Steigenberger Wiltcher’s

Afternoon tea is not really a thing yet in Brussels. So it was great to discover the hotel offering it. We tried it and although it is a far cry from the British afternoon tea it is a very pleasant Belgian take on it. The overall atmosphere is also very pleasant — jazz music, comfy chairs, friendly service. Our full review is here

Die Bar ist der Hit, und die zentrale Lage — eine Oase in der Metropole :-) Leider hatte man mir per email nicht die richtige Info gegeben, denn ich hatte explizit nach dem Kamin in der Bar gefragt: Diese befindet sich in einem Nebenraum der Bar, der ausschließlich zum Essen am Abend vorgesehen scheint. An war der Kamin demnach leider auch nicht. Keller arrogant und nicht besonders aufmerksam für so ein Hotel. Piano vorhanden, 2010 erhielt die Bar als beste Hotelbar Europas einen Preis.

Attended a conference. Great rooms and roomy interiors. Had a terrific dinner at one of the restaurants and also the bar area.
The breakfast was a well stocked buffet and there were any choices including an array of cheeses and breads.
Really nice.

As an experienced business and liesure traveler, I was surprised by the mix of superior and inferior characteristics at this property in the heart of Brussels — the capital of Europe. I have separated this review into the good, the bad, and the weird.
The Good: 1. heated marble floors in the bathroom — this was awesome; 2. breakfast — buffet style was one of the best — truly 5 star in terms of offerings and venue; 3. reception area and curb appeal — beautiful property similar in style to Peninsula, RItz and St Regis finest; 4. Concierge — Alain Keysers — helpful and knowledgeable — first class.
The Bad: 1. Room Décor — or should I say lack of it. This is truly scary… The junior suite was a beautiful shell with utter sterility inside. Although the size was good and the ceilings were high, the furniture and furnishings were worse than in a 2 star. This was on the par with a Sheraton by some airport in the midwest. What a shame… This is like taking a super model and putting her on meth. Just wrong… 2. Toiletries were not replaced and towels looked like they were the throw aways from a youth hostile; 3. Room Up Sell — SCAM. Dont do any upsells with this property. The real problem is that it is poorly managed, and that is a shame because it is such a beautiful building, and if it was owed by someone with dignity and some resource, it could have been a great property. I will elaborate. The front desk staff is comprised of 21 year olds and interns. They obviously have no training, little independent judgment or common sense, and no experience. I was tricked into an upsell that charged me for the 3^rd night when AmEx provided it for free. Needless to say, I will dispute the charge with AmEx. The other truly strange thing is that the front desk staff tried to upsell me 6 or 7 categories up from the AmEx room into one of their largest suites without even trying to make an argument as to why I should consider their offer. This is the weird and bad part of the experience. The Weird: We wanted to stay an extra night and the hotel was not full by any means… The front desk children gave me a price of double what I was already paying on the upsell, and said that if I wanted to explore a better price I need to call their reservation line. Right? Hello Amigo Rocco Forte. Even the people at the spa sheepishly indicated that this hotel went down hill, and was much better when it was a Conrad — not the nicest brand by the way. The final weirdness was that all the flight attendants from our flight stay at this property… This fact alone tells you everything.