4
We had a pleasant stay at Botanic Sanctuary last weekend. The hotel is beautiful and decoration is tasteful and original (in particular in the lobby area). Rooms are nice, spacious and silent, we had a "deluxe room". Bed and shower are excellent. Light controls are inconvenient (many buttons to try and get it right - no simple "mood" buttons for low/middle/max lighting) and there are no lights in the wardrobes. Bottled water is unbranded, no minibar drinks are complimentary (except coffee/tea - the Botanic tea is great), additional 'touches' are minimal (i.e. just chocolates, no additional details as you would see in similarly priced hotels abroad - a half bottle sparkling wine upon arrival would have been appropriate for a three night stay at a LHW). Room service offering is good but comes at an additional service charge which I would expect to be priced into the food items already (€42 for vol-au-vent, €25 for three small cheeses and savoury biscuits were missing, olive oil empty etc.). Breakfast is excellent, especially with the mix buffet / à la carte. The wellness and gym facilities (including changing rooms) are beautiful, well kept and not too crowded, even on a Saturday. Would have been nice to have nuts/tea at the wellness area. Staff is friendly and generally professional but the doorman was overwhelmed at times (e.g. difficulty locating an umbrella, and when we picked up our luggage after our stay, we were simply rushed to select our own bags from a wardrobe - no checks/security whatsoever); concierge knew little about the ongoing 'fashion festival' (e.g. was not aware of shuttle service at the hotel) and I don't think they recognised us even after the third night - e.g. "is this your first time at the spa?" on the third visit in three days. Overall, we had a good experience and would consider this hotel again if we return to Antwerp.