Leonardo Antwerpen Hotel

This was easily the worst hotel stay I've ever had. The parking was stressful too, with an extremely steep, narrow access ramp that made maneuvering difficult. But the bigger problems started in the room: damp air and a strong bad smell, with mould covering the ceiling, especially in the bathroom. We were travelling with children, so I was very concerned about the health risk. I asked reception right away to move us, but they said there were no rooms available. Basic things were missing as well. There was no tissue paper, and the service desk said that because of staff shortages I had to come downstairs to get some. At reception, a staff member handed me loose tissues. When I said that was unhygienic, she said they didn't have tissue boxes and told me to buy one outside if I wanted it. Then another male staff member swore at me aggressively. I felt threatened and left the reception area quickly. Shocking and unprofessional. The room itself had more issues. The heating and cooling were centrally controlled and couldn't be adjusted properly in the room. In early April, cooling was on but there was no heating, which made the room uncomfortable. The fridge and hairdryer didn't work, and the TV couldn't connect to the network. This hotel fell short on cleanliness, safety, service, and basic functionality. I'd strongly advise people to avoid it. If negative ratings were possible, I'd use one.

The staff were very friendly, and breakfast was great. The location is ideal for visiting the city. In winter, though, the heating gets turned off at night, when you need it most. There were no blinds or curtain in the bathroom, and outside lights made the room very bright at night through the bathroom door. The shower pressure was very low, and water came down every morning, leaving the bathroom floor wet.

This hotel is only as good as its manager, and unfortunately the service was terrible this time. Our daughter prepared a meal and special delicacies to welcome us since we were arriving late. The hotel took the bag to deliver to our room, but gave it to another room instead. Even after we provided the receipt, they didn't reimburse us for the bag they'd misplaced. The room also had a torn chair, an uncleaned bathroom, and some electrical sockets that didn't work.

The staff were friendly, the location was great, and our room was clean. The window was probably damaged by age and needed fixing, which we reported to reception. Breakfast was just fine, nothing special, and didn't feel worth the extra cost, especially right in the city center.