Has anyone stayed in either?

Am leaning towards Hotel Orts, just a design/boutique hotel preference, but they are only offering rack rates at the moment and will not have their lower rates established until Oct/Nov. Metroplole looks nice and I can book now under rack rates.

Am in Brussels December 26-27, 2007 and January 4-8, 2008.

Suggestions beyond book Metropole now and cancel when I can get a better rate at the Orts later.

Also, any advice on the 2 locations is appreciated. The Orts is near the Bourse (http://hotelorts.com/en/fr.htm),
Metropole is near but on the other side closer to the Grand Place (http://www.metropolehotel.com/EN/home.cfm).

Thanks!

We stayed at the Metropole MANY years ago. Unless it's been renovated I wasn't terribly impressed. But as I recall the location was wonderful.

Thank you--it has been renovated, though not sure if all the rooms are yet, they do have some rooms that have been recently done by local fashion designers that look nice.

What didn't you like about it and what did you like. It is so cheap--I can get a room for 99euro for superior.

I stayed at the Metropole in May. My room was very nice and spacious but I noticed in public areas some cracked steps, areas that smelled like urine... It was about a 10 min walk to the Grand Place so location wise was OK. They wanted like 30E for breakfast and at their cafe I got basically a grilled cheese and coke and it was 15 euros... after that I stuck with McDonalds for breakfast, street vendors for waffles, fries and gyros...

Thanks Vicky--am crossing the Metropole off my list then.

Anyone on the Hotel Orts? Even if it was just walking by it?

Also food and bar/cafe recs. are welcome.

Thanks!

We (my mother and I) are in the Hotel Orts right now. Booked it last minute at booking.com-$525 for 3 nights. It's quite nice. Rooms are modern, spacious by euro-city standards. Unfortunately, our room has two twin beds made up as one bed. I asked for two beds when I booked, but with only 14 rooms, this may not be an option. Everything looks very new with lots of lights and plugs. There's a small fridge and a safe. There is cable but the only English channels we could find are BBC 1 and 2. Who comes to watch TV anyway? I can email pics if you'd like.

It's basically across the street from the Marriott. Our cabbie knew the street but not the hotel. If you have this problem, the Marriott would be a good reference. The entrance is a little confusing, you enter at the restaurant and have to squeeze past the bar to get to the front desk. There is an elevator. Our room is on the first floor over the restaurant. We arrived during the lunch rush and the crowd was loud. We don't hear any restaurant noise in the room though. There is street noise but the windows block out quite a bit. The windows are actually two sets of french doors that lead to a truly tiny balcony. Let me know if you want pics.

Thanks Upstater--would love pics
my email is bombedpop(at)gmail(dot)com.
Sorry for spelling out my email, it is to avoid spam.

All the info you gave is perfect. do you have a regular room or the junior suite and how is the location in terms of shopping, restaurants, etc? Also the service?

I ended up calling and they told me that they are only booking at the rack rate until October and to call then, but I was able to book on splendia.com for $150/night. I am a bit leery of using a booking agent, but really wanted to stay there. I figure I have the room and will call next month and try to book direct if the price is better through the hotel.

Anyway, pics would be good and thank you for your reply!

Hi Cherrybomb,
I'll email the pics as soon as I'm home.
We are in a junior double. As long as you aren't a very light sleeper or sensitive to noise, I would highly recommend the hotel. They do a good job to dampen the sound, but it's the price you pay for being in the thick of things.

The hotel service has been really wonderful. They're really polite and friendly. They've been very accommodating. First we needed an extra towel and as soon as he brought it, I asked if he had an electrical adapter. So he had to run back down and bring it up. He was totally cheerful it about and brushed off my offers to come down and get it. We bought beer to sip in the room at the grocery store instead of drinking in the bar and they opened the bottles for us. About a block north of the hotel on Anspaach Boulevard is a Delhaize grocery. A good wine selection, beers by the bottle, snacks, and a less expensive alternative for buying chocolates. But Wittamer chocolatier is not far and definitely worth the trip.

The hotel location is convenient and close to most of the touristy things. If you're into fashion, the location is in the fashion district where designers have studios and sell clothes. There are some nice clothing shops. The Bourse is within sight just to the east. There is a Bourse metro stop. If you keep walking past the Bourse you hit the Grand Place. Go to the Tourist Info Bureau and get information. We got a fabulous book with descriptions of all the areas of the city and fold out maps. Walk down rue des Bouchers and see more restaurant than you've ever imagined. Don't eat here though-they're mostly overpriced and mediocre. Totally for the tourists. Aux Armes de Bruxelles may be the exception. The covered walking mall St Hubert is in the area also. Shopping and chocolatiers. If the weather is bad, consider riding one of the sightseeing buses. They allow you to get on and off at the touristy destinations without too much walking. The tickets are good for 24 hours.

We didn't eat in the hotel at all, so I can't comment on the restaurant. There are a lot of options in the area. For breakfast we headed west on rue Antoine Dansaert and went to le Pain Quotidien. We ate dinners at Kasbah and Bonsoir Clara just a few steps further down. Both were fantastic meals. In the area, Spinnekopke is supposed to be good also.

Thanks for all the info!

I live in NYC--outside noise does not bother me. Looking forward to the pics.