We stayed here in a small group (10 people) for 2 nights. I booked the stay directly with the hotel and received prompt, friendly replies to my emails. However, on arrival we were disappointed. We booked a "Calamity Jane" package which includes 2 days' entry to the Walibi theme park. Upon arrival we were given the tickets, and instructed to pay for them in cash, otherwise a 10% fee would be charged (we did not have sufficient spare cash to do this). At no point during the extensive correspondance about the package prices was this mentioned, and I had even emailed the hotel shortly before our trip to check that I could pay our balance by credit card and had been told that that was fine. After 2 days of discussion with the reception staff and the manager, the manager finally admitted that I had been given the wrong information about payment, but still wanted us to absorb the 10% fee, as otherwise "it would mean a loss of money to the hotel". I stood my ground and eventually he agreed to charge me only what was agreed when I booked, but with an air of doing me a tiresome favour. So if staying here, then be warned that you will have to pay part of your package price in cash; they won't necessarily tell you about this, even if you ask!
The hotel itself; it was well-positioned for us, as we wanted to get to both the theme park and the centre of Wavre. Wavre centre is about 10 mins' walk, where we found at least two good restaurants and some pleasant bars. The theme park is 15-20 mins' walk away, or you can park at the theme park for 5 euros a day, which I recommend, as although the walk there was OK, walking back after a long day of walking around the theme park was not a welcome prospect. The rooms were not as good as I had expected from a 3* and a Best Western; they were very small and basically furnished (not even a wardrobe) although clean, and the bathrooms were tiny, very basic/slightly dated and not as clean as they could be. However, the bedding and pillows were very clean, and the bed comfortable. The breakfast was good, with a good selection of mainly decent quality things. I cannot comment on the restaurant, as despite the fact that it was supposed to be open every night except Sunday, it was closed without explanation. The public areas were unimpressive in that they were not very clean. In summary I wouldn't describe this as a 3* hotel, more like an adequate 2* hotel, however it is fine for a couple of nights.
Walibi theme park: we really enjoyed our 2 days here. There is a good selection of roller coasters, all different, as well as a good variety of other rides. The rapids were particularly good, as was Turbine. Tips; the queues for fast food are long and slow, better to go for a baguette/sandwich which were excellent quality. Don't bother queuing for the runaway mine train, the queue is very long and the ride disappointing with very few exciting moments. Also the layout of the park is odd, with barely anything at the back of the park, and lots of attractions crammed together at the front of the park. This can give the impression that the park is packed when you arrive, but if you head away from the entrance to start with, you can ride the attractions further into the park without having to queue much at all. We also used the Aquilibi water park in the theme park, but don't particularly recommend it. The few slides were painful to ride, and the water park was a bit dirty and badly kept, with rusty stains around the pools and tiles. Also be aware that they adhere very strictly to their "Speedos only" rule and do not allow shorts/baggy trunks.
- Wavre Best Western
- Best Western Wavre
