Happy 2009 everyone. Having trouble juggling the hours in the day....but have managed to come throu...
Happy 2009 everyone. Having trouble juggling the hours in the day....but have managed to come through with a review at long last. :)
Member since:03.08.2001
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We have just got back from another excellent long weekend to Belgium. This time we used Ostend as our base and were traveling with a party of 17 adults. The trip cost us £200 pounds each and this included our transport (in a 16 seater coach ~ the extra person was our mate the bus driver), crossing on the Channel Tunnel and three nights B&B in the Imperial Hotel. The Imperial is part of the Best Western chain ~ a large hotel group that has hotels all over the world.
~~~WHERE IS THE IMPERIAL HOTEL?
The hotel can be found at 76 Van Iseghenlaan in the centre of Ostend. It is around ten to fifteen minutes walk from the Train and Tram stations and is in an excellent location. It is within sight of the seafront, beach and the main Albert Promenade and is also just opposite the Casino. We picked the hotel primarily because of this good location ~ there are a couple of excellent bars in the centre and this place was only about five minutes walk from both of them (Ostens Bierhuis and T'Botteltje on Louisastraat). The Imperial is also really close to the shopping area, the marina and all the other bars and eateries!
The only trouble with the location (and actually with Ostend in general at the moment) is the amount of building work going on around the town. There is a building site opposite the Casino and the noise started at 6.30am on Monday morning and was extremely loud! This wasn't really
a problem for us because most of our stay was over the weekend and they weren't at work ~ it could have been annoying during a weekday visit. That said…I'm not sure many places in Ostend would be noise and building work free right now.
~~~WHAT IS IT LIKE?
From the front the Imperial is quite pleasant and traditional looking. When we got there it was raining so it did look a bit grey and drab, but when the sun cam out it actually looked quite nice. It is an eight story building with the front door opening directly onto the street. There are no steps leading into the hotel and the front doors and restaurant and easy to get to ~ disabled access is ok up 'til this point, but the rest of the hotel is a little less accessible. There is one very small, very old lift serving the whole hotel and the stairs are very narrow and winding. This is probably due to the age of the hotel and it does seem as though they are trying to renovate gradually. The lack of lifts wasn't a huge problem for us because most of the time the place wasn't too busy. It only became a nuisance when we were trying to get our cases up and down.
There is no car park at the hotel and the nearby public parking was €15 per day. This wasn't bad between us and meant we were sure the coach was safe for the whole of the stay.
~~~CHECK IN AND CHECK OUT.
As we arrived in a group we checked in and out together. We arrived a bit too early and found our rooms wouldn't be available until three o'clock (it says 2pm on the website, so it's worth checking before you go). The lady on the reception desk said we could leave our bags in a secure room downstairs and she allocated our rooms ready, so we could go away to get some food and just get our keys whenever we returned. This was great and meant we knew which rooms to ask for and didn't have to stick together in a big group all afternoon ~ try getting a meal for 17 without booking! We checked out after breakfast on the Monday and all we had to was hand in our keys, pay and leave ~ simple and all done without fuss!
~~~ROOM RATES & BOOKING.
Our trip was booked for us and was included in the price of the trip as a whole. There are various discount sites were you can get special deals and the hotel itself offers special rates for visits (including a New Year Special). I checked on the Best Western website and the price of one night's B&B varied depending on the standard of room and which options you choose ~ there is a corporate rate for example.
Standard charges seem to rest at 100 EUR per room per night (80 for a single) and there is a choice of twin, double or single rooms (an option for a pull out bed the make a triple room was offered too). I have included the hotel web address at the end so you can have a look for yourself ~ I would recommend shopping around though because it seemed much cheaper to book online on the discount holiday sites (for example 42.00 EUR to 72.00 EUR on http://www.bookingsavings.com/index.html).
~~~ROOMS.
We had a double room on the fourth floor. The room was at the end of a corridor and we were a little worried because, after the nice marbled and airy reception area, the corridor and stairs were a little dark and drab. We opened the door, turned the light on and were actually pleasantly surprised. There was a small corridor leading to a reasonable sized room, containing a double bed, television, dressing table, chairs, a case rest, two wardrobes, a telephone and plenty of floor space to manouver around the beds.
We even found there was a radio built into the headboard! The windows had good thick curtains and we could also see the sea. Apparently the rooms on the higher floors have better views and you don't have to pay any supplements
Pictures of Best Western Hotel Imperial, Ostende
The hotel front.
for requesting a sea view. The windows also opened and closed ~ a bit of a bonus for us who have had a lot of trouble with hotel windows in the past!The bathroom was also a pretty good size and had toilet, basin, bidet and bath with shower attachment. It was spotlessly clean and had a good supply of toilet paper and little bottles of shower gel and shampoo. This was actually very nice because normally these come in little sachets and are harder to use than bottles with lids. There was also a hairdryer in the bathroom ~ although it would be nice if they mentioned that on the website because I still had to take mine because I didn't want to be without one!
If you asked at reception you could have a room fan (we didn't need one although the room was nice and warm) and could also have a tray with tea and coffee making facilities. This was all free but the nice receptionist explained that they didn't have enough fans and kettles for the whole hotel, so only gave them to people who asked.
~~~FOOD & DRINK.
Breakfast is served in the breakfast room looking out onto the street ~ it is rather nice to have breakfast watching the world go by. The breakfast wasn't the best I had ever had to be honest but it was filling enough and there was a reasonable selection. Breakfast was available from 7.30am until 10am too, so this meant the room didn't get too full as people had plenty of time to spread out their eating. There was a selection of continental breakfast fayre ~ two sorts of chilled fruit juice (and it was PROPER juice), tea or coffee, a variety of breads and crackers, cheese, fruit, yoghurts, spreads and cold meat. There were no eggs though, unless you ordered them the night before and paid a supplement! The staff were efficient and quick, filling up the plates on the buffet quickly and bringing the drinks (which seemed unlimited).
There is also a cocktail bar in the hotel that opens until midnight ~ there are so many bars in Ostend that open later, so we never actually managed a drink in the hotel! The hotel also offers half and full board in the restaurant, but this is only offered to group bookings. We were offered this when booking, but we wanted the freedom to stay out all day and eat out, so didn't take them up on this service.
~~~OTHER FACILITIES.
The Imperial also has a PC in the lobby and offers wireless internet access for anyone who needs it. The hotel seemed really popular with business people and there was a HUGE party of Japanese people on a business trip while we were there (I've never seen so many people get on a coach in my life!). They also offer a Guest laundry service and have access to tenniscourts, a golf course and pets are allowed for a supplement per night, We didn't need to use any of these facilities so I can't comment on how good they were, only that they are available!
~~~FINAL THOUGHTS.
Although it is not the cheapest or the best hotel I have ever stayed in I was comfortable and cosy in during my stay. The room was warm and the bed comfy with TWO pillows ~ I have stayed in lots of hotels where there is only one thin pillow and have left with neck ache after a few days stay. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the hotel in general although did find some areas a little shabby (not dirty, just a bit old). The breakfast room and reception area were very nice and quite posh looking ~ these we learned had not long since been renovated although still retaining a lot of charm.
The location of the Imperial also makes it a good base for a holiday. It is near all the major facilities and is really near the beach and within easy reach of the stations, making it ideal for us who wanted to explore the area by tram and train. We also found a tram stop just around the corner from the hotel for added convenience. It was a good choice of hotel for our needs and we will certainly stay there again if we go to Ostend again. Despite one or two quibbles (the lifts, etc) the overall impression we got was favourable and I was pleased with friendliness and level of service we received,
A recommended hotel!
~~~HOTEL INFO. Best Western Hotel Imperial, Van Iseghemlaan 76 Ostend Belgium http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=92601&group=false
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