八月酒店(August)

Last minute gereserveerd op aanraden van een vriendin omdat ik overnachting nodig had in het Antwerpse op oudjaar. Prachtige kamer, zeer vriendelijk onthaal, mooi en uitgebreid ontbijt. Ondergrondse parkeerplaats zeker vooruit reserveren. Ook restaurant, bar en wellness zagen er top uit doch die heb ik nog niet kunnen uittesten. Ik kom hier zeker terug voor een weekendje!

I was looking for a hotel near Antwerp with a good wellness area and a good restaurant to spend a relaxing Friday evening with my wife. I book the hotel and then the bad surprises start coming. First, the restaurant was fully booked two weeks in advance! Imagine the joy of booking a hotel with a restaurant precisely to avoid going out of the hotel and then having to anyway go out and look for one, in a cold December evening. Second, the sauna/wellness area not only proposes a series of relatively expensive treatments (which is completely normal, every hotel has to make a profit), but actually charges you close to a hundred euros an hour to use the sauna! This is normally included in the accommodation, (which is not cheap either). On top of that, the sauna only accommodates one couple at a time, so, guess what? The only free spot on that Friday was .... the following Saturday after check. Thanks but no thanks! So, my advice: if you're interested in either wellness or dining in, don't make a non-refundable booking and check out first their availability.

Beautiful hotel, with stunning architecture and tasteful interior! We stayed for 3 nights. We were unable to eat dinner there, as they were fully booked on Saturday, and there is no restaurant service on a Sunday. Perhaps if they had recommended to book dinner in advance at time of check in, we may have been able to make a reservation and not be disappointed. We had cocktails and ordered food from the stunning bar. The service could have been better, and the food was average. The Spa is lovely. 1 hour use for a couple costs €85, and you have exclusive use, (unless a stranger guest walks in accidentally when you have decided to go nude because nobody else should be there!). I had a full body massage, which was relaxing, and the Therapist was very nice! I do feel, that guests of the Hotel should be given an hour free use of the Spa. I hadn’t realised when I booked, that I would have to pay extra for use of the Spa. Parking is €30 per day. There are no bars and restaurants close by. Grote Markt, and Central Station has excellent night life with plenty of bars and restaurants. Both approximately 40 minutes walk, and even easier by tram. Although a lovely hotel, I wouldn’t stay here again if I returned to Antwerp.

First time visit to Antwerp, and we selected this hotel because it had an unusual profile: a former Augustinian monastery that was transformed into a design hotel by a talented Belgian architect. We were not disappointed. This was a marvellous hotel. The service was friendly The spa was a plus, and the the breakfasts were excellent. It is also located away from the din of the city, but a rapid tram ride away. Very enjoyable.