As I've not been abroad for vacation in so long, and I had all of my annual leave to use, I decided to visit Brussels by Eurostar in Business Premier. Business Premier replaced what is known as "first class". With this type of ticket, you get the best seats on the train with plenty of space and leg room, a meal designed by top chefs included in the price, alcohol (a bubbly and snack after seated), priority check in, and use of the Business Premier lounge. Although the journey from London to Brussels is only a couple of hours, I brought a book along to read and found the perfect one set in Brussels in my unread collection.
I arrived early in order to take advantage of the Business Premier lounge. I had access to free magazines and newspapers in the lounge, fruit, cold meats and cheeses, smoothies, pastries, soft drinks, and hot drinks. There was also places to sit and charge laptops and mobiles. I arrived in the morning, so it was only breakfast items being served. Alchohol is provided later in the day, and there were beers on offer. I was impressed with the selection. The only downside is that the lounge was very busy and noisy.
The toilets were not very clean with someone having made a mess and not flushing.
There was plenty of room in the seats.
I opted for the vegetarian meal as I was not keen on the other offering, which was fish. It was a risotto. I didn't eat the first course, and the bread did not taste very fresh. I was not very impressed with the food.
I also paid for Business Premier on the way home, and the lounge at Brussels is very small compared to London. It was quieter, but I also found the lounge to also be noisy with the couple of others who were there. There was less seating and no windows and no natural light.
There was also much less on offer in terms of food and drink, but they did put some alcohol out.
There was a selection of small snacks, and some of them were tasty. The service was not great, though, and the toilets were not clean but not as bad as London's.
On the return trip, I requested the vegan option instead of vegetarian and found it to be tastier. I was also able to eat the full meal, though I wished I could have had the non-vegan dessert.
Would I go Business Premier again and is Business Premier on Eurostar worth the cost? The cost is very expensive. If going from London, I would consider upgrading to Business Premier again, but I would not do it from Brussels.
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