After being a top reviewer for Google Maps (in the top 1%) and for Trip Advisor (top 10%) since last year (let me brag about it a bit please *flips her hair*) , I can say that I made myself quite an expert in reviewing hotels as I find it a nice way to help other Wanderers like me to find a great place to stay.

I have been reviewing hotels from Mexico to Asia, passing through Africa and Europe and this time, I had my eyes on the new (it opened in November 2019, so a month ago) A-Stay in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

As you know, if you have been following my Wandering Cloud for a while now, I am a big fan of hotels offering eco-friendly solutions and practicals (and with cozy atmosphere or great locations to explore), as for example the Pop! Hotel Kelapa Gading in Jakarta, which has became our second home in Jakarta (it’s the one that is connected to one of the biggest mall in the Indonesian Megalopoli).

So I spoke with my friend Laura who works for The Kube Agency in Antwerp about which hotel could fill my requests, and she suggested me the A-Stay, and I proceeded with making a reservation for me and William for one night.

I arrived yesterday and we parked in one of the many public parking spots around the block (cost per day is around 18 euro)

Then we went to do our check-in, which consists in scanning your ID/Passport/Driving license into a machine with touch screen and you just have to follow the instructions that will appear on the screen. It took us less than five minutes, pushing it into one of the fastest check-ins we ever did.

You can also scan your palm of the hand to use it as room key for the time you will be staying at the hotel, which for someone like me who usually always leave the key behind or have her key-card demagnetized at least once or twice, is a great thing.

And because finally I can say that I can open doors with the mere power of my hands.

We got a room at the 10th floor, so we reached our room, noticing how many mirrors with nice decorations were disposed along the alleys, all meant for guests to take their selfies and post them on the social networks.

I finally could use my “hand-key”, opened the door and what a nice, cozy and relaxing room!

It’s not big, yet everything is studied with such a smart projecting that the room feels airy and well organized. It has a big shower, and the toilette which in a separated glassed part from the shower part.

The sink is right on the right as soon as you step into the room and as a huge space for cosmetic bags and make up, also the lighting is great to do your make up, which is not always a granted thing in hotels, most of times I end up doing mine in front of the window for the poor lightening of bathrooms, but A-Stay really did a great job with it. Wish I had this kind of space and light at home!

There is no closet but there is a smart rack where you can hang your clothes and another one where you can hang your coat, bags, whatever you want on the side, and a decent number of drawers also.

There is a mini-bar, empty but that can be filled with whatever you want, and I highly suggest you to try the mini-shop in the common area near the lobby, they have a great selection of organic snacks, drinks and some great tasting wines.

The whole room is controlled by electronic panels with multiple settings for lights, curtains (the windows are furnished with cushions so you can seat there and see Antwerp from above…my heart melted when I saw it, always wanted a window like that to sit there and write), and night mode which turns off everything and pulls the curtains down, while in the morning it opens the curtains and turns on the lights.

Your phone can be placed and plugged in a nice small place right on the side of the bed so you don’t have to battle on where to leave it.

The beds, as some of you were already asking through my Instagram when I posted the photo about me being at the A-Stay, are incredible. I am incredibly picky with hotels beds and not because I want them to be prepared with gold sheets but because I travel so much that I need to make the best out of the few hours that I will be able to sleep at the hotel.

So I am glad to tell that easily, the A-Stay sky rocked itself into the top five best beds I had while staying in an hotel.

You literally sink into it, I felt asleep in less than 10 minutes while usually it takes me forever as I roll here and there, but this bed was just perfect. Two kinds of pillows, one harder and the other one softer, the great duvet and the mattress topper also made in duvet style.

The hotel A-Stay is about 100 meters from the Central Station of Antwerp and about 300 from the main street which is full of places where to eat (sushi, fast-foods, italians…) and shops, you can easily walk there and just a couple of blocks away there is the famous chocolaterie Del Rey, renowned for being the best chocolate shop in Antwerp.

You can’t say that you have been visiting Antwerp without stopping at Del Rey.

We also had breakfast, which was included with our reservation and it is composed by fruits, cereals, a nice variety of fresh croissants and bread, yogurts, ham, cheese, salami and a great selection of coffees, cappuccino, lattes, juices and so on.

I really enjoyed ordering my drinks through the iPad, I mean, wish I could have the same app at home. How cool would it be?

Here you have a photo of the magical iPad dispensing caffeine to the common mortals addicted to it like me:

I am really starting wondering when I will collaborate with some coffee brand because by my blog and social networks, it’s an increasing amount of photos of me having coffees.

Getting back at the A-Stay, we had the check-out at 11am so we went again to the same computers we used to check-in, clicked on check-out (you can also check-out with your hand), and in literally ten seconds we were checked-out.

No need of waiting, no need of anything but a pair of clicks on the screen and inserting your key-room into the base of the computer. That’s it.

So overall, I would like to give my five stars to this young hotel, as they really make their best efforts to make the A-Stay a 360 degrees experience.

And it is absolutely instagrammable, wherever you turn your head to, there is something that you can use for your medias, so influencers and bloggers, there you go.

They have also the opportunity of staying there up to a year, and they have a laundry/drying machines room, a business meeting room, a gym and many amenities to make your Staying the more A classified as possible.

Looking forward for your opinions and personal experiences with this hotel! Leave a comment here or on my social networks!