Aloft Brussels Hotel Review

Business traveler?  Don’t let the aloft Brussels Schuman website scare you away, the hotel is superb.  Having recently stayed in the Sheraton Brussels and the Le Meridien Brussels, I wanted to give the aloft a try.  However, I got a little worried after checking out their website.   I know they’re modeled after the trendy W hotels, but when I read the first line of their online description “‘Easy breezy’ adventures await you at Aloft Brussels Schuman” I wondered if the hotel was the right choice for business travel.   When I hear easy breezy, I instantly think of Cover Girl Makeup, not a hotel.   I decided to throw caution to the wind and book the easy breezy aloft Brussels despite my concerns.

Check-in

Boy, am I glad I did!  I used my Your24 SPG benefit (after 75 nights in a year, you get the benefit of requesting any check-in/checkout time w/in a 24 hour period – check in at 10am, check out at 10am.) I arrived from Chicago at 10am local time and was in my room by 11am.

The hotel offers self check-in and traditional check-in options.  I tried the self check-in and had to be helped by a member of the team – it wasn’t easy.  In the end, the team member had to check me in the old fashioned way because the self check-in machines didn’t like my Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card (that’s the second time I’ve encountered a machine that didn’t like the Chase Sapphire Card – the first was in a Taxi in London.)  Once I was checked in, I headed to my room.

The Room

Located on the 8^th floor – the top floor of the hotel – my room had quite a nice view of the city, but also had a direct view into some apartments that had floor to ceiling windows (why don’t people close their blinds?)

The rooms are what you’d expect from an aloft – loft style rooms with trendy amenities like Bliss bath products and a gigantic TV w/audio visual connections,  so you can plug your devices into the TV – I plugged in and played angry birds.  My room had a king bed (a real king bed – not two singles pushed together,) a large desk with plenty of light and plugs, a mini-fridge (an empty fridge is a great perk), and a bench under the window.     The bathrooms are shower only – which is ideal for most business travelers – but could be a challenge for young families – I can’t imagine how bath time would work for my 2 yr old nephew.  The room was very clean and since the hotel is only 1 year old, almost everything was in mint condition.  The only sign of wear and tear in my room was some paint in the shower that was peeling.

My only complaint about the room is the blinds – they’re paper thin and don’t block out the light.  There are no blackout shades, so when the sun came up, I was awake.

 The Hotel

The hotel features the aloft re:fuel concept – serving breakfast, lunch and some dinner options.  I chose breakfast as my platinum amenity and that included my choice of 5 breakfast items (a breakfast sandwich counted as 1 item, juice was 1 item, a croissant was 1 item, etc… ) which was plenty for breakfast.  I also got a complimentary coffee certificate to be used at any time during my stay.

The XYZ bar is the happening place to be on Wednesday nights.  The bar was full, people were playing pool and sitting around a mockfire place enjoying drinks.  The bar offered a limited menu – pizza and other bar type foods.

The staff

The staff is very friendly and helpful and speaks excellent English.  I found the staff at the Aloft much more welcoming and accommodating than the staff at the Sheraton Brussels.  The staff had great suggestions for local restaurants and was always helpful with directions and getting a taxi when needed.

Overall

I really enjoyed the Aloft Brussels and I’m glad I didn’t follow my initial impression based on the website!  I would absolutely book the Aloft again (and probably will since I’ll be in Brussels again.)

XYZ Bar

Aloft Hall

Bed

Bathroom

Self Check-in