive shopping street in Brussels and had an attempted car jack - until they realised my BMW is right hand drive. Ha Ha Ha...I'm loath to change it now for a leftie.

Thanks for your honesty - we sometimes tend to gloss over such incidences ... of course, need to keep them in perspective, too.

Another possibility is the Hotel Monty on the Ave. Brand Whitlock and Georges Henri intersection. It can be noisy due to its proximity to a major road (which runs underneath the streets I named above, no problems crossing the street). A decent residential/shopping neighborhood, good access to mass transit, a popular cafe/restaurant right across the street.
http://www.monty-hotel.be/index.htm
It's a fairly new place that had some bumps when it first opened up a few years ago, but I hear they've been ironed out. No AC though.

It's a decent neighborhood for walking around. In our 8+ years lurking around Brussels, we've had our brushes with crime and there are some places I wasn't happy to walk at night (near our old St. Gilles apt. for example) and others where I felt fine (around our Parc Tenbosch apt and another apt in Woluwe St. Pierre). The Monty's location isn't one that would bother me.
http://www.monty-hotel.be/index.htm

Thanks for your info. I've sent an email to Hotel Monty. If you can think of any others in neighborhoods, that would be great. I don't mind being away from the center as long as there is a good transit system close by, i.e. such as in London or Paris.

This site lists various BnB places in Brussels. I can't vouch for any of them, but might be worth looking at them to see if any strike your fancy and are in your budget.
http://www.weekendhotel.nl/bed-and-b...Bruxelles/1/en

BTilke - thank you for the B&B website. I found several I am interested in. Can you tell me if the north part of Brussels is a good area? Also the centre of Brussels?
Thank you.

In 2004, I stayed at Hotel Noga, which I found under the Hotel tab on Fodor's. I think I paid 68e. There are 2 good reviews posted there now and it is listed at 75-100e. It has a charming little lobby, a very warm & helpful staff and a really lovely included breakfast. It was the best night's sleep I had on my entire trip! I made my reservation online, in English with no trouble. This is a 10 minute walk from Grand Place.

It's hard to say how good the area is without knowing the specific address. A lot of these places are pretty liberal with their definition of being in the "center" of Brussels.
I would stay away from anything close to the Gare du Nord or Gare du Midi. I usually stay in what's known as the Upper Town (roughly speaking, it's around the Ave. Louise and up into Ixelles). Anything around the Chatelain area might be worth investigating as it's a neighborhood full of good restaurants and cafes. Things around the EU area might be ok depending on where specifically they mean...we really like the area around the Merode metro stop (on the rue des Tongres side), but we don't care for the area down by the Luxembourg train station (just personal opinions), yet both would be considered in the EU area (and they're not that close to each other). I don't know the Laeken area at all, sad to say. And I wouldn't stay anywhere near St. Josse (I would NOT stay anywhere near the Madou metro stop...but OTOH, the Madou stop on the route 39 tram is a lovely area, two places with the same name but completely different vibes). St. Gilles is also pretty iffy, although it does have some gorgeous Art Nouveau buildings.

Thank, again, for your responses.

BTilke - the addresses I'm interested in are: Rue St Roch, Rue Verhas, and Avenue de la Bugrane.

Can you recommend any hotels or B&B's in the Chatelain area?

I'm traveling to Brussels in July by myself and found this hotel, which looks nice, located in a decent area, is cheap and has a breakfast:

http://www.solmelia.com/solNew/hotel...digoHotel=6803

Yes, the Melia Ave. Louise is a good location and if the OP can find a room there, she should take it. I've walked past that hotel dozens of times, it seems fine.
BL, the Rue St. Roch and rue Verhas are not areas that particularly appeal to me. The Ave. de la Bugrane area is out by Heysel, which is convenient if you're attending a convention there, but a ways from the city center.
Of the list of BnBs that I noted above, my very first choice would be Ursule La Libellule. Excellent location, close to the Ave. Louise and to the Chaussee de Waterloo/Chatelain area, which is a good residential area. I would pick that one over all the others. But from the rest, La Casita, Zinneke, La Conciergerie, Casa Belgo Argentina and Chaussee St. Pierre look to be in ok locations.

I will be by Ursule La Libellule this afternoon, will give it a look.

Well, I went by. Still think it's the best choice. The BnB is located in a medium sized apartment building, I'm fairly certain it has an elevator. The view from the apartment to the street isn't particularly attractive, but
it's right next door to a good Italian restaurant, Dolce Campagna. The building is about 1.5 blocks from the Ave. Louise and there is a tram stop (trams 93/94) right at the intersection of Vleurgat and Louise. Go up Vleurgat a block and you come to the Jean-Claude Biguine flagship salon in Brussels and right next to that is the Parc Tenbosch. There are many very good, moderately priced, nontouristy restaurants within an easy walk of the BnB (Parachute Parc, Le Fruit Defendu, Lettre a Elise, Toucan, En Face de Parachute, La Poste, etc.). You're also an easy walk from the terrific Wed. afternoon street market on Place Chatelain and the Horta museum.