I am traveling to Brussels and need a place to stay at the beginning of December. I've started looking at hotels, but them seem quite expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions for a decent hotel or pension? Needs to be within the city (no car!) and safe for 2 women traveling alone.

Thank you!

I stayed at the Bedford which is about 5 minutes walk from the Grand Place. I found a good deal on that hotel by booking through AAVacations as a land package. I thought it was nice and safe enough, and as a female travelling alone, I had the same concerns as you.

We stayed at Atlas Hotel, about 8 minute walk from the Grand Place.
I believe their twin-room rate is 115E weekdays and 79E weekends, breakfast included. Our room was very quiet, as it was an interior room with a window onto a courtyard area. It was roomy ( I think there was a minibar) and the bath was sparkling. I would gladly stay there again.
<u>http://www.atlas-hotel.be/</u>

I stayed (a few years ago) at the Ibis which is part of a French chain. I've stayed at Ibis hotels in various locations - they are not characterful and the rooms are quite simple but have always been spacious enough, clean &amp; equipped with everything I needed. The one I stayed at in Brussels was reasonably central - maybe 10 mins walk from the Grand Place, I think. See http://www.ibishotel.com/ibis/index.html : unfortunately there seem to be a number of them in Brussels &amp; I'm not sure which one I stayed at.

Hi, check this old thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34521872

I keep recommending the Hotel Welcome and I recommend it to you again. 2 minutes walk from the underground and 5 minutes from the Grand Place. Also 2 minutes from the Christmas market

They're among the cheapest in Europe as capital cities go - for around 120EUR you can have five star (which is really four star quality) with breakfast.

Not directly your answer but Food Network last night had Rachel Ray's $40/day with restaurant suggestions and a great chocolatier &quot;tour&quot; with a free box of chocolates at the end-you may want to check out the website as they looked devine!

I stayed at the Hotel Le Madeleine a few years ago. It is very conveinent to the train station and grand place, which is just around the corner. The rooms were small but clean, bathrooms modern with a good shower and the breakfast area cheerful with a nice breakfast. I only paid about 85 dollars but i think it has gone up a bit.

i'm with sheila. stayed at the hotel welcome this may. staff is great, especially vanessa. and the rooms are fun. we had the congo room. check out their website. www.hotelwelcome.com.

Ditto for hotel Welcome. We went there several years ago before the rennovation. There were only 6 or 8 rooms. Michel was great. He was the cook, chauffeur, owner, etc. Vanessa was wonderful. The rest of the staff was great. They were truly professional.

I stayed at the Hotel Noga in Brussels this April as a solo traveller, and walked home from an evening out at midnight. In my opinion, it is safe, and they give you a front door key for entry after 11 p.m. At night a motion sensor turns on the hall light so you can see to open your room door. The hotel is absolutely charming, with a lovely lobby and salon, and very friendly help, who speak a few languages including English. I paid 87e which included an incredible breakfast. The website is www.nogahotel.com. You can reserve online. [email protected] is the email. Good luck - if you want more info let me know, and you can email me off the board.

Re: Hotel Welcome - did anyone experience any noise issue, isn't there a bar or restaurant on the ground level? What about any other bars on that square? (or am I confusing this with le Madeleine?)...

The only time I had any noise issue was the one time I was in one of the rooms overlooking St Katherine's whilst the Christmas market was on.
The restaurant- La Truite D'Argent, is at the front and is a classy joint. The rooms are nearly all along the side street, and ones above are 2 stories up

I can't believe it - everything is already booked up. Apparently Wednesday evening is a popular night in Brussels! I've tried all the central hotels that people were nice enough to mention and all of them are booked! I have sent 2 emails to Hotel Welcome but have not received a reply. Ibis Leuven Centrum hotel does have an opening - has anyone stayed here - is it clean? Or, does anyone have any other options that they can think of.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

Liz

There are 2 Ibis hotels, one off Grand Place and one off St Catherine's, either should do. Try them too.
www.ibishotel.com

Also www.laterooms.com and www.ratestogo.com

The cheapest hotel/pension in town (that isn't completely dodgy) would be Les Bluets over on rue Berkmans, I think, near the Place Stephanie. Very simple, very plain, but inexpensive.
Another choice would be the Best Western over by the Parc Cinquantenaire (Best Western Park, something like that). It's a good neighborhood and is near several museums and the Merode metro stop, which takes you into central Brussels (Grand'Place area) very quickly (5 stops to the Gare Centrale, 6 to de Brouckere). Merode is also served by several buses and a couple of trams, including direct buses to the Sablon, the Gare du Midi and the Gare du Nord. I believe a double can go for about $99. It's a nice little hotel. There are several cafes and restaurants nearby, some decent shopping and it's a safe area for two women. Plus you get to see something of the &quot;real&quot; Brussels beyond the tourist thronged Grand'Place area. The Parc Cinquantenaire is rather nice and the grand arch there often features in TV news reports on the EU (tv reporters love to stand in front of it when filing their stories).
Hope this helps!
BTilke (Brussels)

Here is the link for Les Bluets:
http://www.geocities.com/les_bluets/

And for the Best Western Premier Parkhotel:
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwest...ertyCode=92628

Thanks for your help. I just got a reservation at the IBIS Leuven Central hotel for a pretty good rate.

I think there must be some sort of convention going on during that week - the 8th is sold out everywhere - I tried the best western and that is sold out too. I'm going to consider myself lucky I got the IBIS room!

Thanks for everyone's help!

One last suggestion...Les Tourelles on Avenue Winston Churchill. It's a nice residential area, with a tram stop right in front of the hotel (an little B &amp; B style hotel) and a short walk (about 10 mins) from our favorite restaurant in Brussels, Les Brasseries Georges (www.brasseriesgeorges.be)

Anyway, give Les Tourelles a try before you resign yourself to Leuven (which is actually quite a nice town and you should enjoy yourself there).

Les Tourelles' web site is down or has changed (hope the hotel hasn't closed!), but their contact details are:

Avenue Winston Churchilllaan 135
1180 UCCLE
Tel: 02/344 95 73
Fax: 02/346 42 70