Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

WHERE TO STAY 257

The Hotel Ter Brughe, next to one of Bruges’s many canals

HOW TO BOOK

For those in a hurry to secure
a reservation, a telephone call
may be the best method: most
hotels have receptionists who
speak English. Alternatively,
hotels can be contacted
through their websites. The
independent hotel reservation
service Resotel specializes in
Belgium and Luxembourg.
The Tourism and Convention
Bureau of Brussels also offers
reservation service, as does
the Luxembourg City Tourist
Office. Likewise, many local
tourist offices will reserve
accommodation for visitors;
this is a good way of securing
rooms when arriving in a town
or city without a prior book-
ing. A credit card number is
usually required for making
reservations, to serve as a
deposit against cancellation
or failure to show up.

HOTEL FACILITIES

Most hotels above the budget
or one-star category will have
rooms with en-suite bathroom
facilities. A television comes
with virtually every room
right across the range. These
usually have a vast range of
European channels provided
by a cable link. Phone calls
using the landlines in hotel
rooms can be extremely
expensive – many guests pre-
fer to use their own mobile
phones. Many hotels have
tea- and coffee-making facili-
ties in the rooms. They may
also have minibars, with a
range of alcoholic drinks,
mixers, fruit juice and mineral
water, and some Belgian beer;

prices should be supplied

and are not always exorbitant.

Many of the top city hotels,

and some leading country

hotels, have fitness and spa

facilities, including saunas

and gymnasiums, but only a

handful have swimming pools.

BREAKFAST

It is important to establish

whether breakfast is included

in the price of the room:

where it is not, guests may

find that breakfast comes as

an expensive additional cost.

That said, many hotels do

include breakfast in the price.

This may vary from a simple

Continental breakfast (crois-

sants and other pastries, bread

rolls, jam and butter, tea or

coffee), to a full and magnifi-

cent buffet with cereals, cold

meats, sliced cheese, boiled

eggs, yoghurt, fruit juices,

fresh fruit and more.

Some gourmet-focussed

hotel-restaurants, and some

rural bed-and-breakfasts, take

special care to present local

produce, plus home-made

jams, breads and pastries.

INTERNET INFORMATION

Increasingly, hotels, and even

bed-and-breakfast accommo-

dation, have Wi-Fi Internet

connections, available either

free of charge or for a modest

fee. All major hotels, many

of the smaller ones, and some

bed-and-breakfast establish-

ments, have their own web-

sites. There is also a website

for Hotels in Brussels. These

give guests varying amounts

of information, ranging from

basic details, room rates and

email contact, to virtual tours

of the rooms and facilities.

Usually, these sites can be

used to make a reservation.

Independent advice and rec-

ommendations are available

on online reviews submitted

by travellers to travel websites

such as TripAdvisor – but these

reviews should, of course, be

treated with some caution.

The attractive entrance of the

Sporthotel Leweck in Luxembourg

Reception area at the Hotel Eurostars Sablon, Brussels