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After spending four nights in Amsterdam, I took the train to Brussels. While I would have preferred a Hyatt, there was none in Brussels. There are some Small Luxury Hotels in Bruges and Antwerp, I was not a fan of these. I settled on the Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place.

I wasn’t too thrilled about the hotel from the beginning. Let’s just say, I will not be returning to this hotel.

In this Article:
Location
Booking
Check-In
Deluxe Guest Room 1 King
Food and Drink

Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place Deluxe Guest Room 1 King

Location

The Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place is located in a central Brussels across the street from the Brussels Stock Exchange. It’s located near several public transportation stops all within a 15 to 20-minute walk.

This is a busy area of town. Especially as the day goes on. You can hear everything outside in this hotel. Soundproofing doesn’t really exist.

Booking

One of my main motivations booking this property was using up some Bonvoy points and a free night certificate I received from the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card. I ended up using the free night certificate (valued up to 35,000 points) for one night and 80,000 Bonvoy points for the remaining two nights.

Cash prices were kinda ridiculous for this hotel. It was around $272 each night.

Check-In

After walking from the Bruxelles-Midi train station, I arrived at the hotel. It was a bit pass 4:00PM.

As I approached the hotel, I stopped to put my face mask back on. The valet pointed out that I was not required to wear one inside. I walked inside where I was informed by a second employee that I did not need to wear a mask.

The female desk agent was checking in another guest, but it didn’t take more than a couple of minutes to finish. When she finished, I approached the desk and informed I did not need to wear a mask. I thanked her and stated I was fine wearing my mask.

She fiddled around on her computer before asking the person next to her for assistance in French. After some back and forth, she left for additional assistance. A male agent came and helped her. I’m not positive what the issue was as they all communicated in French. It took about 10 minutes. This is pretty long for any hotel check-in.

No upgrades for me as a Marrott Bonvoy Gold Elite.

All in all, five different employees told me that I did not need to wear a mask during check-in. Obviously, none knew the others had told me this, but it felt pushy. Belgium did end their mask requirement the day I arrive so they were most likely trying to be helpful.

Deluxe Guest Room 1 King

With keys in hand, I headed to my room. I was given room 556 on the fifth floor of the hotel. You needed to use your room key to gain access to floor with rooms. It was down the end of a long hallway.

After entering the room, I saw how tired this room was. Honestly, I would have preferred the Courtyard.

On the right when you enter is the bathroom. It was a decent size. Pretty much the entire room was covered in marble. The shower was on the far end of the room. The top of the tub was about two feet. If you struggle with mobility, you might want to request an ADA room.

The counter was in the middle of the room. On the counter was some toiletries, glasses and some hand towels. A hair dryer was provided.

The toilet was on the right.

Opposite of the bathroom was a wardrobe. There was a handful of hangers plus a iron and ironing board.

This is also were the in-room safe was located. It was easily able to accommodate my 16-inch Macbook Pro.

To the right of the wardrobe was a small coffee area. A kettle was provided to heat water for tea or coffee. Instant coffee, breakfast tea or decaf tea was available. There were also two small chocolate bars presumably available to make mochas. The coffee was gross and the chocolate didn’t help.

Underneath this was a place for a minifridge. But it had been removed from the room.

In the main part of the room was the bed, television, desk and small sitting area.

The bed clearly hadn’t been replaced in a while. You could easily see an indention in the mattress from all the previous guests. It was uncomfortable. On both sides of the bed were tables with lamps. There weren’t easily accessible power outlets for charging phones. I had to pull one of the bedside tables out to charge my phone.

Across from the bed was the television. It was located on a dresser with three drawers. When I first arrived, the television wasn’t working. It only showed snow. I requested that someone come fix it at 5PM. I was told they were coming right up. At 11PM, when no one showed I went to bed. The next morning, I followed up on the request. No apologies were given and I was told someone would come up. I felt and went to Antwerp. It still wasn’t fixed. I asked for a third time and left for dinner. Third time was the charm. It worked. But you could not pair it with your laptop. I like having this feature to be able to watch Netflix.  

Off to onside of the bed was a small sitting area. It came with a chair, ottoman and small round table. This area was pretty great. I typically would bring my dinner back to the room and eat here while watching TV.

To the right of the television was a desk and lamp. This was an okay place to work from. The chair was fine.

The only window was able to be opened allowing for fresh air to enter the room. The views weren’t that great. Though this is a city hotel and to be expected. Soundproofing didn’t really exist. I heard everything all day and night.

I almost always fill out hotel surveys after my departure. In the survey, I mentioned how in need the hotel needed a remodel. I did get a response that a full remodel was planned in 2022/2023.

Food and Drink

The restaurant on-site is the Midtown Bar & Grill. This is the same food available for room service.

Normally, I would eat breakfast in the restaurant, but free breakfast isn’t a benefit for Gold Elites.

Over the course of three nights, I hardly saw anyone eating in the restaurant. I did order a cheeseburger on my first night. It wasn’t that great. The fries were cold and the hamburger didn’t have a great taste. I should have gone to the McDonalds next door.

Bottom Line

Honestly, I regret booking this hotel over other options in the city. It was pretty rundown compared to hotels I normally stay at. The location is hard to beat. It’s my understanding during the Christmas season one of the Christmas markets is located outside the hotel.

I might consider trying this hotel after the complete remodel. But I don’t have any current plans to return to Brussels. If you are planning a trip to Brussels, I would recommend a different hotel.

These opinions in this article are the author’s not those of a bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.