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Please see Brussels for other available Brussels hostels and accommodations.
Please see Brussels for other available Brussels hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
International Youth Hostel Bruegel is a simple, inexpensive, and boring hostel with a great location for exploring Brussels.
The Location
The location of the International Youth Hostel Bruegel is very convenient to the train stations and the central square. It is a five-minute walk from the central train station and ten minutes from the southern train station (Gare du Midi). The central square is a five-minute walk downhill.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are very clean and of moderate size. Each room has its own key, but no lockers are provided. There is a small dresser where items can be stored. The rooms have sturdy, wooden beds. Rooms have a small table and chairs, but not private bathrooms. The dorms have one, two, three, or four beds. The bathrooms are clean but have no soap so we question how sanitary the entire hostel is with nobody washing their hands properly.
The hostel is closed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will let you into reception and to get items out of the lockers. The hostel also closes at 1 a.m.; however, sometimes it is possible to arrange for an entry key to get back in after curfew.
Common Spaces
The common spaces leave a lot to be desired and are always empty. Each floor has a different type of common room -- one has theater-style seating in front of a small TV, another has desks resembling a library. There are several tables outside in the courtyard opposite the entrance. The basement has a small bar. A large cafeteria is just down the hall from reception. This is not a very social hostel and most people keep to themselves.
Lunch and dinner are available at decent prices, but one of the best parts of Brussels is the food and there are a lot of good deals to be found. Breakfast is included, but leaves a lot to be desired. It is only available from 7 to 9 a.m. They pull all the food off right at 9 and promptly unplug the juice and coffee machines. Breakfast consists of plain cereal, very plain slices of sandwich bread (no toaster available), and jams. Coffee, milk, and orange juice are also available. Breakfast is only good for a very light snack and it's no reason to wake up early.
Secure lockers are available for per-day rates. You have to pay each time you need to open the locker. Wireless internet is free, but the signal is pretty weak. Reception is intermittent in the rooms but pretty reliable in the common areas and in the lobby.
Summary
The International Youth Hostel Bruegel is simple and lacks character, but it is inexpensive and has a great location. It is located in an ideal location between the two train stations and the main square. This is a great hostel to stay in if you are looking to save some money and don’t plan on spending very much time at the hostel.
The Location
The location of the International Youth Hostel Bruegel is very convenient to the train stations and the central square. It is a five-minute walk from the central train station and ten minutes from the southern train station (Gare du Midi). The central square is a five-minute walk downhill.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are very clean and of moderate size. Each room has its own key, but no lockers are provided. There is a small dresser where items can be stored. The rooms have sturdy, wooden beds. Rooms have a small table and chairs, but not private bathrooms. The dorms have one, two, three, or four beds. The bathrooms are clean but have no soap so we question how sanitary the entire hostel is with nobody washing their hands properly.
The hostel is closed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will let you into reception and to get items out of the lockers. The hostel also closes at 1 a.m.; however, sometimes it is possible to arrange for an entry key to get back in after curfew.
Common Spaces
The common spaces leave a lot to be desired and are always empty. Each floor has a different type of common room -- one has theater-style seating in front of a small TV, another has desks resembling a library. There are several tables outside in the courtyard opposite the entrance. The basement has a small bar. A large cafeteria is just down the hall from reception. This is not a very social hostel and most people keep to themselves.
Lunch and dinner are available at decent prices, but one of the best parts of Brussels is the food and there are a lot of good deals to be found. Breakfast is included, but leaves a lot to be desired. It is only available from 7 to 9 a.m. They pull all the food off right at 9 and promptly unplug the juice and coffee machines. Breakfast consists of plain cereal, very plain slices of sandwich bread (no toaster available), and jams. Coffee, milk, and orange juice are also available. Breakfast is only good for a very light snack and it's no reason to wake up early.
Secure lockers are available for per-day rates. You have to pay each time you need to open the locker. Wireless internet is free, but the signal is pretty weak. Reception is intermittent in the rooms but pretty reliable in the common areas and in the lobby.
Summary
The International Youth Hostel Bruegel is simple and lacks character, but it is inexpensive and has a great location. It is located in an ideal location between the two train stations and the main square. This is a great hostel to stay in if you are looking to save some money and don’t plan on spending very much time at the hostel.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2009
Their Description
HI - Brussels - Bruegel Hostel Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | Heilige Geeststraat 2, Brussels (City Centre), Belgium |
| Location | |
| Website | www.vjh.be |
| Telephone | +32 (0)2 511 0436 |
| Fax | +32 (0)2 512 0711 |
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Bruegel hostel excellent localization, nice staff, great breakfast, room, bathroom and sheets very clean. The room was comfortable enough, except for the fact the blanket wasn't good enough for the cold (take your winter pj's!). I also found the dinner too expensive (11 euros) and sad that they don't have a microwave or something for us to hot something to eat.
Take your towels because they don't provide it to you. The bar is really nice, from 8h until 9h you get a beer after buying one and it's not expensive. I would definitely stay again and I recommend it. — Juliana , Brazil (2011-02-23) If you want to have a good time, DO NOT GO THERE I went there with some friends for Easter. We picked this hostel because of its central location. But quickly realised that it was a big mistake. We had to wait over an hour to get us checked-in. Girls at receptions were so slow it was unbelievable. How hard can it be to check-in 5 persons. They were completely useless. Then we discover the 10am rule. Everyday by 10am you have to leave the hostel. If you are not gone, the cleaner ask you to leave. Sometimes they knock to the door and sometimes not they just enter in the room. From 10am to 14pm, your are not allowed in the hostel. After 10am the front door is locked and the receptionist must push on a button to let you out. When you ask her to open the door, she said to wait because she's talking to her friend as she can't push on a f!!king button while talking at the same time. The staff in this place were without a doubt the least hospitable I've ever encountered. They just don't give a sh!t about you. As somebody said, this place should be renamed Bruegel Youth Hostile. After the second night we were told to change room without any reasons. We were 4, staying in a 4 bed room. Why would you move 4 pers from a 4 bed room to another 4 bed room? Only reason we could see was to annoy us because we were not ready at 10am every morning. Other thing, in both room we had a shower room but there was no curtain. So you can imagine how the floor looked after 4 pers. took a shower. But at least we had one some friends were staying in another room with no shower and they paid the same price. They had to use the shared ones with no lights and water leaking from the ceiling. THIS PLACE IS NOT WORTHY, MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE STAFF AND THEIR STUPID RULES. SERIOUSLY, DO NOT GO THERE. — Davy , France (2010-04-06) Don't stay there, not worth it. Me and my boyfriend stayed there for six nights. I had done the reservation of a room with private shower and toilet. Instead, they gave us one with two separate beds, no bathroom or toilet whatsoever. We complained and they changed us to a berth with private shower. We were so tired we didn't complained further. Was until when we went back from dinner and the staff asked us if we were satisfied with the room. When back in the room we realized the reason of his questions -- the shower cabin didn't have a protection, so the floor simply got soaking wet every time we tried to shower. When we wanted to go to the toilet, we had to get out of the room to do so, what was not pleasant. In the following day we complained about the shower cabin, they said they couldn't do anything but giving us towels to put on the floor and the cleaning staff would clean it for us daily. First, the cleaning was not daily, the room was really messy after a three-minute shower. We discovered that when the second floor guys took their shower right above our room, a river would start pouring out of the ceiling of the shower cabin (looked liked we were having bath too). The staff were really unfriendly -- in the morning we had to leave before 10 a.m. otherwise the door would close, and the lady would just start screaming "are you leaving? what's your room number?" -- trying to control everyone, not allowing us to leave before that, which was childish and a waste of time. Terrible. We had to be back before 1p.m. The desk where we did the check in and out was always busy (only one person there) with huge lines, and they would ask you to stay in the line even if you only wished to change a coin in order to use the computer. Once I was feeling really sick and had to return home and the lady in the desk was dealing with a check-in. I was visibly ill, she kept on with her things, I tried to go up to my room, she said I couldn't because it was being cleaned. I had to say to her I was about to vomit and had my medicines in the room so that she allowed me to go. First, she verified for the fourth or fifth time our identity. By the way, the price didn't include the towels. It was cheap, but really silly. Here, we had to have breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m.! Very stupid restrictions regarding the schedule. Don't stay there. The other youth hostels are better for similar prices. — Okayday , Portugal (2009-08-24) Nice, clean, good food, cute barkeeper. i want to come back i had a nice stay at the hostel and i would come back. I liked the bar most included the barkeeper. the rooms were clean and the price was good,
very central and nice staff! — bella , austia (2009-04-25) Ok, but I've seen better I just want to mention that the price mentioned on this website aren't ok -- beds are from 18 euro (four beds) to 32 euro (one bed). The hotel is ok -- the room are reasonably clean, staff is ok, except for the barmaid downstairs, that girl is just too nice. I've seen youth hostels that were far better than this one, but I've also seem some that were worse. Cheap for Brussels and near center of town. — Myriam Renauld-Denis , Canada (2008-06-27) Good This is a good hostel. The location is perfect! Five minutes by foot from the Grand Place! Breakfast is good and rooms are clean! A problem is the curfew (1 a.m.) and using luggage room you have to pay. — Pezzente , Italy (2008-01-02) Good Clean, convenient location, and good breakfast. On the edge of a slightly dodgy neighbourhood, but we never had any problems. — Karen and Jen , Canada (2007-08-20) Very helpful, friendly staff; good food; and lots of fun in the bar Since this was my first stop in Europe, It feels like a home far away from home where I made friends for life. I keep on coming back after every other country. The staff was really friendly, specially the bartender whose name is Octo, we build up a nice friendship. I had some trouble with my visa and the manager of the hostel helped me out to sort it out. I like him and he is a nice funny guy. Well I just end up to recommend this place, whose personnel will be more than glad to help you out. If you go there, you should definitely go to their bar and try a Barbar, Belgium's oldest beer -- and it is cheap! — Chakri , India (2007-05-31) The attitude of the staff is horrible here! First of all, the lady with short hair at the desk was so impolite and rude to all the customers that everybody I met there was complaining about her. And then there was the manager. He came to the bar in the night and then started annoying customers, and made sexual comments to all the girls present in the bar. It was disgusting! When I went to bed, he had changed his clothes into some army-like outfit, and was yelling to some sixteen-year-old kids that they had to be quiet or else he would kick their asses! That was ridiculous! What a fool! And what a horrible experience I had here. Do not go here! — Obiwan , USA (2007-04-28) This was the first stop on my trip, and I was extremely jet-lagged. They just had a huge school group arrive when I came in the door. I paid for a dorm room and was going to be put into a room with five middle-school-aged girls. But then they decided that they could give me my own private room and didn't ask me to pay any extra. It was a godsend since I ended up sleeping during the day to get on europe time. The location was great, within easy walk of Grand Place and the Court and Palace. Staff were super friendly. — Haley , Canada (2007-04-11) Love this place -- clean, bright, and everything is in top condition EXCEPT the heater wasn't warm enough. The breakfast is really fulfilling and people are nice. Rooms are fairly big for a hostel and with an en-suite bathroom too! Shared amenities are always spotless! — Ann (2006-11-23) I stayed here for three nights in June. Good location, about a twenty-minute walk from the train station (not Centraal). Close to the Grand Place. Met some great people in my dorm, the beer is cheap in the bar downstairs. It was a little quiet during my stay there but I guess that isn't always a bad thing. Amenities were good, dorms were clean. — G Lim (2006-10-22) Good location! Within walking distance to shops and bars. Breakfast was the usual, and the same everyday but you can eat as much as you like. Clean rooms depending on who you share a room with. I dont think housekeeping emptied our trash in our room the whole time I was there, nor swept the floor. Bathrooms were clean, with the push button shower. Curfew was a pain and the atmosphere was quiet even with the bar downstairs, but its still possible to meet people. Clean beds save environment, what more could you ask for? — Zarielle (2006-04-23) The hostel was above all expectations. The rubber sheets on the bed covered all other odours. The receptionist was one of the most
un-pleasant persons I've ever met. Great prices on beer though! Blake, the californian bartender was super. Showers changed from icecold to boiling hot and then back to icecold with ten second intervalls. — Marcus, Erik, Robbie and Anders from Sweden (2006-01-13) I wandered in from the airport without a reservation. The desk told me they were fully booked, but since it was 4:30 p.m. they were giving away no-show reserved beds and I got one no problem. It was everything you should expect from a IY Hostel, including a little institutional and I had to leave very early the next morning to catch my flight to NYC but found I was actually locked IN the building. I had to leave through the fire door. Brussels has great steak and beers. Try Leffe. — Julie (2005-11-24)