Crowne Plaza Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp is about 70 minutes north of Brussels by intercity train and was the next stop on my European tour and I’d chosen to stay at the Crowne Plaza.

Crowne Plaza Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium

The hotel is in Antwerp South next to Antwerp Expo, so it’s a little out of the city but there’s both buses and trams close by for the ~15 minute ride into Central Antwerp and a taxi to Central Station is all of €12.

Crowne Plaza’s are generally a notch down the pecking order when compared to either InterContinentals or Hiltons, but I was pleasantly surprised with this property. The lobby was spacious, light and clean, and the hotel bar / restaurant seemed to be the local meeting place as it was always buzzing.

In contrast to the tardy check-in at the Brussels Hilton, the check-in here was super fast and efficient and I was on my way to my room within 5 minutes of walking in the front door.

My room was smaller that what I’d had at the Hiltons in Brussels and Paris but as I was only sleeping here for a couple of nights it was more than large enough. I’d hazard a guess that it’s been recently renovated.

I had huge ceiling to floor windows with a view of Nachtegalen Park which was the location for the archery competition in the 1920 summer Olympics.

The bar / restaurant had a great menu and I had a couple of good feeds, and the beer list was superb as well.

All round a good hotel but a little far out of the city for my liking. If I go back to Antwerp I’d probably stay much closer to Central Station.