I've stayed at the Sofitel Astoria in Brussels several times over the past years and if you're after genuine old world charm and elegance then this is the place to stay in Brussels, however if it's full service luxury then it might be best to choose one of the more modern Sofitel's.

On 2 occasions the reception upgraded me to a suite at no extra charge which made for an exceptional stay. The room service was superb with a maid even coming in when I was out for dinner to turn my bed down and lay out complimentary slippers and a robe!

The restaurant is one of the grandest settings I've seen in a hotel but the cuisine isn't anything special and a bit overpriced. However, in my opinion the whole point of staying in the city centre (especially in Brussels) is to go out and experience proper restaurants so it's ideal to have such a nice restaurant/bar for breakfast and an evening drink.

For a 3 night weekend in Brussels, we chose the Astoria believing that a the grand sounding description would make for a nice weekend. First impressions were fine, the room was clean and comfortable, and it had a great bathroom. But we then found that the restaurant was not open on Friday, Saturday and Sundays!! Breakfast was ok, but the lounge / bar area was not particularly welcoming.
The decor, carpets etc were all looking very tired, and its situation is a good 15 / 20 minute walk from the Grand Place area.
2 night / 3 day stay would have long enough in Brussels, but it does have some beautiful buldings. Be warned though, the area of the city towards Gard Nord is the red light area.

We booked our hotel through the Sofitel website.
As frequent users of the Sofitel hotel chain, we have a Sofitel Privilege card which really made our experience extraordinary.
Our privilege card enabled us to be upgraded to a suite for the price of a double room, which gave us access to a huge room - the size of a small apartment - "The Schumann Suite."

The hotel itself is exquisitely decorated in highly detailed Edwardian Style. Lots of stained glass, chandeliers, gold leaf and very high ceilings. Our room was decorated in soft tones of peach and yellow with lots of crown and chair molding. Extremely comfortable bed with a feather comforter, large living area with sofa, chairs and desk. Great bathroom with granite floors, separate tub and stall shower (with extra shower heads),
double sinks. All of the amenties you would expect in a five star hotel including toiletries (nice shampoo, soap, extra toothbrush, toothpaste, q-tips, shoe horns, shoe polish cloth, terry-cloth bathrobe.) You feel like royalty in this place.

Although the air-system didn't seem very effective as other guests have mentioned, this was not an issue to us in September. I would imagine that in the hotter months, this might be a problem.

The staff were helpful and pleasant and spoke enough English
for us to communicate well and help us with directions to various tourist destinations.

My one annoyance (mentioned by others) was not having coffee service in the room, however, this was alleviated by the kind dining staff providing us a tray with coffee pot, cream and sugar daily - free of charge! We did not try the 25 Euro breakfast, per person per day, as we thought the price was a bit exorbitant.

The hotel overall can use some "brushing up" as it is slightly rough around the edges. However, for a hotel over 100 years old
this is understandable. There are some areas that need to be touched up - a few cracks, chipped paint, etc. I did not fault them for this as the overall experience is still quite grande.

The distance to the Grande Place is about a half a mile - not far,
although walking back is uphill and can get tiresome if you are doing it daily, as we were. There ARE a few restaurants within walking distance (walk towards Botanique), which were good, although not too much in the general vicinity. The Botanique
metro station is very convenient, just a couple of blocks away.

Overall I would definitely recommend this hotel and enjoyed the experience.

This is a faded, sad hotel. There was no doorman and only one employee at the desk during most of my stay. Forget about concierge's, a taxi line, a pool, nearby shopping. There is a nice outdoor beer garden with several pubs selling mussels two blocks away and a good breakfast place is one block away (breakfast at the hotel is 25 euros). The pay TV was broken, the desk clerk had never heard of the main exhibition/convention center or how to get there, the window display out front was smashed, I had to walk 8 blocks to the train because a taxi wouldn't come. My first room was a shoe box--I complained and got a nice room for the discounted price. I would only stay here if you wanted a nice room in a dingy hotel and could get a highly discounted price in expensive Brussels.