Friendly staff, good location, but otherwise thoroughly disappointing.

I felt unsafe lying in bed under a mirrored tiled ceiling (!!!) that was coming unstuck.

Paper thin partitions between rooms.

Day to day cleaning ok, but needs thorough refurbishment.

My camera was stolen from my room, while I was having breakfast in the hotel lobby. Interestingly, I found out that three other clients (three rooms) faced the same problem. Apparently, someone realized that the hotel’s clients were having breakfast and took advantage of the situation

I complained to the hotel; however they did nothing about it.

Should I say something else?

The hotel is in an excellent location (although we were told by the owner not to park our car there as it would more than likely get broken into and I wouldn't recommend that single females walk alone at night), the rooms are clean and have the basics for a short stay.

However, the owner and reception staff are probably the rudest we have ever come across. We were told to pay in advance, which we tried to do constantly but for some reason their charge machine would not work - they only seemed interested in accepting cash which after the way we'd been treated we refused to do. The owner was adamant that there were enough towels in the room even after I searched every single cupboard only to find one for the two of us (no hand towels either). And don't dare try to leave the hotel with your room key - even if it is just to pop out to the car for something small.

So, for a budget stay in a clean hotel I'd say yes but the owner is one of the most frustrating people I've ever had to converse with.


[--]

As far as Brussels hotels are concerned, the Chantecler falls in the cheap category, so it's an option if you are in a tight budget. The location in the lower town is indeed quite convenient, there are many shops, cafes and bars around, the Grand Place is a few blocks away, the Bourse metro station is two blocks away and you can walk to and from the Central station in around 10 minutes (from is easier than to, it's downhill).

I stayed in one of the back rooms, which means no noise from other rooms or the bar across the street, but with a view to a ventilation shaft. The room was very badly lit and rather small for a twin, unlike the bathroom which was actually quite large. The room looks outdated and a bit worn, but it looked and smelled clean (too much disinfectant). The breakfast (included in the price) consisted of bread rolls that you got yourself from a plastic bag, marmelade, butter, juice, milk and coffee.

Oddly, you have to pay up front for the room, and it seems as if the hotel gets walk in customers (there is a large sign with the prices outside and photos of the rooms at the entrance). The staff seems disinterested, but when asked for information they are quite helpful and all spoke good english.

On the other hand, this is not the only cheap hotel in the area, but in late March 2007 this was the only one available, so I gave it a try. Having been to other nearby hotels in the past, I would not go back to that one again, you can certainly do better for the same money if you book a bit more in advance.