Probably the cheapest in western europe!!!Stayed 3 nights in may; pleasant and clean rooms (compared to Paris).Staff very helpful and funny. Great bar too!Good music! No curfew. The ideal place to stay have fun and relax before travelling to Paris or Amdam(>Jungle!)
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(Review ID: 1614)
Don't get a dorm bed!, June 15, 2003
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The best reviews of this place were by people who stayed in smaller rooms. I went for cheapest option of a 10 bed dorm, big mistake. On first impressions the place looks nice, loely newly decorated reception and bar area. Plus it has a pool table, though it does slant to the left. My dorm was out of the building across the courtyard and up some outdoor steps. The key card i was given never worked, everyone had to open the door by sticking their hand through the window, not very safe. Plus there are no lockers, so your belongings can easily get nicked. To use the toilet you had to go outside into the courtyard and to use the shower you have to go through the bar and down some steps, a bit of a trek really. Breakfast was your usual hostel crap, but included in price. Good atmosphere but some americans decided to get too drunk and stay up all night in the courtyard keeping everyone else awake. Don't stay in the dorms!
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4 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 1615)
Get a Private, June 5, 2003
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Peter
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I stayed here for two nights in early May with two friends in a private. For what we paid... 16 euros each per night, this was great. The room had TWO floors (a bed upstairs and two on the main) and overlooked a courtyard. We had our own sink, toilet and shower. The hostel is located in the Turkish district with an abundance of local cheap eats. You're only three minutes from a subway station and a fifteen minute walk from La Grand Place (main tourist area). I had no gripes with staff. However the breakfast wasn't so filling. You're allowed to take one OJ, a bowl of corn flakes, 5 pieces of bread (there is always a line up for the toaster), and a slice of processed cheese. The bar is always buzzing with people and the drinks were cheapish (1euro50).
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4 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 1616)
nice place, June 3, 2003
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Amy from
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This hostel is Niiiiiice... the rooms are clean and modern. Our room was in a separate building from the main hostel...we had a little courtyard just outside our room, and ensuite inside.The reception staff were very helpful and friendly.Breakfast was a bit weird... kinda like a school cafeteria style thing, and there were lots of kids when we were there. The location is not the best, but I don´t think there are any hostels that do have a good location in Brussels anyway. Two thumbs up from us!!!
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(Review ID: 1617)
nice and modern, May 31, 2003
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this place was a pretty welcome respite from the dirty and cramped hostels of paris. modern, clean, mad nice facilities, plus the staff was nice and really cool about letting me switch rooms to get the cheapest one available each night. did lack a bit of that home-y feel from some other hostels, though. nice stay.
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(Review ID: 1618)
Nice place to stay, May 15, 2003
Reviewer:
Opal
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We came to this place by accident and it turned out pretty well. The rooms were clean and there was a nice courtyard for those warm days. Biggest complaint was shower water was luke warm at best. Quite a few affordable restaurants in the area.
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(Review ID: 1619)
Great Hostel!, May 3, 2003
Reviewer:
Mike
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Can't say I agree with Jack and Zaftiger... but then again I didn't stay in a dorm. I was in Van Gogh in April, and stayed in a four bed room on the second floor.. I found the beds comfortable enough, the room quite spacious, and the bathrooms and shower very clean. The staff was friendly enough, and the bar area and lounge were fantastic.. I found the atmosphere one of the best out of any of the hostels we stayed at in Europe.As for the keycard situation.. to be honest I never had a problem. Seemed pretty secure to me. My advice... spend the extra few bucks to stay in a room and avoid the dorms! Oh, and don't bother using their internet, there's a much cheaper place about a block away.
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(Review ID: 1620)
Disappointing, April 27, 2003
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zaftiger
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I have to concur with Jack's review. I stayed here two nights in April 2003 and after the great reviews I read, I was expecting a palace. I was pretty disappointed. I stayed in a 10-bed dorm off the courtyard. Toilets were on the ground floor so you had to go outside in the middle of the night if you needed one. The bar area was so smoky I avoided it the second night, cheap beer or not. Breakfast was pretty standard. The key card situation is a joke. You have to swipe the card fast and be prepared to both push and kick the door at the same time to get the door open. The second night the cards didn't work at all so we had to leave the window open to let people put their arm in to open the door. That's really secure, huh?
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2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 1621)
You get what you pay for, April 11, 2003
Reviewer:
Jack McRacken
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This place was designed by my mother, I´m sure of it, to prove the point that you get what you pay for. At 9.50 for a dorm bed, it must be about the cheapest dorm bed in Western Europe. However, the completely substandard facilities and disorganisation at this place make a stay in Brussels a real hassle.Start with the showers. Inconviently located on the opposite side of the bar from the dorms (at least it means you get some free bar room entertainment), these things spit out lukewarm water in haphazard fits and starts. Great. Then the keycards, which fail and lock you out as often as they let you inside. Just what you want when you are drunk and get back to the hostel in the middle of the night.Next up, the oh-so-squeaky beds that create a truly crap symphony right through the wee small hours of the night.As for the toilets, these things are cleaned once a day in the morning, and are unusable by 9 or 10 at night. Jack´s advice: use the toilets at the falafel shops in the local area.At least, though, the staff are friendly. I guess they don´t have to sleep there at night.To be fair, the managment claim the place is undergoing renovations in 2003. Unless the renovations use a similar technique to that used by the US military in renovating the palaces of Iraq, I doubt it would much difference.Enter at your own risk!!
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(Review ID: 1622)
Excellent, Wonderful and Clean, February 13, 2003
Reviewer:
Gillian
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This hostel was so awesome. Maybe it was because we had just come from a sh*thole in Paris, but it was the best experience we had in Europe. We stayed in a 3 bedded room, and the rooms and beds were clean, and the bathroom was huge. It was a bit of a hike from the downtown area, but the hostel had a pool table, cheap beer, and made a very fun place to hang out and meet new people. Although they don't kick you out in the morning, the cleaning crew will come in even if you are still sleeping, which is the reason for only 4 stars.
