Brussels: Hotel Mozart, a Review

Okay, I am currently on a train from Brussels to Paris and I have an hour or so to kill, so I’ll do a quick review of the Hotel Mozart, in which I stayed while in Brussels.

Although it took me an hour to find the hotel because it’s located in an alley of a street, it turned out to be a fantastic location. I dropped my stuff off and went outside and turned in the opposite direction from which I came. I walked 50 feet and boom, I was in the Grand Place, the most well-known area in Brussels.

The room that I stayed in was larger than I was expecting, but that was because of an upgrade. According to the hotel’s chart, the room went for 150 Euros a night, but I was charged only 80 Euros (about $115) per night. I guess that explains the full-sized bed. The lighting was horrible, but I didn’t stay there to read anything, any way.

Another convenience was that I was on the first floor. This kept me from having to lug my stuff up four flights of stairs like I did at the WIgmore Court Hotel in London.

Like the Wigmore Court, there was no air conditioning. Of course, at this time of year, it’s fine to open a window. Unlike the Wigmore Court, however, noise was a bit of a problem. Not so much from the busy street below, because I didn’t face that, but my room was on the way to the breakfast room, so I got a lot of traffic outside my window starting at about 7:15 am.

The wireless internet service was free, but not without problems. The first day-and-a-half, I had no problems connecting and it was pretty fast. Last night, however, it was hit and miss, and mostly miss.

The continental breakfast was adequate, but nothing special. A croissant and a large roll made with almonds and other nuts, with some butter and strawberry preserves, coffee and orange juice. It got me started, but was not as good as the full English breakfast (kinda, sorta) that I had at the Wigmore.

The staff was polite enough, though I can’t say that I used them for anything, so I don’t know how helpful they would have been.

A brief summary statement about the hotel is that it is a good hotel, in a fantastic location, at a good price.