Hotel in Brussels

May 26, 2016 9:24 PM

I am looking for a hotel in for two nights in Brussels. I have a flight to West Africa on Tuesday, June 7 at 10:25 a.m. so I will need to get to the airport very early. I see that the hotels near the airport generally cost more than those downtown, and aren't necessarily easier to reach. For speed and safety reasons, I'd like to stay at a place that's a direct train or taxi ride away from the airport.

I'm looking for a place under 90 Euros a night with free, reliable wifi although I would pay a bit more for somewhere highly recommended. I don't need a fancy hotel, free breakfast, etc.

I will arrive in Brussels via Germany by train on the evening of Sunday, June 5. On Monday, I plan to eat tasty food and visit the Parlamentarium since museums will be closed. I'm not planning on a long day out on the town so a place close to the airport and a bit further from downtown would also be a possibility. I'm open to Airbnb but I'd need a host who was comfortable with such early check out. I've looked up many places online, both traditional hotels and Airbnb, and am not sure what would be best for me in terms of price and location.

On Tuesday, I assume I should arrive about three hours before my flight due to increased security measures? I've had layovers in the airport before but have never been outside yet.

Btw, I have read everyone's great Brussels tips, and look forward to checking those places out. Thanks!

posted by smorgasbord to Travel & Transportation around Brussels, Belgium (7 answers total)

Best answer: You might check on Hotel Le Dixseptième.
It's not impossible to get there by subway, but taxi is easier -but it may be more than you wanted to spend. IIRC, it's ~110E a night.
posted by msamye at 10:31 PM on May 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Don't know about hotels but I was in Brussels Airport recently and the increased security is very obvious--armed soldiers in full field kit as well as police. If you're travelling to the airport by train and have significant luggage the path from the railway station into the departures area is now through the multi-storey car parks and has some rough bits in it. It's also signed mildly confusingly. Factor that into your time calculations. But as far as I could tell, the security after check-in was essentially the same as usual (for Europe that is).
posted by Logophiliac at 10:57 PM on May 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you sign up as an SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) member and search the rate type "SPG Hot Escapes," you may see the Brussels Airport Sheraton (nice property, right across the drop-off lanes from the terminal, easy access to the metro - I've stayed there) with rates "from EUR90." This is based on an email I got via my SPG membership earlier this week.
posted by GamblingBlues at 5:37 AM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I stayed in Motel One the night before my flight left from BRU and really enjoyed it. It was very nice, 90 Euros, and a 5-8 minute walk to Brussels Central Station. If you left the hotel at 7am, you could take a direct train to the airport from Central and get there by 7:30.
posted by bonifate at 6:41 AM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I stayed at the Hotel a la Grande Cloche. Cheap, basic, had wifi, short walk from downtown and Midi train station.
posted by rodlymight at 7:21 AM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I see you found my old question :) I stayed at the Marriott Grand Palace - probably more expensive/fancy than what you're looking for but the location was great, right across from the stock exchange.

I would suggest allowing three hours if possible, although you'd probably be fine with a little bit less. I can't speak to taking the train since I took a taxi to BRU, but my experience wasn't too bad. Basically the taxi dropped me off at the far end of a parking garage, I then had to walk w/ luggage through the garage, up a parking ramp about three levels, then through a couple of temporary structures set up in front of the departures hall (I just walked through these, never got stopped). Once I was in the departures hall, it was no different than any other airport - drop off luggage, go through security, etc. Security was really easy, I didn't enocounter any extra screening. Both times I flew out of BRU I left the hotel 3.5 hours before my midday flight (taxi ride to airport took 20-30 mins) and ended up with a ton of time to kill.

Only airport issue I'd warn you about is the walk up the garage ramp is a bit of a pain with luggage - quite the workout. Otherwise it was really painless. BTW I'm assuming you're on Brussels Air - most airlines moved back to the main departure hall but a few smaller airlines are still using the temporary check-in structure near arrivals.
posted by photo guy at 5:39 PM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all for your helpful replies! I marked all as "best answer" because each and every comment had good advice.

I ended up selecting Hotel a la Grande Cloche as rodlymight suggested due to the significantly lower price, downtown location and many amenities; although it is further from the airport, there's a direct train route or I could use the money saved to take a taxi.

msamye, GamblingBlues, and bonifate: I appreciate your great hotel suggestions and will save them for a future trip! For some reason, Brussels hotels that would normally cost around 110€ are going for a lot more those particular days.

Logophiliac and photo guy, your airport tips are extremely helpful as I figured check-in would be more complex but had no idea of what to actually expect. It helps to keep this in mind as I pack and plan here in the US.
posted by smorgasbord at 1:38 PM on May 31, 2016