Description: Built as a luxury hotel in the 1890s, the Flanders Hotel was a home away from home for many famous people in its heyday. Reminiscent of the luxury cruise ships of the 1940s, the hotel has 48 recently renovated rooms.
There aren’t enough adjectives to describe how much we loved this hotel. We were welcomed with a smile at 11am. People were in the midst of checking out as we were checking in. If our room wasn’t ready, we were told that they would be more than happy to store our luggage. This is where we met Stephan, who we saw everyday thereafter. He is Belgian and always made helping seem like a pleasure. He called a cab for us on several occasions and stored our luggage for us on Sunday. What is most amazing is that every other employee that we met was just as amusing, helpful, and friendly. Everyone seemed to be proud of their hotel and happy to be working there.
We had a double/double room on the 7th floor. I would describe the room size as European. It was compact but very comfortable. There were two upholstered chairs and a table in front of the bay windows. We had an Art Deco dresser
and a very pretty mirror. There was one nightstand between the beds. The closet is open, and it is outside the bathroom door.
The bathroom is also petite. It has a tub and shower combination and a pedestal sink with a mirror. The window is recessed, so it makes a shelf, and there is a glass shelf with amenities on the wall. There is no waste of space. The walls and the floor are tiled with a neutral color. Everything was immaculate.
Breakfast is included in the rate. It is a nice continental breakfast with coffee and tea, cereal, Danish, croissant, English muffins, waffles, fresh bagels, and whole fruit. It is served in the parlor off the lobby. Fruit is available all day if you need a snack.
In the basement, there is a small gym, Internet access, and machines for ice, drinks, and snacks as well, as a big rack of travel brochures.
Architectural touches are evident throughout the building. From the fireplace in the lobby
with stained-glass transoms to the beautiful brick exterior, it is visually pleasing. Every effort was made to preserve the original Art Deco beauty.
This is also a gay-friendly hotel in a gay-friendly neighborhood. Not that everyone here was gay - there were plenty of mature married couples and people from all over the world. One thing I didn’t see was any children.
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