Crowne Plaza Le Place, Brussels – Train vs Plane
In this… comparison.
- A Surreal Weekend Out
- Early Morning Virgin Trains and St Pancras International
- Eurostar ES9116 London St Pancras to Brussels Midi (Standard Premier)
- Crowne Plaza Le Place, Roiger, Brussels
- Enjoying time in Brussels and Leuven
- Off to Trainworld
- Back to Brussels Airport, British Airways Terraces Lounge
- BA399 Brussels National Airport to London Heathrow (Club Europe)
- Heading back to Marylebone, and heading home
- Train vs Plane? Which wins in this round?
With me off the train, there was a minor problem. Remember what I said about the trains being 16 cars long? Well – Car 3 is near enough the back of the train. This necessitates a rather long walk down the platform and to the exit at Midi station.
The long, long walk.
With no passport control to clear, I was in the heart of the black soul that is Brussels Midi station.
FAMOUS BELGIAN ALERT!!!!
Surreal Lunchtime partner.
In addition, I had other objectives too – namely that I needed to head to the hotel to dump the bag and do a little editing before I headed out.
It might be time away from home, but there’s always a bit of editing to be done.
I headed to the Pre-Metro station and hit stop on the stopwatch. And didn’t take a screen grab to end the timer, but based on the photo times
End to end, 3 hours and 45 minutes including all waiting times.
We’ll see how that compares with the plane on the way home.
With a €7.50 24 hour ticket in my hand, I dived into the fun of the Pre-Metro, on the North/South line.
Lower Midi.
I popped out of Roiger station – to encounter some lovely barriers (the joy of yellow vest protesters). But over the road (and in the main station square) was the Crowne Plaza Le Place.
Ah. Surreal defences against gilets jaunes…
A Short walk around, and I found my way in.
Pro-tip – the back entrance is mostly shut. You have to go round to the front of the building. Take the route past the Hilton and not the Main road – it’s quicker.
Crowne Plaza Le Place
Advanced Rate, Room Only
€92.78/£83.84
I was welcomed by the reception staff, who kindly checked if my room would be ready first before doing much more Luckily – it was.
Main Hallway
Vending
Water Bar
What am I? A good question.
With that in hand, my credit card was taken for incidental charges and three keys were issues – 2 swipe-magnetic and 1 contactless – as the receptionist wasn’t sure if the door lock had been upgraded.
I was asked if I wanted to spend €15 for breakfast – I kindly declined.
The room I was booked was also upgraded too. With that, I was allowed to go on my way to the 6th floor.
Up we go.
It was a fair old hike from the elevators to the room – but eventually, I found my room for the day and night.
The room itself isn’t that big – but with plenty of space for my needs that night.
Before…
After 😉
The bed itself was massive – always a welcome thing to see – namely because I had minimal sleep the night before… But mainly because a massive bed is very much a hotel-thing for me. Power sockets were also near the bed…. along with this faux-classic phone.
Looking around the room, there are some chairs and tables to relax in, as well as the view out of the window… which looks out onto an expressway.
Niceeeee.
And reading materials too
You might very well say this. I possibly couldn’t comment
In terms of amenities, there’s a big tick box here for me – and that’s the room having both a kettle and Nespresso classic machine
Four Nespresso pods, tea, Hot Chocolate and Speculoos. There’s also a bottle of Spa Blue out of shot.
Pods.
L’eau.
Whilst I know some don’t like the Nespresso machines – for me – I love the coffee these things knock out.
FUEL.
Moving onto the bathroom, it’s more than adequate – with a nice spin on the usual amenities with eco-friendly options. Of course, if you want to be super eco-friendly, you could always put the big canisters of amenities up. But 9/10 times those look (and are) cheap.
Bathroom
Local amenities
It’s that classic balance that a hotel tries to achieve
Thankfully, the heaters were working well here – allowing me to warm up from my outside versions of a cold Brussels day.
Check out was quick and efficient – with nothing further to pay. The hotel was also happy to hold onto my luggage
Overall: A warm welcome makes a good start to any property. Yes, it’s classic – those curtains could be used in a Belgian Downtown Abbey Belgium Remake – but the room was pretty reasonable, and the service was good quality.
Which when I travel is something I look for.
Next: Exploring Brussels and Leuven
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