Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Marriott or Novotel?

Staying for two days in Brussels in December for sightseeing. Want to stay near the Grand Palace area. First time visit to Brussels.





I understand that both Marriott and Novotel are near Grand Palace but which one is better? Pros %26amp; Cons?





Thank you




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There isn%26#39;t a Grand PALACE (although there is a royal palace, if not two) in Brussels, but a Grand%26#39; Place, or big (market) square!



You will find reports and ratings by TA members in the list of %26quot;Brussels hotels%26quot; on the left, including of these two hotels. Assuming you mean the Novotel %26quot;Off Grand%26#39; Place%26quot;, this is located on one side of the square, near the Central Station, while the Marriott is beyond the further side of the square, opposite the Bourse (stock exchange).



If you are arriving at Brussels Airport and have a certain amount of luggage, but don%26#39;t want to take a taxi all the way from the airport, it would be more convenient to stay near the Central station, which would favour the Novotel.




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I will go with Novotel because I will have an infant with me and it is nearer to the Grand Place (thanks for the clarification!) so less walk is good for me.





I have couple of questions that I hope you will me help me with





1) Is there a luggage storage area at the airport? We are 4 people with 8 large bags that we don%26#39;t need during our 2-day stay in Brussels. So this will allow us to take the train instead of taxi and save some money. If there is a luggage storage available at the airport, do you know the charge per bag / per day?





2) We want to take a day trip to Bruge or Antwerp. Which one do you recommend? After reading some posts, seems that Bruge is more interesting than Antwerp.





3) Where do we take the day trip bus from? Is it near Novotel?





4) Which streets/area near Novotel do you recommend for good / less expensive food?







Thank you!!!!




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5) We will be in Brussels for one day only (second day for the day trip to Bruge/Antwerp) so should we take a city tour or all major attractions are near Novotel GP so walkable distance?





Thanks again :-)




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1) Yes, see brusselsairport.be/en/services/baggagelockers





2) Brugge.





3) Don%26#39;t know but usually these things pick up from hotels anyway. If it%26#39;s the company I think it is, you will pass its offices on the way to the Grand%26#39; Place, in rue. I%26#39;m sure your hotel wil know.





4) If you want cheap, the rue du Marché aux Fromages is known as %26quot;pitta street%26quot;. From Novotel, find the Grand%26#39; Place, go straight across, take the street right in front of you and walk one block. Otherwise, all the restaurants in the Galeries St. Hubert are fine, but I would recommend you do NOT eat in the tourist traps in rue des Bouchers, petite rue des Bouchers and rue Grétry (%26quot;Ilôt Sacré%26quot;) apart from Chez Léon and Aux Armes de Bruxelles.





5) Most of the attractions you will want to see - Grand%26#39; Place, Galeries St. Hubert, maybe Mannekin Pis, are nearby and you can take the metro to Heysel if you want to visit the Atomium. There are hop-on, hop-off buses from Gare centrale but reports are not brilliant, especially for the green/yellow ones.




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Sorry seem to have lost %26quot;rue de la Colline%26quot;, see www.brussels-city-tours.com




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Thank you very much qaminari!!!! I can%26#39;t wait to see Brussels and I am sure I will be thanking you more once I am there :-)




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