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Advantages: Nice bright conference room Disadvantages: Desperately in need of refurb and NEW reception staff
The Ramada in Antwerp is based in a rather striking mirrored building but delivers rather less than the sparkling exterior would suggest. I've stayed there several times and always come away thinking that just a little more effort could make this into a pretty nice hotel but I can't imagine that happening, mostly due to the rather dour attitude of the staff.
Customer Service? What's that?
On my most recent visit, I arrived by taxi from Brussels airport, squeezed myself and my wheelie-bag through the rotating door, was as always impressed by the nice looking lobby and then brought quickly back down to earth by the utter indifference of the reception staff. I waited for a ridiculously long time whilst the receptionist held a convoluted conversation with an elderly lady in front of me. Despite leaving the desk and popping into ...
Advantages: If you want mussels there's plenty of choice at Bacino Disadvantages: Think twice about trying 5 different types
. On my last visit they told me they will soon be moving back to the UK so I'll be able to see them more often but it means my future visits to Antwerp for work will see me sitting sad and lonely in my hotel room. Since this was our last opportunity to fulfil our search for that very Belgian classic dish, mussels and fries, we headed into the city to look for dinner.
Our previous mussel hunt in December had been unsuccessful. Lured into a restaurant by the promise of shellfish we were disappointed to find a mussel-free zone. So this time we took no chances and chose Bacino, a restaurant where Katya had eaten mussels several times before and where they specialise in these little critters. I'm not frightened of seafood but I do think that mussels are best eaten in restaurants that turn over a lot of them and are used to dealing with these ...
When does a hotel go from being basic to being a bit of a dive. I pondered this question on my recent stay at the Tourist Hotel in Antwerp.
The Tourist Hotel is a 2/3 star hotel (depending on which website you consult) across the road from Antwerp's main railway station. I stayed there for three nights in August. We booked the hotel via a special offer in the Metro. We were attracted to it as it was very reasonable. We paid £135 per person for Eurostar travel and three nights accommodation (the deal was to get three nights for the price of one).We were not too bothered about the hotel as it was a place to sleep, eat breakfast and wash as we were going to explore Antwerp not sit in a hotel.
The hotel as stated is in a block just across from the railway station so it was ultra easy to find. Our first impressions were good ...
