Hotel Julien

Hotel Julien is a lovely property with a relaxed feel. The room was spacious and beautifully decorated. The shared lounge, bar and open fireplace provide a home away from home feel. This was a perfect stay for us in Antwerp.

Experiences may vary at this modern boutique hotel. The interior is gorgeous, with lots of elegant and modern furniture, and the layout is wonderfully quaint. But if your room looks on to the street, be prepared for some restless nights.

It’s difficult to make the room dark, between the quarter-inch gap under the door, curtains that don’t cover the whole window, and, at least in my room, a bathroom door that won’t close, letting in lots of light off the street. There also isn’t much insulation between the room and the street, which mean even conversations come through, every car is loud, and when the tram rolls by it rubbles the room. The interior of the hotel seems like it doesn’t experience all the same noise, so interior rooms are probably quite nice if you can get one of them.

Lastly, the security doesn’t seem great. They use physical keys vice key-cards, and when you leave your key at the front desk to go out, you’ll notice the key box doesn’t lock, and many times when I was coming or going, the front desk was completely unattended, meaning anyone could just come in the door and grab some keys.

It’s a low-cost/high-quality option, but you probably want to look elsewhere first.