This is a really "interesting" place to stay at. First of all, it is right bordering on the city's red-light district, with a sex shop next door.

Then it is rather tired looking, with worn carpets and the like. It was also the only time I'd ever ridden an elevator without any door, with the doorway just open.

I was upgraded on check-in for some reason (probably because I had booked a different hotel before and this one was suggested as an alternative after it turned out the first one was unavailable), and the room I got was really spacious - maybe thirty square metres - and facing the busy intersection in front of the hotel. Still everything looked tired.

Another interesting point is that the hotel seems to be run by, and targeted at, Chinese. This manifests itself in Chinese staff, bilingual notices and even breakfast menus (and meals). Not a problem of course - unless you expect a European atmosphere in the "capital of Europe".

This was a depressing, dull room. I booked through an agency and didn't check any reviews. I should have. As a single woman travelling alone this was not a good place to stay - right next to the redlight district. They really cater to an Asian market and one morning the place was absolutely packed with a tour group. Breakfast room was jam-packed. Reception staff were friendly enough. Easy to walk to the main areas of town. No decent restaurant nearby, though. Altogether, give it a miss. I returned to Brussels a week later and stayed somewhere else.

The hotel is only 3 min. walking distance to North Station, 5 minutes to the big shopping mall called City2 and 15 minutes to Grand Place. Therefore, excellent location if you don't mind being also close to red light district. Indeed, the location of the hotel is very well lit, and you don't have to cross the red light district to get to North Station, City2 or Grand Place. The room was very spacious, and although the railway was near, the noise was really not that much. However, the beds were extremely thin and soft and the sheets and blankets were well worn out. So, if you're looking for a comfortable sleep, you might be disappointed. The bathroom was OK, with a toilet in a seperate room. There's no washbasin in the toilet, however, this does not cause much trouble.

Breakfast can be considered poor, if you do not love Chinese style. There was a limited number of varieties for breakfast.

The hotel is located near a train station and very easy to walk to, even with luggage. Unlike other reviews, we did not walk through the red light district to get there. Walking towards the city centre, no more than a five minute walk to the main shopping centre, the red light district is in the opposite direction and we never saw anything one would associate with that type of district. It is worth noticing that, walking underneath the train overpass, the Hilton is only a few hundred metres from Chao Chow with a supermarket inbetween. We were out and about during all hours of the day and never felt unsafe walking through the underpass - the train station, on the other hand, was very filthy and not a very nice place to be late at night.

The hotel is your average no frills hotel - staff is friendly with a basic grasp of English. Breakfast was the usual spread with some Chinese added in.

The room was large but dated, clean except for some old stains and holes on the bedspread and nice and warm during a cold weekend in December. Shower was over a bath with very uneven water temperatures. Despite the close proximity to the trainline, we were not bothered by the noise and slept well throughout the night in a bed that was massive.

Over all this hotel was a nice surprise after having read so many negative reviews - sure you can stay at the Hilton if you want to save yourself a few minutes walking to the city centre but we thought this was good value for money considering accommodation in Brussels seemed expensive in general.