Antwerp: Hotel Rubens-Grote Markt (3 Star Hotel)

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Address: Oude beurs 29 , Antwerp 2000, Belgium
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Lonely Planet review

A series of very personal touches gives extra charm to this discreet 36-room hotel. But its biggest draw is its superbly central location, just a stone's throw from the Grote Markt.

The welcome includes a tot of sherry or port and a praline or two waiting on your bed. Rooms are elegantly discreet; mellow-toned with floral Sanderson prints and classical furniture. The vast (80sqm) Rubens Suite has two-way views over the garden and the cathedral. Pink and green corridors are rather bland but improved by Corot and Breughel prints. The hotel is proud to sport what it calls Antwerp's oldest tower, the Pagaddertoren, though in fact this is a little over-restored and isn't particularly spectacular. Much more appealing is the garden, unusually extensive for a city-centre property, behind which is the unusual old clock of the medieval Woolsak building. Behind the gently attractive breakfast area there's also a curious colonnaded area on the patio with pillars that hold token new arches.