Pros:
Very secure, good location.
Cons:
The internet was quite expensive.
tommycolly
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 14613)
Though we only stayed in Brussels for one night, this hostel was the perfect place to stay. Comfortable beds and clean, hot showers with a good self-service breakfast was absolutely perfect for myself and 5 friends, especially as we were heading out for a long train journey to Amsterdam the next day.
My only real criticism of this hostel would be that there was not much opportunity to meet fellow travellers as the bar wasn't great and our room-mates were fairly quiet, although this is nit-picking.
Great location, within walking distance of all the main sights and a short metro journey from the main train station, this is an ideal hostel for travellers.
The hostel shares its building with Sleep Well Hotel, where you can stay in room with ensuite bathrooms. I stayed in a shared room with 6 beds in August 2006, and it was great.
I booked my room 2 days in advance, and the girl at the reception told me there was no more 4 bedded room available, so it's better to have a reservation.
It's quite near Nord Station, and a 5-minute walk to center, taking a vefry commercial street where you find all main shops. Just behind a shopping center, so it's a safe place to be.
The buikding seems to be very new, simple decoration, very very clean. All guests must pass through reception, and everybody gets a card to gain access to elevator (yes, there is one!) and rooms.
The room was big enough, with lots of space between the bunk beds. No lockers in the room, so be careful with your stuff. Sinks inside the room, toilets and showers outside, both of them very clean.
Simple breakfast, juice, hot drink, bread with butter and jam. Nothing special, just ok.
The bar downstairs was closed for the summer. Instead they offered social areas in the garden. It would be cool if it wasn't raining!
Good price for its location and cleanness.
2 of
11 people found this review helpful
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Colin
London, UK
Not bad 28 May 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Colin
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 1676)
A mate and I booked a twin room for three nights in May 05. Room was small and basic, but fine given the £37 a night. The room was bloody hot all night; had to have the window permanently open. Some idiot designed the small private bathroom so whenever you had a shower the entire floor would be soaked.One night the alarm at the car park opposite rang for about 2 hours after midnight (v annoying; tempted to leave and go to the Sheraton around the corner, but was too late).Breakfast consisted of plain sliced bread and a glass of poor orange juice - not worth getting up for when you could go to the local cafe around the corner (I was not backpacking so could afford things like food). The hostel was filled with school kids, who made annoying noises, but that is to be expected from a hostel. Location v good, about 10 minute walk from the Grand' Place, and two minutes from the Rogier tube station (tube and trams do not seem to have ticket inspectors or barriers, so could be used for free).There is no real reason to go to Brussels for more than a day, but if you have to spend a night here, the Sleep Well is a perfectly reasonable place to do so.
4 of
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Gemma
Kent, England
Well I liked it!!! 22 May 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Gemma
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
(Review ID: 1677)
Lots of people have written reviews about how boring this hostel is, but I liked! It is split into two halves. One half is Sleep Well hostel, and the other half is more like a hotel. I stayed in an 8 bed dorm of the hostel part for 3 nights, and a double room with another single traveller in the hotel part for 1 night. I didn't really think that the hotel room was worth the extra money, the only difference was that you get a private bathroom.The staff at the desk were all really friendly, and always willing to answer questions. The location is fantastic, right in the centre! The bar was always dead, but there are plenty of livlier ones close by. Everything was clean and the showers were pretty good. The breakfast was also really good too.The reason I didn't give it 4 stars is because you have to book quite far in advance to stay here for more than 1 night as it is always so booked up!
9 of
11 people found this review helpful
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s.garthlan@yahoo.com
ireland
perfect 11 May 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
s.garthlan@yahoo.com
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 1678)
Overall my partner and I were highly impressed with our stay. Our room was beautiful, very clean and lovely and fresh
0 of
8 people found this review helpful
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Anonymous
Krakow
very nice place 10 May 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 1679)
I really liked the Sleep Well. It is clean and very nice atmosphere. Didn't have any poblem with the staff. Only the showers are very annoying.
0 of
8 people found this review helpful
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Anonymous
dallas,tx
Avoid this place! 27 April 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(1)
Atmosphere
(1)
(Review ID: 1680)
noisy, filthy,unfriendly, and pretty expensive (the price above are wrong!)!!! They were booked up the next day so the girl called van gogh hostel for us. (this is why we give a star! the best thing they did was to send us to van gogh) . Much better there!
9 of
11 people found this review helpful
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Roving Chef
Nevada, USA
More like a hotel than a hostel, Great Little Bar 4 March 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Roving Chef
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
(Review ID: 1681)
I had a good time at thehotel. During the front desk lady was most helpful even with my very limited French and was always willing to answer my Questions. The Food was filling and well done yet not always note worthy. I found the griffi in the baths a little discerning and should be cleaned more promptly. Yet the locatonis what makes this hostel a worthwhile stop as it central to alot of fine aea to see.
1 of
10 people found this review helpful
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jaypandolfo
Yellowknife, NT, Canada
Stay at Vincent Van Gogh instead 11 December 2004
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
jaypandolfo
saw things this way
Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
(Review ID: 1682)
This was my least favourite hostel in Europe. The only reason I give it two stars instead of one is because of the location (central, couldn't be better). Otherwise, there is nothing to like about this hostel. It is the very definition of "institutional"; there was no life in this hostel whatsoever. Me and my friend were the only people in the bar for two consecutive nights, which was a shame because it was a decent bar. The staff was useless, and put me and my buddy in different rooms even though we requested to be in the same room well in advance. And the showers were awful: not only were they those annoying push-button things, but you couldn't adjust the temperature. The water was ALWAYS scalding hot, so I had to stand away from the water and spritz myself. Do yourself a favour and stay somewhere else, even if the location isn't as central.
11 of
13 people found this review helpful
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rebeccapatrick
(findinghenry@aol.com)
from Kentucky, USA
Kentucky, USA
I kind of liked it 5 November 2004
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
rebeccapatrick
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 1683)
I stayed at the Sleep Well for two nights and while it doesnt rank up there with my favorite hostels, it did have its good points. The showers were annoying, but Im used to the whole button push thing after staying in a lot of hostels in Ireland. That didnt bother me as much as the genera; bad attitude that the staff seemed to have. I tried to give the girl at the desk room for error since she did seem to be busy, but she was so hateful in the beginning that I nearly walked out. She got better as the day went on. The room was pretty standard and the beds somewhat comfortable. My sheets were starched A LOT and it took me awhile to get situated in it because I felt like I was lying on paper towels, but after tossing and turning for awhile they softened up. The breakfast was quite ordinary-juice and toast, and I enjoyed playing a game of pool in the common room. The best part about the hostel was that it was extremely clean and central to the heart of Brussels. I had no trouble finding the Grand Place and the shopping district. Overall, it had more of a 1 star hotel feel than a youth hostel.
