Brussels Day 2 - A day of a bier rollercoaster
Up early on day two to head to Hotel Mirabeau at 10.30. We turned up and met Jean Claude, chilling behind the desk. He runs the place alone with 2 maids, and couldn’t show us round –rooms not clean yet and no one else to look after the desk. Nice big reception area, doubling as a lounge and breakfast bar – there was a big spread on at the time.
On to Hotel Opera Brussels, situated near Place Du Opera, and just around the corner from a maze of narrow touristy streets with a million and one great looking seafood restaurants. Ben met us and took us on a tour of this budget two star hotel. The entrance was narrow, but we got out of the lift on the first floor by the breakfast room and the place opened out a bit. Doubles, triples and quads were all extremely clean and airy, each room having a good bathroom ensuite, large windows with street scenes and tvs.
Back up towards the other end of Rue de Brouchier we found our next stop – Hotel Moon. A family run budget hotel – one of 2 in Brussels owned by 2 brothers, and a third on the cards soon. We had a chat with Shaquil, who then showed us round the place. A clean and tidy hotel with a consistently decent standard of rooms – doubles and triples. Most seem to have small balconies looking over the Place Agora Plein, where there’s a small market selling various tourist trinkets…all very pleasant. Great location if you want to stay somewhere central with a view.
The last stop of the day was the Hotel Arlequin. Our contact there, Kalid, was on holiday, so we had the pleasure of being entertained by Eric who’d just started a couple of weeks ago. Great hospitality and some seriously indepth knowledge of the hotel industry. The property is undergoing some renovation at the minute, but remaining open in the meantime – by Christmas they’re hoping to be upgraded to a 4* hotel. A comfortable and spacious hotel, very central. 7 floors of en-suite double rooms, the top 3 floors being “Executive”.
Time for a Quick Siesta
After the hard day’s graft it was back to Bridies for a quick siesta…then back on to our appreciation of Brussles in the form of a bier rollercoaster. Having sampled a mighty pizza from one of Brussels’ many eateries, we spent a good while finding a cash machine (they are few and far between so if you find one make a mental note). From there we continued to the splendid Delirium Bar, minutes from the Grand Place. Once inside you are greeted by an award from the Guinness Book of records for being the bar with the most types of beer in the world, notching up a phenomenal 2004. Prepare to be flabbergasted by the Bible-sized menu! Adding to that, live bands every night and continuing the bizarre Belgian tradition of sticking the contents of a car boot sale to the walls and ceilings, again, very kitsch.
Comprehensive list of Brussels Hostels
For more information on getting around Brussels go to Planitram Brussels
