Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Modern marvels

Text Guy Dittrich

The newest hotels in the Belgian capital offer the perfect place for design-lovers to rest their heads

When it comes to staying in the Belgian capital, there’s a host of exciting hotels to choose from. The burgeoning creative talent in the city is surfing the wave with a rash of new developments, but it’s not only interior designers who are getting in on the act. Independent Belgian fashion creatives Jean-Paul Knott and Pascale Kervan have added some verve and vibrancy to the Fashion Rooms at the previously rather staid Royal Windsor Hotel (5 Rue Duquesnoy, tel. , royalwindsorbrussels.com, double rooms from €155) just off Grand’Place, for example.

This is typical of the mood-grabbing Brussels hoteliers right now. We take a look at the innovative projects making a stay in Europe’s capital a contemporary design experience.

The Dominican
9 Rue Léopold, tel. , www.dominican.be, double rooms from €180

The Food Book at the newly opened Dominican says a lot about the break with conformity offered by this member of the Carlton Hotel Collection and Design Hotels (designhotels.com). The menu’s variety of dishes – from breakfast to tapas, and including Belgian specials such as the warm Herve cheese with syrup of Liège and poached pear – are all available throughout the day. Want breakfast for dinner? No problem. The choice of where to eat is yours, too, whether that’s in the Lounge Bar with its cobalt-blue chairs and chrome side tables or the main restaurant, Grand Lounge, with its delicate lilac velvet dining chairs.

The hotel’s interiors are by Dutch-based design duo Gerard Glintmeijer and Colin Finnegan of FG Stijl, who were inspired by the flexible approach to hospitality and the spatial openness of the building. Entering the hotel’s monumental façade through tall and ornate glass and steel doors, guests are faced with twin fireplaces. “By integrating the fireplaces with the music and scented candles of the open ground floor space, we’re trying to create a public area that doesn’t scream ‘Hotel!’”, says Glintmeijer, FG Stijl’s director of interior architecture.

The lobby looks directly on to a cloistered courtyard, surrounded by an arcade of vaulted ceilings reminiscent of the abbey that once stood in this location. There are other monastic interpretations in this luxury hotel. Gregorian chants play softly in rooms and FG Stijl has made extensive, if subtle, use of a Gothic-based pattern of interconnected trefoils and cusping arcs. This motif is etched on mirrors and light shades, and echoed in reverse on carpets in the guest rooms. “This is just one of several hidden stories included in our concept, which will slowly reveal themselves to guests who take the time to look,” says Finnegan, FG Stijl’s director of concept design. Perhaps over a contemplative coffee from the in-room Nespresso machine while gazing from the window banquette seating?

The unquestionable masculinity of the dark wood cabinets in the guest rooms and bathrooms is relieved by the use of rich oranges, greens and blues, and sumptuous fabrics. The large bathrooms include heated mirrors and washstands custom-designed by FG Stijl. Such customisation is typical of the company’s work. “We try to bring a sense of individuality to each project by altering almost every piece we use,” says Glintmeijer. “Be that a different upholstery or table height, it all goes to create a unique environment.” The pair have also used their own furniture. The two Victoria sofas upholstered in crushed gold velvet, which take centre stage in Grand Lounge, are from their Anglo-Dutch furniture range for Interna.

FG Stijl’s involvement even extends to the design of the staff uniforms. The cropped halter-neck outfits are a departure for the interior designers but are indicative of the all-encompassing brief they were allowed. “It’s rare that we’re given such a free hand in creating the whole design experience in a project,” says Glintmeijer. “The Dominican presented an opportunity to take our work to the next level.” A level of design that’s now available to all.

Hotel Bloom!
250 Rue Royale, tel. , www.hotelbloom.com, double rooms €115-€250

Bringing a sense of individuality to a large hotel is never easy. Aldert Schaaphok took a big leap of faith when it came to the successful realisation of the unique frescoes above each headboard in the 306 rooms of Hotel Bloom! The artworks are the result of cooperation with artistic institutions across Europe, bringing students into the hotel to realise their interpretation of the word ‘bloom’.

The new name of the former Royal Crown Hotel and its location near Jardin Botanique on Rue Royal are no coincidence. From the fairytale chinoiserie story of Swede Matilda Ruta to the red ‘heartbeats’ of Scot Brian Dickson, there’s an artistic interpretation to meet everyone’s taste. Even if you have to visit several times to find your favourite.

Hôtel Café Pacific
57 Rue Antoine Dansaert, tel. , www.hotelcafepacific.com, double rooms €149-€179

Located in the Flemish creative quarter on fashionable Rue Danseart, Hôtel Café Pacific oozes modern charm but hasn’t forgotten its Belgian heritage. The original wood-panelled intimacy of the street-level café – with its stained glass skylight and ceiling coving – are in marked contrast to the compact white guest rooms from architect Marc Humblet. Humblet’s contribution here extends to custom-designed circular washstands and the tables in the café.

Husband and wife team David and Noëlle Ippersiel have ensured a high level of comfort and attention to detail in this 12-room bolt-hole. Linens and towels are from Mia Zia and the artwork ranges from subtly blurred nudes to fuschia pink wind-bells. (It’s actually 13 rooms including a quirky duplex, but the superstitious Ippersiels don’t like to talk about that!)

The White Hotel
212 Avenue Louise, tel. , www.thewhitehotel.be, double rooms from €115

Along with hotel owner Jean-Michael Andre, designer and author Lise Coirier has shaped The White Hotel into a celebration of Belgian design. Each of the 53 guest rooms features furniture from Belgian designers, including the PicNik table by Xavier Lust and Dirk Wyants, and the Lounge Chair by Maarten Van Severen for Vitra.

In true gallery style, and in keeping with the name, the interiors of the guest rooms are predominantly white. The building’s slender floorplan has also been clever exploited by interior designer Michel Penneman. The ‘wave’ of his undulating countertop defines different zones along its 55m length, linking the rubberised Quinze & Milan furniture of the lounge bar with the breakfast booths and reception desk.

Situated close to the luxury retail experience of Brussels, the pricing clearly positions it as the hotel of choice for the up-and-coming designers it promotes with such fervour.

Be Manos
23 Square de l’Aviation, tel. , www.bemanos.com, double rooms from €295

Located near Gare du Midi, Be Manos is a radical departure for the owners of this comfortable-yet-traditional Brussels chain.

Be Manos offers a sophisticated take on 1970s glamour. Pierre Cardin chain-mail fabric has been used in screens and lampshades, while splashes of Mary Quant colours, such as deep green, and orange, and the whiteness of Be Lella restaurant contrast with predominantly black interiors.

In the guest rooms, an otherwise masculine feel is softened by owner Constantin Poulgouras’s clever use of textures, such as suede, hide, opaline glass and rough-hewn slate.

It’s getting rarer to find a successful family-run hotel. One that’s also owner-designed is even more praiseworthy.

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