I had a nice 3-night stay at David’s apartment. I rated it as a five star experience and I whole heartedly recommend staying at this apartment, but I share both with a few specific critiques in mind.
The apartment is large (huge!), modern, and extremely clean. Like many Airbnb listings this one requires a cleaning fee, and you can tell that this goes to great use. This appears to be a full time Airbnb listing - meaning that David does not seem to live here and he runs it like a business - and this is my favorite kind of apartment to stay in. The location is incredible, both in terms of access to major tourist sites and proximity to Brussels Central station. Overall, I think the apartment is very well priced and is an incredible value, especially considering some of the added amenities and more modern features. There’s a king sized bed and I found it to be extremely comfortable.
David welcomed me the night before I arrived by sharing a video tour of the apartment (if you stay here I’m sure you’ll receive the same one) which I thought was very smart. It showed me the general layout of the apartment but not all of the details. There were extensive details on how to use the TV, for example, but I never wanted or needed to use the TV. Instead, I used the washer/dryer during my stay and some more details on how to best use each machine would have been helpful. I guessed a cold temperature wash and waited a full 90 minutes to move my wet clothes to the dryer plus a few minutes of panic when the washing machine wouldn’t unlock and release my clothes (I think the solution ended up being…patience?). The dryer got my clothes about 90% dry and I couldn’t for the life of me get them any dryer in spite of starting multiple new cycles. I did not contact David for additional assistance, though, and it’s possible he might have cleared this right up for me had I asked.
Other reviewers noted that the apartment is quiet and from my stay I feel this needs to be qualified. It *can* be extremely quiet. There is no street noise filtering in, I think with credit to quality windows in the living room. But there’s definitely noise coming from most every other direction. The upstairs neighbors - fellow tourists? Full time residents? David and his family? I’ll never know - generated a ton of noise, a la screaming children and what sounded from the bedroom like moving furniture (dragging chairs?) and dropping heavy objects between 8:00 and 10:00 at night two of my three nights. There is a construction site behind the apartment and they started work as early as 8:00 in the morning . And the apartment itself makes all kinds of other knocking, clicking, churning noises. In the bedroom I think it was wind rattling the windows, plus other noises that I think can be attributed to HVAC, electrical appliances cycling on and off, and plumbing (oh boy hold on to your seat if you use the washing machine - the drainage sound reverberates very loudly through the bath tub drain!!). None of these noises were terribly loud and they’re the kinds of noises that you don’t notice in your own environment but when you’re somewhere new they’re all you can hear. Some sounds were loud enough that I thought I heard people knocking at the door multiple times - I doubt that was *actually* the case, and there isn’t a peephole in the door to verify anyway. And none of this prevented me from sleeping. Really I mention the noises because….
From a safety perspective, I didn’t love that anybody with a code could enter the apartment. There is a lock on the door but no key is provided - just a code. To be fair I didn’t ask for a key so that’s on me, and I totally understand why a code system works well for rental units like this. But with all the noises coming from every corner of the apartment….I just felt a little exposed and jumpy about who all could in theory walk right in with a code. I’m not normally this anxious about safety so I own up to this perhaps being a byproduct of my returning to solo travel after two years away throughout the pandemic. But this could be easily remedied, too, with some kind of low tech dead bolt lock on the inside of the door.
Finally, David offered a bag storage solution for after my checkout time that I decided was not a good fit for me. My chief concern was, once again, security but also with a dash of “it doesn’t look very clean where you’re suggesting I store my bag??” I wish I had known earlier that this would be the solution, and ultimately I just schlepped my bags to a tour before heading out of the city. No harm no foul for me but if bag storage is important to you I suggest having this conversation earlier in your stay.
David is communicative and friendly. He has a great apartment and runs a solid business.