Brussels Midi vs. Central Station?
 

I'm looking for a good (but not 4-star deluxe) hotel within a block or two of the "Central Station" in Brussels, near the Grand-Place.

Is Central Station the same as Brussels Midi?

Thanks.

No, the Central is the one closer to Grand Place. Brussels Midi is also referred to as "Zuid". You don't want to stay by it, not as nice an area.

As always, Travelnut, you're on the ball. Thing is, if I substitute Brussels for Amsterdam as I'm thinking of doing, the train from Paris arrives at Brussels Midi. That being the case, I guess there's no reason to be near Central station at all; just grab a cab and go ?? (someplace near Grand Place). Any suggestions for a good hotel for around 150 Euros a night?

I've been to Amsterdam twice but never Brussels except passing through via train. So now I'm re-considering and looking Brussles over.

If you arrive at Gare du Midi from Paris, you can change platforms and hop a train to Gare Centrale - a closer station to the better hotels in Brussels as you know. Your ticket from Paris includes the fare to any Brussels station. For my money, this is more convenient than taking a cab, providing of course that luggage is not an obstacle. You can search on tripadvisor.com for the best reviewed hotels but in general, the Royal Windsor, Le Dix-Septieme, Le Meridien, and Hotel Amigo are all good choices around the Grand Place.

Of course, in retrospect, that's me being thrifty. For 15E, you can take a cab right to your Grand Place hotel from Gare du Midi.

Just spent a day and night in Brussels, staying at the Scandic Grand Place. We used Hilton Honor points, but check out to see if there are any good deals to be had. Great area, across the street from the covered shopping arcade, Rue d'Bouchers (restaurant after restaurant)then the Grand Place. All within minutes. Had nice,casual meal at Arcadi, on same street (Rue d'Arenberg I believe) as the Scandic for moderate price. The hotel includes a hearty buffet breakfast.

The one time we stayed in Brussels was at the Atlas Hotel. It's a 'business' hotel atmosphere, had a large twin ground-floor room on the 'courtyard' (landscaped airshaft), and decent breakfast. I think the rate was 115€ (in Brussels, weekend rates are much less than weekday rates, due to being a business/conference destination). It would be a hike from the Centrale, so taxi directly from Midi would work better.
http://www.atlas-hotel.be/atlas/default.html

Another hotel just off Gare Centrale is Hotel Hesperia - looks nice but I've not stayed there.
http://www.hesperia.com/Hesperia-Gra...ce/?cambio=156

Otherwise, I suppose you could pull up a couple of options from this booking site and come back and ask about them:
http://www.brussels-hotels.com/

USbeauty: If stepping to another platform and continuing on to Central Station on a different train is included in my ticket from Paris as you say, is the reverse true as well? Can I flash my Brussels Midi-Paris Gare du Nord ticket at the Central station and be sent on through the turnstile? Somehow this seems unlikely to me.

We stayed at the Best Western Carrefour d'Europe. Very nice hotel.

One short block from Central Station in the direction of Grand Place and Galleries St Hubert. And a short block to each.

There's a little square directly in front of the hotel. We had a front room several stories up and had a view of the upper portion of some of the Grand Place buildings.

Logan69: Sorry for the delay, just saw your post. Yes, you can board at Gare Centrale to train to Gare du Midi. There is no "turnstile" per se; you just find your gate for the next train to Gare du Midi and walk downstairs to the platform and board your train. Note: This only works if you're holding a ticket to a train that leaves from another station. Travelers who enjoy riding from one gare to the other without holding a ticket are strongly discouraged from doing this. ;-)