Brussels hotel
This item appears on page 29 of the February 2013 issue.
My wife and I stayed in Brussels at the Floris Arlequin Grand’Place (Rue de la Fourche 17-19, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium; phone 00 32 [0] 2 514 16 15, fax 514 22 02), May 7-9, 2012, having booked online. The price was €397 (near $523) for three nights, which included breakfast.
Taking the advice of an ITN subscriber (Dec. ’11, pg, 52), we requested a room with a view; ours was of the Grand Place. Our room was about what you’d expect for that price on the Continent, and the staff was very pleasant and considerate.
The breakfast buffet was very good, with hot dishes in addition to the usual cold offerings. They could have charged admission to the breakfast room just for the view! On the top floor, it had windows on three sides, affording wonderful vistas across the Grand Place and surrounding Old Town.
One tip — although the hotel belongs to the Floris group, the vertical banner at the entrance just says “Arlequin.” Only about three blocks downhill from the Central Station, Rue de la Fourche is a very short street (one block) at the end of the famous Butchers’ Street.
DONALD KINSER
Hillsboro, OR