After an extremely long two days of travel, we finally arrived in Brussels for the first leg of our vacation. We arrived from Paris on a TGV train which deposited us at Brussels-South station. We hopped on a quick commuter train to Brussels-Central which was a short walk from our home for the week, the NH Collection Brussels Grand Sablon.
Booking
When we first decided to go to Brussels I started at my usual place, Marriott.com. I wasn’t thrilled by what was available, especially for the price and location, so I turned to American Express. I hadn’t yet used my $200 hotel credit from my Platinum Card and found a great rate at the NH Collection Brussels Grand Sablon as part of the The Hotel Collection.
The price for two nights came out to just under $600. With the $200 hotel credit and $100 property credit we ended up being out of pocket less than $300 for our two night stay in the city. Not bad for the last weekend in June.
Location
The hotel is centrally located in Brussel and is a short walk from the Brussels-Central train station. The Sablon neighborhood, while close to the center of town, still feels distinctly residential. The streets are lined with small shops and cafes and residents could be seen strolling to and from their homes above.
The hotel overlooked the Grand Sablon square and was flanked by high end shops and art galleries. Since we only had a couple of days in the city, the central location was great and we were able to get around town with ease.
Check-In
We arrived at the hotel right at 4:00p and saw a massive crowd waiting out front. Apparently there was a renaissance festival of sorts occurring in the square and the crowd had gathered to watch jousting. A hotel employee confirmed that we were staying at the hotel (most people don’t show up to a renaissance fair with two large suitcases) and showed us inside. We later learned that the Renaissance Village was part of the larger Brussels Ommegang happening during our visit.
There were a couple of people ahead of us at reception but we were helped within a couple of minutes. Our booking through American Express’ The Hotel Collection was recognized and we were informed we had been upgraded to a room overlooking the square. A brief explanation of the hotel’s amenities were provided and they also gave us a paper map of the city, which I thought was kind of strange given everyone has a smartphone now.
From there, we headed to the opposite side of the lobby to the elevators and headed up to our room on the 4th floor.
Room
We were assigned Room 421, which was a standard king room with a square view. The room itself was quite spacious and there was a ton of natural light. Everything in the room felt fresh and modern.
Upon entry, the bathroom was to the right while a short hallway led to the main portion of the room. The room featured a king sized bed, flanked by two nightstands with a sofa in front. The wall also had a funky leather design which served as the headboard.
On the other side of the room was a desk with a TV mounted above it and a seating area that had a chair, lamp, and small table. There was a complimentary bottle of sparkling water and a welcome note on the table.
Two large sets of windows provided a great view out over the square and of the Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon.
Back towards the bathroom was a coffee station, safe, minibar, and a floor length mirror.
The coffee station featured a Nespresso machine and a selection of pods that were refilled daily. There was also an additional bottle of water available.
The bathroom was huge and, upon entry, there were dual vanities off to the right which were stocked with toiletries.
Across from this was a shower/tub combo which featured NH Collection branded reusable toiletries.
Next to the tub/shower combo was another, stand alone shower.
Finally, in the rear of the restroom was a toilet with a separate bidet. There were also a pair of bathrobes hanging next to the toilet for our use.
Though our goal when traveling is to spend as much time out exploring as possible, the room was more than sufficient for our needs and extremely comfortable.
Property
The main activity hub of the hotel was in the lobby. Each morning, there was a breakfast buffet set up here with a wide variety of items to choose from. Though we never ate here as we prefer to try and eat at local pastry shops for breakfast while out sightseeing.
Across from the check in desks there was a snack cart that had some free gummy candy available. While this is a feature I never thought I needed, I did grab a few gummies each time we walked by.
There was a wide array of seating available in the lobby as well as a lower level that had additional seating and conference rooms.
Finally, near the front of the hotel was the Hispania Brasserie. We didn’t have a meal here but we did stop into the bar late one night for cocktails. We, unfortunately, had some issues when trying to pay with our credit as there is an issue between the hotel and restaurant when it comes to utilization. Ultimately, they were able to sort it out after the manager and the front desk chatted for a bit.
Summary
Just like Brussels, the NH Collection was never on my radar prior to this trip. We came in with no expectations and didn’t know much about the hotel at all, outside of the location. We had a wonderful stay and would absolutely stay at the NH Collection Brussels Grand Sablon during our next visit. I’ll be on the lookout for other NH Collection hotels on my future travels to Europe.
In this Trip Report
