In 1910, the city of Brussels opened one of the most luxurious hotels in the world at its time, the astoria. Built by order of King Leopold II, the genocidaire of the Congo, for the Universal Exhibition held in the Belgian capital that year, the building was the work of architect Henri Van Dievoet, a descendant of the architect who ordered and gave splendor to the Grand Place in Brussels, one of the most beautiful architectural complexes on the Old Continent.
Among the Astoria’s first guests was the young Japanese prince Hirohitowho would be emperor half a century later, when he returned to Belgium for the next Universal Exhibition, that of 1958.
Greatness
The Astoria became one of the mythical places in Europe. It was the meeting place of kings and celebrities. The hotel prides itself on having it in its gold book the signatures of Winston ChurchillEisenhower, Ben Gourion, Salvador DaliJames Joyce o Rubinsteinsome of the biggest names in politics and art of the first half of the 20th century.
Of aristocratic bearing due to its Belle Epoque style façade and built on Rue Royale, one of the most prestigious arteries of the capital for decades (it no longer has that honor), for years it was one of the few legendary European hotels, at the level of the Lido of Venice or the Ritz of Paris.
Decline and restoration
over the years was losing that level of luxury and at the same time it faced competition from other large establishments in the city, but Brussels never had a hotel of the level of the Astoria’s first 40 years. Now you will have it.
After a period managed by the Accor Group, in 2008 it was bought by Saudi investments of the ‘Hotels and Resorts’ group. That year it closed and since then work has been done on the Astoria for three decades. In 2016 the Saudis sold the Corinthia Group, that the renovation followed.
This Monday in December the new Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria Brusselswhich is its new name, opened its doors to its first customers. Their 126 rooms (31 suites and five exclusive suites) are a distillation of the most exclusive luxury that can be found right now in European hotels.
The cheapest rates are almost $700 a night and the five exclusive suites are booked for almost $20,000 a night.
The renovation took so many years because mostly It was made by hand and the best craftsmen in the country were sought to return the building to the splendor it had 114 years ago.
The restoration, under the order of the Belgian architect Francis Metzger, even managed to gain eleven meters of depth in the subsoil to integrate a new spa. And its restaurant, ‘Le Petit Bon Bon’, is run by chef Christophe Hardiquest, Michelin star and one of the most successful in the country with his restaurant ‘Mensa’.
The hotel’s advertising ensures that the project, which will change the physiognomy of an entire neighborhoodwhich was the most luxurious in the city but ended up being primarily an administrative district, “is not just about restoring a hotel, but about redefining what luxury hospitality can be.”
One of the masterpieces of the building is the recovered large stained glass window that covers the ceiling of the immense hall reception. A work of art that had to be dismantled in 1947 due to waterproofing problems and that has now been rebuilt as the original from 1910.
The hotel assures that A world-class artist has already reserved an entire floor for several nights next year. Those who are not expected in the new Astoria are the European leaders who travel to Belgium every few months for the European summits (the next one on Thursday the 19th).
The hotel prices would make your stay at the hotel look like a scandalous waste. Perhaps they hope to one day welcome the current emperors of Japan.