Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

In bed

From funky boutique hotels to extra-special romantic escapes, Guy Dittrich discovers where to sleep in style

D-hotel

KORTRIJK
1 Abdijmolenweg, tel. , www.d-hotel.be

Don’t let the large windmill that presides over the d-hotel fool you into thinking that this is a traditional place. Rather, be prepared for a guest room that seemingly floats in one of the boxy pavilions that comprise the accommodation and meeting facilities of this hotel. Situated in the fields of Flanders to the east of Brussels, in the village of Marke near Kortrijk, the d-hotel is an assured blend of the historic and the modern. Looking across cobbled courtyards, the farmhouse and windmill are both reflected in the vast planes of glass of the new constructs, which are reached via a tunnelled walkway.

The pure Flemish sky that attracted the Renaissance artists is the backdrop, and today’s designers have had a hand in creating the hotel’s d-XL and d-XXL suites. Edouard Vermeulen of the boutique fashion house Natan has prepared a fashion suite and florist Geert Pattyn a horticultural-inspired suite, while diamond jeweller Hulchi Belluni has created a suite featuring examples of his craft. Standard guest rooms are of a good size, with their white volumes flooded with natural light; don’t forget to draw the blackout curtains at night! The d-mixx spa, meanwhile, is a highlight, where the treatments are delivered with passion. Try a soapy hammam-style scrub, a shiatsu massage or a lymphatic drainage treatment to cleanse the system.

Contrasting sharply with the modernity of the sleeping accommodation are the original features of the historic buildings. Here, under the exposed beams of the chapel-like, gabled farmhouse roof, is where breakfast is served. But while the hotel does have a lounge bar, d-drinxx, complete with summer terrace, what it lacks from the leisure traveller’s perspective is a restaurant. There are many nearby options recommended by the hotel, however. Double room with breakfast from €109.

Centurion Palace

VENICE
173 Dorsoduro, tel. , www.sinahotels.com

At Venice’s newest hotel, the drama starts before you even step into the lobby – a glowing ‘chandelier’ of raw, frosted-white glass looms from the high ceiling. Its striking, art installation style is enough to fool you into thinking you’ve arrived at the nearby Peggy Guggenheim museum. You can step into the lobby straight from a gondola, too, as this 50-bedroom hotel is on the Grand Canal. Just across from St Mark’s Square, in the arty Dorsoduro quarter – less tourist tat, more cool galleries cashing in on the Guggenheim crowd – this is the place to be in Venice.

The surprises continue in the bar adjacent to the lobby, as sweeps of red velvet and blue ostrich-leather upholstery contrast with the intimate feel of the Antinco restaurant. Antinco is all glamour and all white, with white-on-white wall reliefs and tables that glow under their tablecloths. Continuing upstairs, each guestroom is a unique combination of modern furnishing and artwork. Rooms on the ‘noble’ floors have incredibly high ceilings, with decorative wood panelling or ornate walk-in fireplaces, while the exposed wooden beams in rooms on the top floor offset the bold interior design. This boldness stretches not only to rich colours, brocade fabrics and leatherwork, but also to all-gold leaf bathrooms.

If it all sounds a bit extravagant, that’s because it is. Venice certainly isn’t a place to scrimp and save.

But with its striking design and a young, enthusiastic crew (whose dress code is more casual than that of counterparts in the grande dame hotels of the Venetian archipelago), the Centurion Palace makes for a refreshing dose of modernity in a city that trades on its antediluvian heritage. Double room with breakfast from €230.

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