Fans of Hilton hotels looking for the group’s high levels of comfort in Brussels won’t be disappointed with the Hilton Brussels Grand Place, until last November Le Meridien.
Like many luxury hotels these days this one presents itself as a four-star, to get and keep the highly-lucrative business from pharmaceutical companies that are strongly discouraged, on ethical grounds, from using five-star facilities to incentivise doctors and others buying or prescribing their products. Comfort levels, however, we judged as definitely top drawer on a recent two night stay there.
It was the large and well-lit bathrooms that won our heart. These featured a full-sized bath with shower for hair washing, a long and wide shelf for storage of the good-quality toiletries offered, as well as for holding cups of tea/coffee, glass of single malt and paperback book, and a grab handle for getting in and out safely Over the sink was a useful magnifying mirror, ample towels were big, white and fluffy with matching dressing gowns and in one corner was a large shower stall with a dinner-plate sized shower head. It was a room we couldn’t improve.
In the spacious bedroom area was a large and sleep-inducingly comfortable bed with big pillows to match, and those ideal bright reading lights on a stalk that don’t keep awake anyone sleeping alongside. There is also a large work area with comfortable seating, a platform to put luggage on, a wardrobe with safe, a mini-bar with spare space for one’s own bottle or two, a TV with lots of channels, free bottled water and very welcome tea/coffee facilities, not always available in other European parts. Given, however that our July trip coincided with the two most oppressively sweltering days and nights of this year so far, we were especially grateful for the powerful air conditioning that, when we left it on, was like walking from an uncomfortably hot and steamy sauna into a wonderfully refreshing fridge as we came in sweating from outside.
The Hilton Brussels Grand Place, located very close to the city’s most famous square and opposite the entrance to Brussels Central station, offers event organisers 224 bedrooms, including 27 suites, and 17 meetings spaces giving 20 combinations. Capacities, theatre-style, comprise one of 200, one of 180, one of 120, one of 90, two of 70, three of 50, one of 45, two of 20 and three of 15. Boardroom capacities only are for 6/10/15/15 and there is a ballroom foyer for buffets or receptions for up to 150. For those running larger events the Hilton is a few minutes walk from the Square conference centre with five auditoria for 140/300/500/1200/2100, seven halls and combinations for 92/216/252/271/1260/1260/2530 and around 30 meetings rooms for 20-95, all capacities theatre-style.
Web: brusselsgrandplace.hilton.com
Trip organised by visitbrussels, with transportation from London St Pancras to Brussels Midi station by Eurostar in two and a half hours, inclusive check-in time