BEST WESTERN Grand Hotel Bellevue

We visited Lille from December the 19th till 23rd 2011. It is a small beautiful town with an intriguing city centre. In this part of the city you will find the most cosy and splendid little shops, contrary to the ones in the shopping mall. The buildings around the Grand Place are magnificent. Be aware that Lille has a large number of beggars: women with children, men with their dogs, lonely people, etc. Probably, the welfare facilities are very low. You could call Lille the city of the beggars!

You are welcomed by a very kind and professional staff, that is always willing to help you. Check in/check out went very smoothly. You only have to sign the already filled out form and give your phone number. Previously sent e-mails were answered within hours.

The hot/cold breakfast buffet is one of the best ever and very abundant: several kinds of bread and sweeties/pastries, a lot of milk, meat and cheese products. There are several kinds of juices, cereals, jams and a great variety of fesh fruit. Here too, staff is very kind and helpful. It is possible to have diner in your room but we did not use it. Moreover it is rather expensive compared to the numerous restaurants nearby. It looks as if the Windsor Bar is part of the hotel, but it has its own entrance from outside. Inside it is uncosy dark.

We asked for a quiet room and we got one. Room 305 is a large, well equipped and soundproofed room (the only noise you hear are the footsteps of people in the upper room). You enter the room through a small entrance hall. It has a large double bed with an excellent box spring mattress and on both sides a bedside cabinet with a small, very well lightening lamp above it. There is a large wide screen TV (with only one English and one German channel), a mini bar, a working table, and coffee/tea facilities (not always common in continental Europe). There is also a large linen cupboard with a safe in it. Sheets are changed every three days. There is a large bathroom with bath tub and a perfectly working shower. There are two towels a person, changed as often as needed. Other amenities consist mainly of liquid soap. Room and bathroom are very clean.

All in all the hotel is very recommendable and the price – quality ratio is very acceptable. The first 3 nights we paid 84,00 euro a night including breakfast (booked through otel.com). Because of a strike in Belgium we had to book a 4th. night and we paid 115,00 euro.
Tip:
1. one of the best restaurants is Flore, 11 Place Rihour, where you can have an excellent diner at reasonable prices.
2. to start your visit to Lille with a 50 min’s tour by bus is very recommendable