Astoria Asbl

Ok, so I was looking for a place to stay one night in Brussels. I surfed the web and remembered of the Accor group, who eventually proposed me what seemed to be a nice option, Brussels’ downtown located, old but classy, not standardised, a nice place for a nice night. I called the hotel and the boy at Reservations told me that it was one of the best hotels in the city, and the HM The Queen of Spain used to stay there. After having been there myself, I wonder whether it was HM Sofia when she was not yet the Queen, or if it was Maria Eugenia in the early 1910’s. First impression: it is not in the centre. 10 minutes walking to get to the old part of Brussels, through a large street with narrow promenades and lots of traffic. The building looks nice and old, in some way like the old Palaces all around Europe (Ritz London, Ritz Madrid, Ritz Paris, Crillon Paris, Westin Madrid, and so on). Well, it is but it is not… everything inside looked more like fake finishing rather than original. The doorman: useless. If I get with a foreign car to a hotel, and stop in front turning of my engine, the only thing this man could think is: here comes a guest. No, he didn’t move, he just stared at my car. So I got out and opened the boot to take of my bag. He did not help me. Not even a “bonjour” or a question about my trip or my reservation. We discussed whether to leave the car there or not, and he just told me to put it in the car-park, but refused to do it, stating he was afraid of damaging my car. I put up the top of my car, carried my bags to the front desk and checked in. Then, I went out to park the car, and he showed me the way while sitting in the passenger’s side. I really think he was willing to take a tour on my car, more than doing his job. We got to the car-park, which was actually some kind of hole behind the building, not under surveillance, and disappeared. Yes, he just disappeared, so there I was with my car, and with no idea of where to leave it and how to get back to the hotel. So I went out and walked my way back… as the door to the hotel was not clearly announced. Useless, that’s all. The reception team: very young, helpful but just not professional. Ok, they are learning and that’s fine, but not of a “best hotel in the city”. Just took my ID, my Credit-card (“as guarantee for the extras”… ok, extras and room, I was paying for everything! Too many guests coming with vouchers, I guess), asked for a signature, and gave me the room key. Room 329, third floor, elevator is there. That’s all. At check/out more of the same, with a poorly presented bill, not even a pre-view to check (saving paper?), no nothing: just pay and sign here, please. By the way, no Concierge service, so the young boy told me places to go shopping… Come on, I live in Paris, I don’t go to Brussels to go fashion shopping… The room: tired, old, tiny… rubbish. The bed was comfortable, but not the pillows. The electrical equipment was old, the desk was poorly equipped, the mini

I recently stayed at the Astoria in Brussels. The staff were very friendly, polite, and helpful. They also spoke fluent English which was wonderful. The room was also a nice size, clean, and had a fantastic shower! However, upon checkin, they told me the hours for breakfast (with no mention of a charge). I went to breakfast for the next 2 days and it was definitely nothing great... There was no sign at the entrance about a charge or anything indicating there was a charge. Upon checkout I was SHOCKED to find out that the very average breakfast cost 24 euros per day. This clouded my entire stay at the Astoria.