Review & Pictures by Shaun Troke
Located very centrally, the Happy Guesthouse is close enough to everything in the city centre:
It’s close enough that, in just a couple of minutes, you can be purchasing €1 waffles on Rue de l’Etuve, along with taking a snap of the Manneken Pis.
And it’s not too close to the centre that you’ll hear buskers belting out Adele songs from your window!
Location is one of the many qualities I loved about the Happy Guesthouse.
Other loved qualities of this cute Guesthouse include:
Exterior/Entrance
From the outside, when you look through the huge front window, you see what you get: An entrance that doubles for an eating/working space.
With a long table stretching from one end of the room to the other, it’s a great place to sit & eat (or work, as it was here where I first drafted this Happy Guesthouse review!), and to watch the world go by outside (and, trust me, the world likes to look back, too!)
Design
Sophie (the owner) told me that it was her & friends who designed how the guesthouse would look. And, you can see how amazingly they’ve taken each & every one of the four rooms in the building and made it suit their theme.
The walls are white, and, the furniture is wood, and, large mirrors are placed strategically to help add to the sense of spaciousness.
Also, you should know that it was Sophie who designed the actual beds herself, which have perfectly placed shelving around the bed (and, great to sleep on, too!)
Environment
Sophie also mentioned that her guesthouse attracts the return of many business-types during the week, and I can totally see why…
Underneath the windows is a worktop workspace (with a phone dock), allowing you to set-up your laptop and work away while looking out on the streets below.
The room is peaceful.
With tall windows to prevent any feeling of claustrophobia, and, included in your stay are generous beverage making facilities (including biscuits!).
This really is the best working environment!
The pillows…oh my word, those lovely pillows! That’s all I need to say…
Eating
Like with everything in this Guesthouse, breakfast comes with a personal touch, too.
The effort that goes into the generous home made breakfast is outstanding: From specific types of bread, to cheeses made by a local cheese-maker, to the jams & spreads that are home made…all of these add to creating a feeling of ‘home’.
My own personal breakfast experience on this particular morning was spent talking travel with the owner & two other guests (a newly-wed Korean couple on a two-month honeymoon, country-jumping through Europe)…
We even ended up talking about laundry, too!
Ahh, talking filth over breakfast…
Security
It’s worth mentioning that the Happy Guesthouse is absolutely secure.
Rogue passer-by’s cannot walk in off street, since this six-storey building can only be accessed through electronic key fobs & door codes – once you’re inside, the outside world remains outside.
Decision
What’s lovable about the Happy Guesthouse is that it feels as though it caters for the individual(s) & couples, rather than groups.
Whereas some hotels can separate people into doing their own thing, Happy Guesthouse seems to bridge that gap, by joining its occupants, mostly around the breakfast table, over a home made breakfast, while always making you feel like you’re at home…
To quote my own review in their Guestbook: “Like Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, there’s no place like it!”
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