vancity_bc_2010
July 7, 2024
My wife and young child were visiting Brussels for 2 nights. We checked in on July 3 at the Renaissance front desk. We walked over to the building for the Executive Apartments, which is obvious need of upgrades in the lobby, elevator and hallways. We went to our room on the 1st floor, and it instantly smelled strongly of cigarette smoke (and thus not an option for our young child to stay in). I went back to the front desk lobby and explained the situation. The lady at the Reception (I believe her name was Alicia), said the room was Non-Smoking, and shouldn’t have been smoked in, but gave us a new key for a new room on the 2nd floor. We opened the door to our new room, which smelled horribly like a chemical factory. We opened the windows and hoped the smell would dissipate, but realized there was no hope for that. It was as if the room was doused in cleaning solution to cover up something that happened inside. The room was also in desperate need for repairs and upgrades, especially the tiny bathroom. We decided this hotel was not for us, and I walked back to the front desk (with a headache from the chemical fumes), explained the situation, and it was as-if they knew exactly what I was talking about and agreed with me and allowed us to cancel and check-out. We then drove around Brussels for 2 hours to find another hotel that had vacancy, which we found at Steingenberger’s Wiltcher’s at a 5x higher rate than what we originally booked at Marriott Executive Apartments. This is the first time in my life I have ever had to check out of a hotel shortly after arrival. I thank the hotel for agreeing to cancel my reservation, the lady at the front desk was very understanding and helpful.