For all its cobble-stoned cultural charm, Brussels is still seen by most Europeans as
the city of bureaucrats. Its wide boulevards leading to grandiose architectural
statements and churches seem appropriate for the administrative heart of
Europe, but just as the EU has lost some of its lustre in recent years, so the
grandeur of Brussels
is these days looking a little faded.
This sad state of affairs is reflected in
some of the city’s hotel offerings. At present, business travellers can expect
a wealth of mediocrity in accommodation offerings from the big international
chains, which seem to have taken their eye off this mature market in the
current rush to expand into new markets and launch new brands. The good news is
that there are a few jewels to lift the spirits and plenty of independent
operators daring to provide something new, exciting and different.
Prominent among these is the be
Manos, situated within a short walk of the
Eurostar terminal at Gare du Midi. The hotel is an oasis of luxurious calm and
ideal for early morning train connections. Its style is a sleek and sexy take
on Seventies retro glamour, with smoked mirrors, and metallic chain-mail
screens and lampshades. White and black public spaces are enlivened with
splashes of deep green, purple, orange, silver and bronze, while guest rooms
are a moody black. The deliberate use of different textures softens the feel –
opaline glass tables, suede and cowhide finishes, and rough-hewn, graphite
schist-clad bathrooms – and both the small business centre with its Panton
chairs and the extensive roof terrace are relaxing spaces for working. The be
Lella restaurant is also excellent, which is just as well as there is nothing
half-decent in the area. Be Manos is part of the Manos Hotels group, a family
business, but make no mistake, this is a professionally run outfit.
At Avenue Louise, the main shopping area for
luxury brands, the 53-room White Hotel is an
attractive proposition. The hotel is a celebration of Belgian design with 60
designers all loaning at least one of their pieces for use (and sale) in the
hotel.The fact that it is a former apartment block means the guest rooms are
large, and their sparse whiteness provides focus for the highlighted design
piece in each room.
Despite the strong association between design
and luxury in the hotel market, owner Jean Michel Andre offers a very honest
product with a clear design ethos and service to match the prices. For the
business traveller there is free wireless internet throughout the hotel, and
the Sony Vaio laptops in the lounge booths are a well-used amenity for those
travelling light.
Another hotel promoting the work of young
creatives is Hotel Bloom.
Centrally located on Rue Royal, just beyond the Jardin Botanique, the former
Royal Crown Hotel is coming to the end of an ongoing refurbishment programme.
Most of the attention has gone to the unique frescoes in each of the 306 rooms.
The result of a European-wide co-operation with artistic institutions, the
images represent different interpretations of the word “bloom” and the result is a wondrous mix of
bizarre cartoon and existential vision. It’s fun, it’s different and absolutely
worth arriving with an open mind. The majority of the guest rooms are complete
as are the lobby and meeting rooms, most of which have natural daylight.
A short distance away, at Place Rogier, the Crowne Plaza
Brussels City
Centre – “Le Palace” has retained its long name
but also undergone a complete facelift. The lobby has more emphasis now on the
building’s Art Nouveau heritage, while colours for the corridor carpets were
inspired by Gustav Klimt. The €9
million refurbishment includes a new air-conditioning system and upgrades to
all 300-plus rooms, mostly in Nouveau-style. Best of the bunch, however, are
the eccentric Century rooms, with many original features including beautiful
fitted cupboards, in-laid wood panelling and marble-topped dressers. All rooms
benefit from free wireless internet connectivity. The meeting rooms have all
been upgraded to create a significant city centre conference space. The atrium
break-out area incorporates the brand’s new Balanced Senses concept, which is
intended to provide a more relaxed atmosphere for meetings, and includes a
running buffet, several internet access points and an ergonomic massage chair.
Also on Place Rogier, opposite the Crowne Plaza,
is the Sheraton Brussels, a
30-storey tower topped with the head office of the EMEA division of Starwood
Hotels and Resorts. Like the square itself, this hotel was in need of a spruce
up, which it has received in part by way of an improved lobby lounge space
where a new brand initiative, Link@Sheraton, has been piloted. This
free-of-charge “business centre” is adjacent to the lobby and bar to encourage
a sense of interaction. PCs are provided, as well as connections for laptops to
the internet and printers. Throw in a limited, complimentary F&B offer and
it beats working in a business centre “cubby hole”. Also coming soon from
Starwood is the first Aloft branded hotel, which is due to open in autumn 2009
with 150 rooms. Meanwhile, the Sheraton Brussels Airport
recently hosted the Miss Belgium pageant as the first event in the Atrium and
Galaxy Centre, newly refurbished by Amsterdam
designers FG Stijl.
The same Dutch duo were responsible for the
interiors at The Dominican,
which opens at the beginning of November. The 150-room property, a member of
the Design Hotels grouping, is centrally located among the narrow lanes leading
to the Grand Place,
opposite La Monnaie theatre. The hotel takes its name from a 15th-century
abbey, and the high, vaulted ceilings of the glazed corridors that look onto
the central atrium lend a monastic air. Otherwise it’s all luxury in terms of
well-proportioned guest rooms, with quality materials and finishes throughout.
The most characterful are those split-level rooms overlooking the atrium, where
the garden and terrace lead to the Salon restaurant and a series of meeting
rooms all with natural daylight.
Among the big brands with something to shout
about is Accor, well-represented in the city with 16 hotels, including “just”
seven at the airport. The newest is the Sofitel Europe, overlooking
the village-like square of Place Jourdan and the European Commission buildings
across Leopold Park. A key feature of the 149-room
hotel is the security, which may have been what persuaded Tony Blair to book
the Presidential Suite when he visited. “We have 65 closed-circuit TV cameras
throughout the public areas of the hotel and can install others to suit the
requirements of the delegations we receive,” explains Evi Van Gestel, assistant
general manager.
The first floor is entirely given over to
meeting spaces, all of which have natural daylight, and a communal break-out
area overlooking the hotel’s vast atrium. This bottoms out, with a waterfall
cascading over a sloping glass wall behind which sits the Technogym equipped
exercise area. The hotel’s restaurant, Spuds, steers well clear of the
simplicity its name might imply with a fine-dining experience. Standard Sofitel
“musts” include the Bibliotech, here a cosy suite of pastel-coloured sofas
around a fireplace and a single workstation. The only other public provision
for business travellers is a single station on the meeting room level, but
wireless connectivity is available throughout the hotel (€19.95 for 24 hours).
Rezidor Hotel Group has opened a new
property, the Radisson SAS EU, as
recently as January 2006, but for most groups it’s a story of sitting tight.
Some refurbishment has taken place and more is scheduled (both the Marriott and
Renaissance hotels will be renovated in the next few years). And certainly the
very top end of the market has not been neglected. A new Magritte Suite has
been created at Rocco Forte’s Hotel Amigo and the Sheraton has a new
Presidential Suite, while the Le Méridien has recently refurbished its largest
suite, l’Appartement.
These are all signs of a mature market but
one which nevertheless sees a high level of business traffic. Perhaps, now that
the vital Eurostar rail link has had a facelift, some of the city’s older
properties will follow suit.
The pride of success
Brussels hoteliers have had a great 2007, with revenue per available room (revPAR) up 10 per cent on the previous year. Average rates rose 8.3 per cent to €106.79, while occupancy was only up 1.5 per cent (to 66.3 per cent). Midweek revPAR (Monday to Thursday) is €47.86 higher than that from the weekend leisure trade. Tuesday is the most expensive day to stay – the average rate across all categories of hotels is €126.97 compared with €70.29 on Saturday, the cheapest night.
Statistics supplied by The Bench, reported for the year to August 31, 2007
