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average.
Good place, but quite a walk w/o metro
Really enjoyed my stay at this hostel. The facilities were accommodating -- full bathroom (1) in each room, key cards for room (safe) and personal lockers in room (bring your own lock), as well as large lockers (free with refundable deposit) downstairs in the baggagerie (this was great when I arrived before check in but wanted to explore without all my bags). I had to leave very early in the morning and the staff accommodated my breakfast and let me eat at 5:15am! Only con is that it is not close to where sightseers want to be. It's manageable with the Brussels metro, but by foot from the Gare is not fun (although doable if need be). I recommend researching beforehand what the nearest metro stop is and taking the metro. It's pretty straightforward as far as metros go. Also, located in a sort of sketchy/dodgy/questionable neighborhood -- not the safest place ever. You won't be going out at night by yourself here, although if you're smart, you'll be safe. Nothing to worry about unless you're a girl traveling by yourself (b/c of neighborhood). But, as a single guy, I felt totally safe (locals even helped me find the place).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Really nice! Not so far away from Brussels central (25 min by foot). The rooms were nice and clean and not dark, with own bathroom! The garden was nice and the breakfast also really ok (toast, fruit and cereal). So I can recommend it
Great place to stay in Brussels. Only a 20 minute walk to the grand place. Great staff, great 4 bed female dorm room with an en-suite. Very clean and comfortable. The only thing I wished for was a mirror in the dorm room to help get ready!
This was a great hostel for its price. Stayed in an all female room and it wasnt cramped or too hot. The washroom was nice, the beds were comfy and the room was clean. I also did my laundry and the facilities for that were great. Would stay again.
Very nice walking distance from center. Clean and a nice stay. Not too social, just for spending the night and starting the day :)
Pretty good hostel. Location wasn't great but the free breakfast was a plus. No AC which made the rooms very hot and opening the windows just let in tons of bugs.
The Hostel is a decently nice place, but the context around it makes it seem worse. I recommend not walking around the area while there is no light outside and the check-in process was a little sketchy.
It was a nice stay, and the staff was really great! It is really nice that there is free breakfast:) The only downside was that the mattress and pillow is made from a plastic material which is probably easy to clean but really uncomfortable
Very open and friendly atmosphere with relatively big and modern rooms. Very clean and organised and also a good selection of food for breakfast.
Easily reachable by tram/metro from both the central station and Brussels Midi and also within walking distance from the city centre.
Overall a great stay.
There was a distinct lack of silly activity.
Dorms were clean and each bed had a reading light and wall plug. No AC but the windows open right up. Lockers available in the room but you need your own padlock. Breakfast was a bonus and had everything that you need!! Nice outdoor area and garden. I was able to do a workout and no one else was around. I am a female solo traveller and I did not feel unsafe here. The doors are locked to everyone. 30 minute walk to the centre on Brussels. Worth your money.
Good hostel in terms of security and facilities (free breakfast was a big bonus) but as a solo traveller the atmosphere was dull. There were no activities or even a busy social area for people to relax. It felt very hotel like and structured. Good(ish) location but in a slightly dodgier suburb. Still only 20 minutes walk to beautiful central old town (Saint-Gery).
Quiet but a very solid hostel, could be harder for solo backpackers as not too much going on when we were there, however, could have just been unlucky with timing of being there.
Staff were very accommodating and helpful.
Dont listen to all the reviews which claim this hostel is in a bad neighborhood. Excellent staff and accommodations. A little quiet if youre social but overall a great place.
The hostel itself was very nice however the surrounding area was a bit unsafe. A roommate of mine was followed in the streets by a strange man :(
The area the Hostel is located in, isnt the richest by any means, but its very close to ste catherine, my favorite district in Brussels with lots of green space and good restaurants.
I stayed in a hostel close to gare du midi afterwards and preferred the location of this hostel in molenbeek, just because everything is in walking distance and quite relaxed.
The kitchen is only available after 6pm, which I dont really get, but hey, at least they have a kitchen.
Overall, recommending it!
good hostel, beds are comfy! enjoyed our stay here. a bit of a walk to the metro but there are some buses that run outside the hostel that takes you into the city.
Had everything we needed! Loved the free breakfast
Very nice accommodation, location very good that like I expected for the price.
Very good with complementary breakfast
Great place to stay with good food and drink available at the front desk. Beds were comfortable and clean.
Address: Rue de l'Eléphant 4, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Brussels (Bruxelles/Brussel), Belgium
Digital Nomads
Family-Friendly Hostel
Groups (10+ people)
Bedsheets
Breakfast
Parking
Wi-Fi in Lobby/Commons
City Tours
Lockers in Lobby
Luggage Storage
Towels
24 Hour Security
BBQ Grill
Bar
Board Games
Credit Card Payments
Elevator/Lift
Evening Entertainment
Food/Restaurant
Gameroom
Hot Showers
Kitchen
Laundry
Lounge Area
Meeting/Banquet facilities
Movie Library/Rental
Pool Table
TV
Table Tennis
Walking Tours
Wheelchair Accessible
Max. Age: All Ages
Checkout: 11:00 (11 AM)
Curfew: No Curfew
Minimum Stay: 1 night
Open Dates: du 20 janvier au 31 décembre (non inclus)
Reception Hours: 7h45 à 24h
Size: Very Large (100+ beds)
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