First things first. Despite the name,
Catalonia Grand Place, I had no idea that I was but a short walk from this
great square in Brussels or that my hotel was strolling distance from Bocconi,
arguably the best Italian restaurant in the city. It was only on my last day in
town that I discovered this and many other wonderful things about the hotel's
locality.
In fact, the hotel was pretty well located and was only around a 15-minute walk from Brussels Midi railway station. I don't like to admit defeat by hailing a cab so I switched on the iPhone's SatNav and hauled my suitcase behind me as I strolled through what must have been the Moroccan quarter of this great city. Fortunately I hadn't spent hours on a long haul flight – just two hours on the Eurostar from London St. Pancras International. I was feeling reasonably chipper in other words, although I was beginning to feel a little tired, it had been a long day (and a Sunday too)
My initial impressions of the Catalonia Grand Place were mixed.I thought the guy on the front desk was a little abrupt, but in fact he was real friendly (I was feeling a little stressed and a bit fretful about being away from home). It always takes me a while to acclimatise. I wasn't initially that keen on the decor, not in the lobby area, but in the corridor leading to my room (Room 107 on the first floor). It looked too much like the sort of decor that might adorn my own house – slightly beige, laminated floors, everything was too light-coloured, there were no rich colours, nothing overly grandiose. That said, I remember thinking at the time that everything would hinge on the quality of the breakfast. But again, such a thought soon went out of the window, this was a great hotel.
I had to go out. In fact, I walked a good 25 minutes uphill and across town to a cocktail reception and then a good 25 minutes back to the hotel in the dark, again initially relying upon my iPhone's SatNav. When I got back to the hotel I changed for bed and before finally settling down and trying to sleep used the bathroom – where everything worked fine, there was even a sink with a conventional plug. Brilliant!
This is, however, quite a noisy hotel. I don't know what it is, perhaps the acoustics of the building, possibly the fact that my hotel window doesn't look out on the outside world, but instead overlooks the front desk area – the lobby in other words. I could hear things: people hauling suitcases past my door, people talking too loudly late at night and children crying here and there. There were some especially noisy individuals in the room across the hall. But I got used to it and started to enjoy my stay.
It's a hotel that trusts its guest on two counts: top marks for a fully-stocked minibar; and proper coat hangers too. My initial dislike of the hotel waned quickly and was replaced by what can only be described as affection. I liked the hubbub.
What about breakfast? It was good. I had my favourite 'in a hotel' cereal (Coco Pops) plus coffee, a fruit-flavoured yoghurt, scrambled egg and two small sausages. The reason I didn't have tea was simple: the cups were too small. The last thing I want to do is jam a teabag into a small space and then pour water on it – hardly a refreshing drink, but the coffee sufficed and was dispensed from an espresso coffee maker, nothing too complicated, probably what is known in the trade as a fully automatic machine. Either way the coffee was good (I always have an Americano).
By far the most annoying thing about the hotel was the business centre. Not because the computer didn't work or the WiFi was inadequate (both were perfect) but the most infuriating thing EVER was the computer keyboard, known, I discovered online, as an AZERTY keyboard. Letters were in the wrong place: the M was where the apostrophe should have been, the W was where the C normally resides, I had to press SHIFT to get a full stop, it was very, very frustrating and it took me the best part of three days to work out where – or rather what combination of keys – would give me the @ sign. Eventually I asked and all was fine.
There was no restaurant here, but that really didn't matter as there was plenty of choice just a short walk away. Turn left out of the hotel and then take, I think, the second on the left. Alternatively, cross the road at around the same place and cut through to the Grand Place and, as mentioned above, Bocconi is no more than a 10-minute walk (again, I wish I'd known this from the beginning).
Also, if you're in need of a haircut, there's a great place across the road from the hotel and it costs 8 Euros for a straightforward, no-nonsense trim. Barbers in this part of town stay open late too.
So, to recap: a decent breakfast, a fully-stocked minibar (although they never replaced my two cans of Spa water, which was mildly annoying). A decent room, everything worked, there was, incidentally a decent flat screen television showing, among other channels, BBC1 and BBC2.
Initially I found the place to be a little noisy and this, as I said, was probably due to the acoustics of the building, but it was fine and probably quieter had I been higher up than the first floor. I could have done with a window opening up on to the outside world, but it certainly wasn't the end of the world. Lastly, the location was perfect.
Would I return? Of course I would. I know exactly where it is, I like the restaurants close by and I know it's only 15 minutes on foot to Brussels Midi station.
In fact, the hotel was pretty well located and was only around a 15-minute walk from Brussels Midi railway station. I don't like to admit defeat by hailing a cab so I switched on the iPhone's SatNav and hauled my suitcase behind me as I strolled through what must have been the Moroccan quarter of this great city. Fortunately I hadn't spent hours on a long haul flight – just two hours on the Eurostar from London St. Pancras International. I was feeling reasonably chipper in other words, although I was beginning to feel a little tired, it had been a long day (and a Sunday too)
My initial impressions of the Catalonia Grand Place were mixed.I thought the guy on the front desk was a little abrupt, but in fact he was real friendly (I was feeling a little stressed and a bit fretful about being away from home). It always takes me a while to acclimatise. I wasn't initially that keen on the decor, not in the lobby area, but in the corridor leading to my room (Room 107 on the first floor). It looked too much like the sort of decor that might adorn my own house – slightly beige, laminated floors, everything was too light-coloured, there were no rich colours, nothing overly grandiose. That said, I remember thinking at the time that everything would hinge on the quality of the breakfast. But again, such a thought soon went out of the window, this was a great hotel.
I had to go out. In fact, I walked a good 25 minutes uphill and across town to a cocktail reception and then a good 25 minutes back to the hotel in the dark, again initially relying upon my iPhone's SatNav. When I got back to the hotel I changed for bed and before finally settling down and trying to sleep used the bathroom – where everything worked fine, there was even a sink with a conventional plug. Brilliant!
This is, however, quite a noisy hotel. I don't know what it is, perhaps the acoustics of the building, possibly the fact that my hotel window doesn't look out on the outside world, but instead overlooks the front desk area – the lobby in other words. I could hear things: people hauling suitcases past my door, people talking too loudly late at night and children crying here and there. There were some especially noisy individuals in the room across the hall. But I got used to it and started to enjoy my stay.
It's a hotel that trusts its guest on two counts: top marks for a fully-stocked minibar; and proper coat hangers too. My initial dislike of the hotel waned quickly and was replaced by what can only be described as affection. I liked the hubbub.
What about breakfast? It was good. I had my favourite 'in a hotel' cereal (Coco Pops) plus coffee, a fruit-flavoured yoghurt, scrambled egg and two small sausages. The reason I didn't have tea was simple: the cups were too small. The last thing I want to do is jam a teabag into a small space and then pour water on it – hardly a refreshing drink, but the coffee sufficed and was dispensed from an espresso coffee maker, nothing too complicated, probably what is known in the trade as a fully automatic machine. Either way the coffee was good (I always have an Americano).
By far the most annoying thing about the hotel was the business centre. Not because the computer didn't work or the WiFi was inadequate (both were perfect) but the most infuriating thing EVER was the computer keyboard, known, I discovered online, as an AZERTY keyboard. Letters were in the wrong place: the M was where the apostrophe should have been, the W was where the C normally resides, I had to press SHIFT to get a full stop, it was very, very frustrating and it took me the best part of three days to work out where – or rather what combination of keys – would give me the @ sign. Eventually I asked and all was fine.
There was no restaurant here, but that really didn't matter as there was plenty of choice just a short walk away. Turn left out of the hotel and then take, I think, the second on the left. Alternatively, cross the road at around the same place and cut through to the Grand Place and, as mentioned above, Bocconi is no more than a 10-minute walk (again, I wish I'd known this from the beginning).
Also, if you're in need of a haircut, there's a great place across the road from the hotel and it costs 8 Euros for a straightforward, no-nonsense trim. Barbers in this part of town stay open late too.
So, to recap: a decent breakfast, a fully-stocked minibar (although they never replaced my two cans of Spa water, which was mildly annoying). A decent room, everything worked, there was, incidentally a decent flat screen television showing, among other channels, BBC1 and BBC2.
Initially I found the place to be a little noisy and this, as I said, was probably due to the acoustics of the building, but it was fine and probably quieter had I been higher up than the first floor. I could have done with a window opening up on to the outside world, but it certainly wasn't the end of the world. Lastly, the location was perfect.
Would I return? Of course I would. I know exactly where it is, I like the restaurants close by and I know it's only 15 minutes on foot to Brussels Midi station.
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