The Hostelz.com Review
HI - Brussels - Generation Europe Hostel is in a great location if you are a person who likes to explore and learn the real face of Brussels.
The Location
It is true that the location of this hostel is not ideal for tourists wanting to get to the sites in the least amount of time and effort -- it is more than fifteen minutes' walk from the hostel to the Grand Place, along a very simply, straight, big street. When you arrive at the Grand Place, go north-west to Boterstraat and head straight for two hundred meters, you will see a McDonald's restaurant. Keep walking via Rue Antoine Dansaertstr, and walk across a small bridge. Take the fourth left at a mobile phone store and the hostel will be about a hundred meters away.
On the walk to the hostel, you will find the shops and people changing from designer chocolates to grocery stores, flower shops, and once you cross the bridge, you will be surrounded by Moroccan/Middle-Eastern culture. The streets may be dirty and the kids may look suspicious, but people are very helpful, as one of them almost took us to the door of the hostel when we were a bit lost.
Once you arrive at the hostel, they will give you a very concise and helpful map highlighting the routes and sights.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are very warm and clean; all are locked from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for a nice lady to clean, but the staff are helpful, so you are still able to access if you really need to get something out. The room is quiet, as is the rest of the hostel. People are all polite, gentle, and modest. The downside is you can hardly have any fun if you are a solo backpacker.
Their bathrooms are amazing -- they are huge, clean, and very accessible for wheelchairs. Showers are hot too.
Common Spaces
It is a relief to see a colorful, clean, well functioning, and quiet reception area; bars; and kitchen (with dining tables). The kitchen is small and basic, with fridge and microwave. You may find salt and oil but we think you are expected to have your own. Cooking is not popular at this hostel, so the size of the kitchen is no problem. The staff we met were warm, welcoming, and good at making funny jokes in good English. You can ask for whatever you need, such as some salt, some spare containers, or a good Belgian comic book at the reception table. There is Wi-Fi for a small fee; we did not see any TV in the common rooms.
Summary
This is a wonderful hostel -- cheaper than others yet more comfortable to live in. They have very helpful staff and the atmosphere is low but positive and warm. It's very, very safe with room cards to access front doors and rooms. We recommend it as a safe, comfortable, and cheap hostel in Brussels.
The Location
It is true that the location of this hostel is not ideal for tourists wanting to get to the sites in the least amount of time and effort -- it is more than fifteen minutes' walk from the hostel to the Grand Place, along a very simply, straight, big street. When you arrive at the Grand Place, go north-west to Boterstraat and head straight for two hundred meters, you will see a McDonald's restaurant. Keep walking via Rue Antoine Dansaertstr, and walk across a small bridge. Take the fourth left at a mobile phone store and the hostel will be about a hundred meters away.
On the walk to the hostel, you will find the shops and people changing from designer chocolates to grocery stores, flower shops, and once you cross the bridge, you will be surrounded by Moroccan/Middle-Eastern culture. The streets may be dirty and the kids may look suspicious, but people are very helpful, as one of them almost took us to the door of the hostel when we were a bit lost.
Once you arrive at the hostel, they will give you a very concise and helpful map highlighting the routes and sights.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are very warm and clean; all are locked from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for a nice lady to clean, but the staff are helpful, so you are still able to access if you really need to get something out. The room is quiet, as is the rest of the hostel. People are all polite, gentle, and modest. The downside is you can hardly have any fun if you are a solo backpacker.
Their bathrooms are amazing -- they are huge, clean, and very accessible for wheelchairs. Showers are hot too.
Common Spaces
It is a relief to see a colorful, clean, well functioning, and quiet reception area; bars; and kitchen (with dining tables). The kitchen is small and basic, with fridge and microwave. You may find salt and oil but we think you are expected to have your own. Cooking is not popular at this hostel, so the size of the kitchen is no problem. The staff we met were warm, welcoming, and good at making funny jokes in good English. You can ask for whatever you need, such as some salt, some spare containers, or a good Belgian comic book at the reception table. There is Wi-Fi for a small fee; we did not see any TV in the common rooms.
Summary
This is a wonderful hostel -- cheaper than others yet more comfortable to live in. They have very helpful staff and the atmosphere is low but positive and warm. It's very, very safe with room cards to access front doors and rooms. We recommend it as a safe, comfortable, and cheap hostel in Brussels.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2011
Their Description
HI - Brussels - Generation Europe Hostel Details
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Nice place. Clean and modern. Very enjoyable stay. However, an Irish couple who were staying there had their car window smashed and stuff stolen from it. It was parked outside on the street. Their stuff was covered with a blanket, but it didn't put the robbers off. I guess it must be true when they say it's a bad neighbourhood. Having said that, I didn't see too many rough types around at night. Like everywhere else, just be aware of your surroundings. — Bruce , Canadian (2007-05-08) I stayed here at the end of October of 2006 and I found the hostel to be very nice. There is a good size commons area in the lobby and also a commons area on each floor. There are large lockers in each room. The breakfast was good. all you can eat of bread, yogurt, cereal, orange juice, hot chocolate/coffee. Throughout the hostel one notices that there was attention and effort put into making it look nice. I would recommend it. The hostel is located in a Muslim district of Brussels, which I found to be very interesting, because it gives a different perspective of the city that I probably would have never seen. I enjoyed the walk to the downtown area, though there is the metro, which I used a number of times during the stay. — Emily (2007-01-20) Some friends and I stayed in this hostel for a few nights when we went to Belgium to see a rock festival. It was a large hostel, friendly staff, best breakfast I've had anywhere (that I can remember), bathrooms in the rooms, a kitchen, a few common rooms, one with a large screen TV, an outdoors area. really a nice hostel. The area it's in is mainly a muslim area, but we didn't find this to be a problem. We were heckled a lot less than we were in Paris and there were a lot of interesting shops and cheap take aways nearby. The main problem is getting to this place via public transport, the tram and metro stations aren't terribly nearby and are somewhat hard to find. But the hostel provides maps and directions, and do as much as they can to make your stay comfortable. — Sarah (2006-10-03) We never actually got round to staying here after hearing reports it is in a very dodgy area, where the hostel staff themselves advise people not to go out at night. One guy told us there is an average of one mugging of a hosteller per week! I would look elsewhere if possible! — Dave (2004-08-23)