I have been wanting to check this out for a long time. It is hands down the best property out of the three under Hilton in Brussels. Besides this, there is another DoubleTree and a Hilton Garden Inn. The Hilton have the best location. It is right smack in the middle of the city centre and right opposite Central Station. It is just next to Grand Place. Everywhere is walkable and having the train station right beside makes travelling easy including to the airport. This is the flagship property in Belgium. The previous time I was in Brussels, I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. I am glad to finally have the chance to stay here.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
I booked directly with Hilton and got the base-level room. I will be staying here for 3 nights. I will be arriving late on the first night and departing early on the last day. A couple of days out from my stay, I can see that I have been upgraded to a Junior Suite. That is quite nice from the hotel. I also reach out to get some information from the hotel. The hotel is located in a very central location. Hilton Brussels Grand Place comes with 236 guest rooms and suites spread across 8 categories. You can check out the breakdown below.
| Rooms | Executive Lounge Access | Bathtub | Room Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest | No | Yes | 30 Sqm |
| Executive | Yes | Yes | 36 Sqm |
| Family | No | Yes | 29 – 35 Sqm |
| Two Queen Bed Family | Yes | Yes | 46 Sqm |
| Queen Bed Family Smurf Room | Yes | Yes | 35 Sqm |
| Junior Suite | Yes | Yes | 46 Sqm |
| Family Suite | Yes | Yes | 55 – 70 Sqm |
| Presidential Suite | Yes | Yes | 170 Sqm |
Checking In
I travel via the train and get to Brussels from Amsterdam using the Eurostar. I got into the midi station and then transferred to another train to travel to Central Station. I got to the hotel at around 9pm. Do note that the central station is so badly designed that there are no non-stairs exits from the station. It is not very accessible when you have huge suitcases. Upon arrival, you can find the reception right next to the entrance. It’s quite a small and cosy area. There was no one at this hour and I was immediately helped by the friendly staff.
The lobby area is grand but simple, with a chandelier at the top. There is some seating by the side of the lobby. Check-in was prompt and fast. It was done in no time, and I had the keys soon after. I was also thanked for being a Diamond member and provided with all the information for the stay. They have reconfirmed an upgrade to a twin Junior Suite, which is excellent. During the day, you can find some fruits, water, and sweets in the lobby.
Junior Suite
I was assigned a junior suite located on the highest floor of the hotel. There are only six floors here. They come in both king and twin configurations here. It is not overly huge and only measures. The junior feature comes in both king and twin configurations. It measures a cosy 46 Sqm. There is not much of a difference between the two of them. It is more or less the same. The twin beds were placed side by side too. It is like a Hollywood King. The suite comes with a regular rectangular configuration and a L-shaped entranceway. Right upon entering, there is a very short entranceway with the wardrobe located there. The placement will be great for your outerwear. This is especially handy during the cold season.
The suite can also be connected to another room next door to make it into a two bedroom suite. The wardrobe is well equipped with everything that you might need from ironing kits, slippers and plenty of hangers.
The main space of the street itself is elongated. Everything is located together in one room. Given that we are on the highest floor, the ceiling is slanted on one side. That kind of adds a flair to the place. Along one end of the suite, it comes with a sofa set that is good for two people.
In the middle of the suite, there is also an additional armchair.
The television is mounted on the wall. It is of a good size of a suite. The mounting allows it to be pivoted to face either the seating area or the bed. This makes it nice to watch from either spot. The TV comes with a good number of both local and international cable TV channels. The panel below offers additional storage if you require it. I use it as a spot for my carry-on baggage.
Along the wall, you can find the chairs and the working desks. The mini bar is also found here. It consists of a fridge that is left empty for your use. There is a proper espresso coffee machine and a kettle here. Two bottles of water are provided per stay. I do feel that they could be more generous regarding this.
On the other side, you can find a desk. The generous space comes with comes with power outlets. The Wi-Fi connection is very good and strong in the room. It comes with a chair that offers decent back support for a short period of work.
If you wanna get some work done it comes with a lovely view of the Town hall and Grand Place. The sheers are only manually controlled and they do block out the light pretty well. You can also open the windows slightly if you wanna get some fresh air into the room which is always very much appreciated.
On the other side of the suite, you can find the twin bed. It’s more of like a Hollywood King where the two beds are stuck together. The beddings were high quality but sadly the pillows were too much and the mattress is on the softer side for my liking. Flanking both sides of the bed you can find night stands with controls for the lightings within reach. Power outlets are also available.
Coming to the bathroom, it is on the spacious side. It comes with a separate bathtub and a standing shower. As per the usual, amenities are from Crabtree and Evelyn in large pump size bottles. There is a single sink and the toilet is in a separate room. The standing shower comes with both a handheld shower head and a rainforest one. Water pressure and temperature control are excellent.
No turndown service is provided.
Fitness Centre
The gym is located on the ground floor and is open 24 hours. It is rather basic and comes with the usual equipments. It does gets the work done if you want to get a workout. You can just access it with your key cards.
Executive Lounge
The executive lounge is similarly located on the ground floor. The executive lounge is open daily from 7am to 8pm with happy hour offered from 5pm to 7pm. Breakfast is also available from 7am to 10am. I did feel that the lounge opening hours is a little too short. They close too early. I would appreciate them closing later. Furthermore, they do key card access. It can’t be too hard to just offer access for non-alcoholic drinks. Everything is self-service over here. It is not an overly huge space and comes with only sittings for around 20 pax or so. It gets really busy in the evening.
During the day you can find some non-alcoholic drinks such as soft drinks, coffee, tea and water. They also have some snacks and tubbits. It is nothing too fancy but a nice space if you want to get some work done. The wifi Wi-Fi connection is strong in the lounge and they have power sockets all over the place. The central location in the city also makes it nice to pop back for a drink and to rest your legs in the middle of your sightseeing.
Cocktails are served from 5pm to 7pm. They have something very special here which is a cocktail workshop from 5.30pm to 6 pm every Tuesday and Thursday. This is so unique! I can’t believe that it is the first time I see this in a lounge. The usual drinks are quite standard. They had a Belgium Stella keg on draft, you are after all in Belgium! There are also some spirits, red wine and white wine.
Food wise they had some cold options such as salads, pate, bread, cakes. There are two hot options that rotate from day to day. They had some asparagus soup, chicken wing and pita bread. The food is replenished during the course of the evening.
The evening cocktails mixology class starts at 5.30pm. The staff will push over a cart to the middle of the lounge and invite guests to take part. On the day of my visit, we were taught how to make an Amaretto Sour by Victoria the bartender from the hotel bar. This is a classic Italian almond concoction. It was really delicious and later on, I even made one with the help of Victoria. According to her, it is perfect! Cheers! This is rather unique in a lounge.
Breakfast at the Executive Lounge
Breakfast is also offered in the executive lounge from 6am to 10am. It is pretty much nothing. There are some cereal bars, cold snacks, pastries, cheddar and pastries. They didn’t even have juices available. This is more of a grab-and-go option. The restaurant is recommended if you have access.
Breakfast at Breakfast Lounge
Breakfast is offered from 7am till 10am on weekdays and till 11am on weekends. It is a really weird name for the place. It feels like they have changed the restaurant and now have this dedicated place just for breakfast. If it is not included in your rate or status, breakfast would have cost 29 Euros. I went down for breakfast at around 9am. I felt like the timing was a little too early for a city hotel. 10.30am feels better. Here are some pictures of the place. Breakfast is served buffet style.
The spread is fairly standard and a little below par in my opinion. I expect more from a Hilton. You also can’t have eggs cooked to your liking. They have coffee and tea stations, pastries, cheese, ham, vegetables, sausages, hash brown, two eggs and mushrooms. You can also make your own waffles and pancakes. Juices are available too.
It is nothing too fancy but you shouldn’t miss out if you have access with the high prices in Brussels. It is nice to get a meal covered. They also prep some breakfast boxes on the day of departure given that I am leaving at 7am.
Conclusion
I have been wanting to check out this property a couple of times but didn’t get to do so on my previous visits. Glad to finally be able to do so this time around. The last time I was in Brussels, I stayed at the HGI. The cocktail workshop is commendable! It is so cool and amazing to have. I can’t believe that this is my first time seeing it in an executive lounge. Victoria is amazing! Thank you for teaching me how to make an Amaretto Sour! More properties should have such activities. The hotel location is amazing. Everything is well within walking distance and you also have proximity to public transport. Breakfast can be improved. I did enjoy the upgrade and the junior suite. I will be back again the next time I am in Brussels.
You must be logged in to post a comment.