I have stayed it the Welcome many times in the past 18 months when in Brussels on business. It is located in the St Catherine district close to the metro and also to many good seafood restaurants. Other good eating places are to be found within 5 minutes walk including Thai and Vietnamese restaurants that line one particular street. The Grande Place is itself within 10 minutes walk.
The hotel is a cosy and friendly place where the 15 rooms are named not in a numerical fashion but after different countries or geographical regions (or in the case of the Silk Road journeys). All rooms are decorated according to their name, many quite delightfully.
I have stayed in probably half of the rooms at the Welcome; my favourites include Tibet which has its own little terrace (it being a superior room) and the Silk Road which is the most luxurious of all being the billed as a suite. It certainly has a great bathroom. However, every room has its charm; Bali, Thailand, Morocco, Congo or any of the other rooms all have their own charm.
Prices are not the cheapest and have increased significantly during the times I have been a regular there. They were 90 Euros for standard rooms back in March 2006 and now I am paying 120 Euros but the place is so often full I guess they can charge according to demand. The better rooms have increased their price correspondingly. Sometimes there is a discount of 5% for payments in cash but this is not a permanent offer. I do believe in recent times the owner has changed and this may have been a factor in increasing the price.
What is included is a reasonable breakfast – traditional Belgium style (aside from cereal and fruit juice there is a range of bread and cheese/salami/ham etc. There are also some hot items and a good coffee machine. There is also a bewildering range of teas.
Staff are almost without exception very friendly and eager to help. They seem to attract quite a lot of tourists by recommendation. At night though the hotel is locked from around 11 and you must enter by a side door. There is Internet access in a common area (apparently free though I have never used it) and umbrellas to borrow (you often seem to need them in Brussels).
Children would love it here though they would need to be on their best behaviour, there are many rooms where a small child could unintentionally damage the decor.
I have to say that price increases have slightly dissuaded me from staying here as much as I used to. I love the location (some say St Catherine’s is not so safe at night but I have not had a problem ever) but I am usually required to be in the EU district and I can often find a 4 or 5 star place there for less if I book on Expedia or similar. However, nowhere I have stayed in Brussels matches this place in its charm and character. If I was coming for a romantic weekend it may not have the same luxuries than the five star chains but it would probably win my vote still. I guess I am partly influanced by the decor; I love to travel and so this place reminds me of so many fantastic places I have been.