Introduction: Flying The Nordic Shortcut to Europe
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Oriental Residence Bangkok
Finnair A350 Business Class Bangkok to Helsinki
Hilton Helsinki Airport
Finnair A321 Business Class Helsinki to Amsterdam
Hotel Des Indes The Hague
Hotel Le Royal Luxembourg
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht
British Airways Lounge Amsterdam
British Airways A321 Economy Class Amsterdam to London
My Bloomsbury London
Finnair A350 Business Class London to Helsinki
Finnair A350 Business Class Helsinki to Hong Kong
We arrived at the Sofitel after a long drive from Luxembourg. The Sofitel is located just off of Avenue Louise, which is basically the Brussels shopping district.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Entrance
There was a small entryway with a pair of escalators heading up to the lobby and a nice chandelier. The wall was decorated with an interesting pattern.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Entryway
The lobby of the hotel was…chic?
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Lobby
While I personally thought furniture choices were a little questionable, I liked the natural light in the lobby which gave it an open and spacious feel, despite its small size.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Lobby
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Lobby
We were welcomed by an efficient associate who checked us in. We had booked with my mothers Citibank card, which included one free night with our stay. We also received Visa Signature benefits by booking with Citibank, which included:
- Best available rate guarantee
- Automatic room upgrade upon arrival, when available
- Complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, when available
- Complimentary breakfast daily
- $75 USD food or beverage credit
- 3PM check-out upon request, when available
We were upgraded from our luxury room to a junior suite, which was a nice little treat.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Lobby
We were escorted to the lift lobby by an associate who gave us some basic information about the hotel.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
Check-in: July 3, 2017
Room Type: Junior Suite
Stay duration: 2 nights
Check-out: July 5, 2017
To the left of the entryway was the toilet, which was separated from the larger bathroom. I quite liked this design, since this meant that I could use the toilet even if someone was in the shower.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Toilet
The room was separated into a living room and a bedroom. The living room featured a chaise longue, a small side table, and a comfortable blue armchair. The chaise longue could also be transformed into an additional bed.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Living Room
There was a large flatscreen television along with a Bose speaker.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Television and Speaker
There was also a minibar area, which was free for guests staying in Luxury rooms and suites. There was a Nespresso coffee machine, along with some pods that we may or may not have taken back to Hong Kong with us… 😉
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Minibar
There was also a refrigerator with a variety of sodas, juices, water, and beer, along with two chocolates which I thought was a cute touch, especially since Belgium is the chocolate capital of Europe. This was also where the safe was located.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite
In the bedroom was an extremely comfortable king-sized bed, along with two creepy decorative pillows. I appreciated that there were a variety of bedside lighting options.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Bedroom
There was also a tiny desk and a comfortable chair, which didn’t look like the most comfortable place to get some work done.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Desk and Chair
There was also a walk-in closet, with a baggage rack, a clothing rack and a bunch of compartments. The bag rack was too small to fit any piece of baggage larger than a small carry on, and the rack space was limited.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Walk-In Closet
There was another large flatscreen television in the bedroom.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Bedroom Television
The room had a nice view of the hotel’s courtyard.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite View
The room also featured some art which was… provoking?
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Photograph
While the room certainly looked nice, my biggest problem with it was that it was just poorly designed. There was clearly zero thought how a guest might actually use the room. The light switches were confusing, power ports were poorly located, and nothing really fit its function, which is such a shame considering how beautifully decorated the room is.
Another issue that I had with the room was that it was cramped. The suite is supposed to be 38 square meters, which is smaller than many standard rooms that I’ve stayed in. I felt insanely claustrophobic whenever I stepped into the bedroom since everything was just crammed in so closely together.
I loved how the washroom featured double sinks, which was much appreciated by my parents. However, there was zero counter space, making it difficult to store my mother’s colossal collection makeup and skincare products.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Sinks
There was also a nice “chic” bathtub. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be a way to plug the “drain”, meaning that water would basically just leak right out of the bathtub. Not exactly practical…
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Bathtub
There was also a really tall shower, which featured excellent water pressure, a ton of different settings, a handheld shower faucet and even mood lighting. Unfortunately, the water controls were difficult to navigate.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Shower
The amenities were provided by Hermès, which were excellent.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Junior Suite Toiletries
In terms of public facilities, there was a gym and a restaurant. Although a buffet breakfast was included in our rate, we couldn’t take advantage of it, as we left bright and early both mornings. As for the location, while Avenue Louise was a great place to get some shopping done, it was around a 20-minute walk from most major tourist attractions.
Service throughout our stay was decent without being a standout. Staff members were generally courteous, friendly and efficient. The associate checking us out even asked us if we wanted to grab something to drink from the bar upon noticing we hadn’t used our 75 dollar dining credit.
Bottom Line: Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
It’s a shame that the hotel is so poorly designed. While the decorations are nice, there were so many components of the room that felt impractical, with the emphasis in the design clearly being on form over function. The location of the hotel was decent if you were looking to do a lot of shopping, but it was quite far away from most major tourist attractions.
While our stay wasn’t bad, I would look for other options before considering the Sofitel if I were to return to Brussels.
Young Travelers of Hong Kong 