Review of Brussels Guesthouse 3*

Actively unhelpful front desk ("Princess" told us there was no food in the area except for the hotel restaurant, we went searching about a mile the wrong way when there were literally a dozen restaurants a block and a half away, barely out of view). Hot and cold water piped backwards to the tub/shower — red was cold, blue was hot, so it wasn't a language confusion thing. (Sink was plumbed right. ) At a significant discount, it was worth it for a big room with modern furnishing, decent lighting, very comfy mattress, big tub, plenty of hot water, quiet elevators, window that opens at least a couple of inches. Warning: the walk from the train station is up one of the steeper hills in town (the locals told us to go up, up, up, very steep) and the first 80% of it is through a fairly downscale red light district. In the evening, expect lots of guys clustered in packs on the streetcorners. I have no anxieties about, say, the red light district in Amsterdam, but I would not have felt comfortable alone here. Too many sideways, measuring looks as we passed by. We also got the room with a fairly crude mural (I think the artist pulled one over on the hotel, and good for her). Didn't bother us, but if you are traveling with kids or for some other reason you don't fancy even tidy, well-drawn cartoon graffiti of penises and condoms and boobs, you might want to ask which room you're getting. (I actually got a kick out of it, and hope it stays. ) Free internet is only free for a limited number of Mb, after that, it's ~6 euros for more. Breakfast is too expensive (25€).