This white hotel, with its remarkable height of 27 stories, was built by Hilton as a pioneer international hotel in Brussels in the 1960s. Bought by another hotel group in 2010, it reopened in 2011 as The Hotel Brussels after undergoing a two-year comprehensive renovation. Former US president Barack Obama is said to have made a stay in 2014 with all guest rooms privately reserved.

Stepping through the entrance, guests are met with a spacious and highly fashion-conscious lobby. With comfortable sofas all around, it’s a joy to be able to take a seat here when the mood strikes. Along the wall are square show windows doubling as displays. Though smacking of commercialism just a bit, it presents the space with a look of gaiety.

Upon being shown to my 16th-floor room, my eyes were first struck by the scenic views of Brussels through the windows. The absence of other tall buildings around is said to be due to the fact that Brussels restricted the construction of new high-rise buildings after the hotel was built. Along the window is a sofa 3m in length spanning the full width of the wall, thoughtfully situated to allow guests to take in the scenery stretching out below to their heart’s content.

The room itself is exceedingly simple, as if to suggest that it merely plays a supporting role to the scenic views. The corner where the bathroom is located has every wall painted a dark brown shade, which seems to reduce its sense of presence in contrast to the other bright interiors.

While compact, the bathroom has been designed to give airs of luxury throughout.
The floor and walls feature uniformly subdued color tones, and a large mirror extending clear to the floor behind the washstand gives the space an expansive feel. Recessed slit lighting in the ceiling and indirect lighting from behind the mirror maintains a moderate degree of lighting in the space, giving it a sophisticated impression. Lighting is used to quite skillful effect in European hotels.

The ground-level restaurant takes advantage of its location facing the park behind the hotel. With bright sunlight coming in from the ceiling through arch-shaped windows like one would find in a sunroom, this is a very nice place to be on a sunny morning. With the views of local people walking their dogs in the park outside the windows, it was somehow quite enjoyable to get a sense of life in the neighborhood while having breakfast here.
The restaurant floor features window-facing counter seating spanning the full length of the space. This is not the sort of counter seating one customarily finds, however. Constructed with semicircular tables at fixed intervals, the linear portion of the counter serves as a display shelf for flower vases and the like. “Even with counter seating, the design can make a space this elegant!” I mutter to myself, stuffing my cheeks with freshly baked bread.

For guests who wish to maintain their privacy while taking meals, curtains are available to partition off private dining spaces with a gentle touch. Employing a gold-colored base tone, the design is rather showy, quite a contrast to the public dining just described. Though it was a bit too showy for me to feel relaxed with, there did seem to be something about it that went together with the air of gaiety the hotel entrance presented.
I feel visitors will have a special experience spending time in a historic building taking in panoramic views not to be encountered anywhere else. I can definitely recommend a stay here for those making their first trip to Brussels.