1 of 5 6/2/2008 4:14 PM Find hostels in: Search Hostelz.com - "Reviews of All Hostels Worldwide" Hostels Guide > Western Europe > Belgium > Brussels Hostels > HI - Brussels - Jacques Brel Hostel HI - Brussels - Jacques Brel Hostel Brussels (City Centre), Belgium «Prev 3 of 7 Hostels in Brussels Next» Online Booking Secure Instant Booking Guaranteed Reservation Arrival Date: 2008 - June 2 Nights: 1 People: 1 (Choose your booking dates to see availability information here.) Address Rue de la Sablonnière, 30, Brussels (City Centre) Map Price From US$26.56/ 16.40/ 13.47 per person. Price may vary by season - Check Current Prices by Date Here Location/Contact Location "If you're looking to stay in Brussels in a friendly, international atmosphere, the Jacques Brel Youth Hostel is perfect for you. Located in the very heart of the city, it is ideal for all the sights." Website www.laj.be (to make a reservation click here) Telephone +32 (0)2 218 0187 Fax +32 (0)2 217 2005 (To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.) Bedsheets: Sheets Included Luggage Storage: Available Credit Cards Accepted: YES Smoke-free Commons: YES Wheelchair Accessible: YES Internet Computers: Pay Wireless Internet: YES Curfew: No Curfew Clubs/Networks: HI, LAJ Details (To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.) This is a Hostelling International (HI) hostel. A membership card isn't required, but an extra fee will apply for non-members. You can get a membership card before your trip here. Hostelz.com Poll Which do you use for opinions when choosing a hostel? Comments from Hostelz.com Users (the ones with star ratings) Hostelz.com's own Exclusive Reviews
2 of 5 6/2/2008 4:14 PM Their Description The Hostelz.com Review If you're looking to stay in Brussels in a friendly, international atmosphere, the Jacques Brel Youth Hostel is perfect for you. Located in the very heart of the city, it is ideal for all the sights. The Jacques Brel Youth Hostel organises special theme visits around Brussels, concerts, activities run by different associations and much more. You can find all the below nearby: Cultural centre Museums/art galleries City centre location Historical sites Main attractions Nightlife Botanical gardens Restaurants Shopping centre/market Leisure facilities Features Free Breakfast Elevator/Lift Bar Food/Restaurant Washing Machine (laundry) Bike Rental Lockers Currency Exchange TV Gameroom The hostel is situated at the end of Rue de la Sablonniere with many of its windows opening to a small square halfway between the underground stations Botanique and Madou. The building is a bit of a labyrinth with lots of stairs to climb to get to the upper floors. The rooms are medium-sized if not exactly spacious. As with most hostels, the beds are bunk beds. Each bed is equipped with an individual light, which is a unique bonus. There are no chairs and table in the rooms, which can be a bit awkward if you want to eat in since there's no kitchen either. Magnetic cards are used as keys to unlock the doors. Padlocks cannot be borrowed but can be bought at the reception. There's a bathroom for every room with basin and shower, but toilets are shared with people from other rooms. What's nice is that all bathrooms and toilets are spotless. The same is more or less true of the rest of the hostel as well. The rooms and public areas are generally nice and clean, but the place could do with a bit more colors and decoration to make it warmer. Breakfast which is included in the price is not bad (the usual bread, cheese, something meaty, jam, cereal with orange juice and hot drinks). The capacity of the Internet area is rather limited but you can surf the net for free. Both Not sure / don't understand Other: Submit New arrivals can occupy their beds after 3 pm. The reception is closed after 7 pm, but latecomers can enter through the bar. The staff is far from being kind and helpful and not so good at foreign languages. Check out is late (11.30 am or 12.00 noon). This hostel is ok and there's nothing outstanding one should
3 of 5 6/2/2008 4:14 PM really complain about, but it's neither extremely clean (sterile some people would say) nor very cosy. The lack of Your Comments atmosphere - and also the lack This is an open forum, and unlike other of public hostel rooms guide suitable websites, for we don't censor out the negative social activities comments. - may be the We do not validate the legitimacy of reason comments for people posted not on hanging this site so take what you read here around with much a grain making of salt. friends. -- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review Comment by Sandip, USA September 2007 Good location and Clean Good Points -- Friendly and helpful staff, Fairly clean, Free internet, Laundry, Good location (close to Metro), Bar, Outdoor seating. Bad Points -- No lift on my side of the building (My room was on the third floor, with the last floor up a narrow flight of stairs), Room was small, Shower head could not be adjusted (water sprayed toward the curtain). Comment by mark June 2006 I visited Jacques Brel on 9/06/06. room was fine, but the rest! do not use the iron in the laundry room. It burned a fist sized hole in an expensive shirt, and it was set on min. Also when i checked out, i left an ipod nano on the bed. when i went back thrre hours later, no one had handed it in and management wouldn't let me back in the room to look or ask the thiefs, sorry, people that were in the room now. just said "sorry. this stuff happens." basically you get what you pay for. so in summary if all you're looking for is a bed, ok. if you're looking for security and peace for mind about your belongings, look elsewhere. Comment by The Rick June 2005 The first thing the Jacques Brel doesn't have going for it: it's in Brussels! The rooms were always stifling hot and the Internet could only be accessed when the bar opened at night. What's worse, when the bar opened it doubled as the reception desk, so good luck getting service! I will give it some credit; even though it was filled with school groups during my visit, my room was remarkably quiet. Also, the breakfast was quite good and well-rounded, i.e. cereal, toast, jam, coffee, tea, etc. I still wouldn't go back or recommend it. Comment by Anonymous April 2005 Decent overall. Short walk from the nearest metro stop, but close enough to the tourist center to walk there. Helpful staff. The room I was in was a little cramped for eight people. Great showers, bathrooms seemed clean to me. I recall breakfast being the usual hostel affair - no complaints there. While I was there, a huge school group arrived, a potentially huge annoyance. I might stay there again, or I might try something a little closer to the center. Comment by Nate November 2004 This was a great hostel, I thought. I got a bed in an eight-person room and was amazed because we had our own bathroom and our own dining area. I thought it was really cool and decently priced. The hostel had a nice staff, too. It was worth the stay. Comment by Janine August 2004
4 of 5 6/2/2008 4:14 PM Jacques Brel? More like Jacques Hell! The sheets are clean and starchy, but that's about all you want to touch here. Dirty, sticky, and just plain gross! Comment by Anonymous July 2004 This was the best hostel of my whole holiday! The whole place was spotless, and clean sheets are given out each day. We stayed in a room for three people, and we had our own shower and toilet. There is a bar with FREE Internet access, and a great atmosphere. The hostel is a few minutes walk from the Botanique Metro Station, and within walking distance of the city center. The lift in the hostel is very slow, so we got fit using the stairs! We had an excellent experience overall, and we would return to this hostel! Comment by Patrick July 2004 This was an average place. The beds weren't that comfortable, and I can say that because when we got to Brussels we had been staying in hostels for five weeks. The shower in the room was nice, but the drain didn't work so well for us. It was in a fairly nice location, easy to get to the main attractions and close to the subway when we had to leave. The bar was great, serving only beers from Belgium. Comment by Anonymous March 2004 Very nice place. People were friendly and helpful. The shower was in our room, which was nice, but the drain didn't work well and it wasn't the best feeling to have water covering your ankles. Also, the first sheets that I got had a lot of hairs on them, but I gave them back and there was no problem with me getting new ones. The breakfast in the morning was great. It was overall a pleasant experience. Comment by Jessica from Sheffield, UK January 2004 We went to Jacques Brel on a Trip throught the EU, we were told the rooms were secure and valuables would be safe. So we were on the top floor and were sharing with best friends. So how come did we return to find a phone stolen? Then to find out the other people we were with had had a phone stolen from there too. Then we found out another party had a CD player stolen too! Fishy?? We thought so. We also reported this to reception immediately on return and were met with stark answers (not our problem - maybe you lost them!). We were then not given directions for the police station - we found it ourselves in the end. But overall it was dismal. Breakfast was late being served, we had to be out for 8, and struggled to do this due to breakfast (which was appaling). The room when we first entered didn't appear that bad, but the beds creeked, the mattresses were uncomfortable (they needed to be wrapped in plastic why??), and the chairs were broken and damaged, and half the plug sockets didn't work. We have refused to return to this hostel purely for the the fact it was so bad. We heard of many other groups also at the EU, they had many better hostels than we had... go to the other hostels, and you'll be better impressed. In one word - Shocking! Comment by Anonymous January 2004 Breakfast was awful. The hostel is in a good location for most
5 of 5 6/2/2008 4:14 PM of the major sites in town though, but the staff were pretty vague, and the room needed a good clean. The bar is well priced and free internet (15 min intervals) was good. Comment by Mr Objective December 2003 It's a good hostel. Quite spacious and clean. Three minutes away from metro station. The staff are friendly and helpful. There's a small bristo on ground floor. You can meet lots of backpackers there. I will come back again for sure. Comment by Anonymous October 2003 A very average hostel. Big dorms, a fair walk from the train station. But it was clean and well-run with a half-decent breakfast. Have you visited this hostel? Post your comments here. «Prev 3 of 7 Hostels in Brussels Next» Hostelz.com is the only hostel guide with complete information and reviews on all youth hostels and backpackers worldwide. About Hostelz.com - Contact Hostelz.com - Add a New Hostel - Group Bookings - Reservations at HI - Brussels - Jacques Brel Hostel Copyright 2008 Hostelz.com