Good location, average place to stay

The pictures on the web site are a bit deceiving: the rooms are fairly cramped and the beds aren't very comfortable. The receptionist wasn't very helpful when we asked for a non-smoking room (they don't have them, but our room smelled fine). The breakfast room has a nice view, but the food gets picked over and not much is left by the end of the service. Location is very central, around the corner from a street full of tourist restaurants and just a short stroll to the Grand Place.

Very nice hotel, great location

Me and my boyfriend stayed here for 2 nights. The location couldn't be any better, it's in a quiet alley just a stone throw's away from Hotel de la Ville (a central square). The railway station is close as well (about 10 minutes by foot). The rooms are clean and comfortable and the bathroom seemed to be quite recently renovated as well as the lobby. There is also a free internet access in the lobby. The breakfast was good too. At least our room was very peaceful, we had a room in the 6th floor with a view to Hotel de la Ville. Some of the staff weren't that nice and the service wasn't above average but I would definately recommend this hotel.

Comfortable place with enchanting views

I stayed in Arlequin for 3 nights, from June 2nd to June 5th, and was dazzled by its beauty.

The premises, however, weren't very good: the online reservation system of the hotel website didn't work, therefore I had to make a phone call to Belgium, to complete the booking process of the room. Once I was there, the reception was more detached and colder than in other hotels.

However, that's the end of complaints. Once I was in the room, I was positively surprised at its cleanness, at how big the TV is and at the view it offers, from the window: I could see both the gothic town hall and Notre Dame, incredible!

What already seemed outstanding in my room, turned out to be dazzling when, on the next morning, I went up to the upper floor to have breakfast. If Di Caprio had met Winslet in Brussels, he probably would have taken her up to Arlequin's breakfast room, so spectacular is the view you benefit from: you can see all of Brussels' roofs just below you and, rising above the roofs, you can clearly distinguish the flemish guilds and the gothic palaces that make up the central square.

The hotel location is ideal, both for going to the city square (less than 5 mins of walk) and for walking to the Central railway station (less than 10 mins). In spite of the streets bustling with activity and restaurants, I also found the room exceptionally quiet, so in the end I had a pleasant stay in Arlequin, both at day and at night.

Good hotel, great location.

For the tourist this hotel is in an excellent position. It is close to the Grand Place, surronded by restaurants, and 5 minutes from Central Station although this is uphill from the hotel and over cobbled steets which is not ideal for luggage.

The room and bathroom were both of reasonable size and modern.I would rate breakfast as good/average; the breakfast room is superb.

Great location

The location is excellent - right by the Gross Markt and an easy 5-min walk from the Central Station. The size of the room is good and clean. However, I would have to disgree with the previous posts regarding breakfast. The coffee was weak and the scrambled egg was inedible. However, the breakfast room is on the 7th floor so you get a very good view of the city.

Great location, good breakfast

The Arlequin was well located a block from Le Grand Place, next to Rue de la Bourche, which is the famous restaurant street in Brussels. We booked a triple room (a rare commodity in Brussels) which was remarkably spacious compared to the other rooms we stayed in during our 3 week, 7 nation trip. The restaurant where they served breakfast had a great view of Brussels, and the food was among the best that we ate (only surpassed by a specialty B&B in Sweden). We got a great rate on the Internet and we would definitely look to come back here. (We loved Brussels in general--put it on your list.)

Average hotel in really noisy street

We stayed in the Arlequin in March 2005 and, having read previous reviews, requested a room on a high floor because of noise from the street and bar in the basement of the hotel.

Our room was plain, but reasonably sized and very clean, with a huge television with two BBC channels. The en-suite bathroom was also clean, with a powerful shower and good-sized bath, as well as complementary toiletries.

The breakfast room on the top floor is lovely and bright with wonderful views over the city which really help you get your bearings. The buffet breakfast was good with a nice selection of breads and cereals as well as cold meats and cheese.

The hotel itself was fine, but my main problem with our stay here was the noise. The hotel is on what seemed to me quite a seedy side street with lots of cheap restaurants whose owners stood on the pavement trying to get people to go in. There are also a lot of bars which stay open late and even though we were on the 6th floor we were kept awake for ages by shouting and loud music from the street. Although none of that is the hotel's fault, it did make our stay a lot less pleasant than it might have been. If you value a good night's sleep I would recommend staying somewhere else, possibly a bit further out of the town centre.

On the plus side, the hotel was really close to the main square and within easy walking distance of museums and the cathedral.

Overall, the hotel itself wasn't bad, but let down by its location and the lack of adequate sound-proofing.

Wonderful Inexpensive Hotel in the Heart of Brussels

We stayed at the Hotel Arlequin for two nights. I thought it was a nice clean hotel. We stayed on the top floor (7th) and had a great view. The room was a good size and the bathroom was nice. I also thought the rates were very reasonable. A very good breakfast buffet is included in the price. One word of warning though: If you plan to drive to the hotel and are not familiar with Brussels, have the hotels send you one of the maps that they have on the front desk with the directions drawn out. We had a really hard time finding it.

Very central hotel

A very clean central hotel a few seconds walk from the Grand Place, ask for a room on the higher floors as there is a bar that stays open late in the basement which can be noisy. Rooms are small but clean and all with ensuite bathrooms, great view from the breakfast room on the 7th floor.Would stay here again.

Right in the center

Very centrally located, right near Grand Place and central restaurant district. In-lobby Internet access; Internet supposedly in rooms, too, but they could never get it to work in my room. Breakfast room looks out over rooftops of Brussels -- quiet pleasant. Rooms are somewhat small and plain, and occasionally noisy. But you can't beat the location!