Brussels Travel Forum

We will be staying in Brussels just one night in August and are considering reserving a room at the Holiday Inn City Centre (Chaussee de Chareroi 38). Can someone tell me if there is a metro stop within walking distance of this hotel? I am concerned because we have to fly out of BRU next morning on a 9:30am flight. I'm planning to take the Airport Express shuttle train and want to be at a hotel that's easy (and economical) enough to get to the Central or Midi station. Also, is there a website showing the Brussels metro stations? Many thanks for your advice!

I think the nearest Metro is Louise - not that close if you have bags, plus you have to change lines to get to Central station. However, I think the tram (#91 + 92) runs along that street and it would take you to the Central station.

I was at a seminar last month in a hotel close to the Holiday Inn, so I had to check it all out

On the other hand, it's a lot less than 1 km, so on anice day with little luggage, it would be a pleasant stroll.

On the Google page, go to google maps, then type in holiday inn, brussels. You can zoom in to see it. Also try central station brussels. Right next to the park.

I think they have a cheek calling that hotel "city centre", as to me this implies that it is in Brussels' downtown area (Louise being uptown - these are literal geographical references, the Louise area being higher up). In my opinion this is not the place to stay if you want to be near a railway station, you would do better with any of the hotels near the Grand' Place, which are therefore also near the Central Station, or even those at Rogier which are near the Gare du Nord (airport trains start at Midi and call at Central then Nord on the way out to the airport). Consider the Ibis "Off Grand' Place" if you can't afford the Méridien, bang opposite Gare centrale.
Anyway, Louise is indeed the nearest metro station to the Holiday Inn (so-called) City Centre, if arriving from Midi you would take metro line 2 direction Simonis then on the same ticket (€1.50) you can take tram 92 (direction Fort Jaco) 1 or 2 stops to Stéphanie or Faider. Reverse the other way around, of course, that is tram 92 direction Schaerbeek then metro line 2 direction Clémenceau.
http://www.stib.be/horaires-dienstregeling.html?l=fr
http://www.stib.be/netplan-plan-reseau.html?l=fr (then click on "plan du réseau" - if you want to include trams you need more than the metro map).
I presume you won't want a nice stroll at 6.30 a.m.! You should be at BRU by 7.30 which means catching the 06:58 train from Midi to get there at 07:26, or the 07:12 to get there at 07:34.

P.S. There isn't a tram 91 any more and tram 92 will not (and never did) take you to the central station, you could get off at Palais and walk or at Parc and change to the metro. I forgot to mention that you can also get the 97 between the hotel and Louise (where it starts/terminates).
I might also suggest the Ibis Gare du Midi, which is in Avenue Fonsny opposite the station. The area isn't pleasant but as you are arriving late and leaving early it shouldn't matter.
Or, you could go straight out to the airport when you arrive and stay at one of the airport hotels, the only one right AT the airport being the Sheraton, but the others have shuttles.

P.S. 2 hotels right by metro stations connected to Gare centrale are the Welcome, right by Ste. Catherine and the Derby, near Mérode.

Thanks so much for your detailed replies. We plan to arrive in Brussels on a Saturday morning (Aug 9), and will spend the day sightseeing before leaving from BRU the next morning. The problem is that we are a family of 4 (includes 2 teenage daughters) plus my mother and sister. To keep the cost down, I'm looking at Holiday Inn as they offer a room for 79euro/night for my family of 4. I checked out Ibis, but they don't seem to offer quad rooms. Many other hotels in that area are quite expensive (by American standard, anyway). I would prefer to stay near the Grand Palace but can't find an economical hotel to accommodate my family. For the sake of convenience, I'm wondering if it's better to spend more and stay near the Central station? Any recommendation for other hotels near there that would suit our situation? Many thanks!