Hostel van Gogh

A budget hostel room, but ours was a genuinely private twin room, and the price felt fair with breakfast included. The bedsheets were clean, though you have to put them on yourself. The toilet is small, and the room may not suit taller Europeans. It's a bit far from the centre, over 2 km on foot to the square. You can take a tram or underground with a day pass for Eur9 or a single ticket for about Eur 2.90.

The staff were really nice, and the location is practical for getting around Brussels. Breakfast was okay, and worth making a proper meal of to save on food, because at 40€ or more per night the hostel otherwise isn't worth it. The rooms were dirty, with hair in the sinks and showers and stains on the bed linen. There are no lockers, and the air circulation is very poor. Smokers and non-smokers aren't separated, so the rooms quickly smell of cigarette smoke.

The room was in really bad shape, with no sheets or towels, and the plastic cabinet hardly justifies the price. The walls are so thin I could hear my neighbors whispering. Breakfast was barely anything, just bread, butter, one kind of ham and cheese, and cornflakes. I also saw a man come out of the kitchen and grab everything with his bare hands, touching the table legs, chairs, and then a foot. Definitely not worth this much money.

I booked a bed through Hostelworld in a four-bed female ensuite dorm, but the bathroom was outside the room and shared with other rooms. I told them that wasn't what I'd booked and paid for, but they offered no real solution. They said I'd have to pay the difference if I wanted a single room. They didn't seem to know that the information and pictures on their website were wrong, and Hostelworld was wrong as well. It made me wonder if they do this on purpose, since you think you're getting one thing and then have little recourse when you arrive. I left and booked a hotel instead. Poor handling of the issue, and the area isn't the nicest. The receptionist was super lovely and nice, though. I wouldn't go back.