5-star hotel
Juliana Hotel Brussels
If Brussels often feels like a bureaucratic maze, the Juliana is the skeleton key to its more hedonistic past. Anchored on the cobblestones of the heritage-listed Place des Martyrs, this 43-room property functions less like a hotel and more like the townhouse of a particularly well-traveled eccentric. The design is a deliberate exercise in mood: dark velvet banquettes, a wrought-iron spiral staircase lifted straight from the 1930s, and a private art collection that demands attention rather than fading into the background. Rooms here trade standardized square footage for character. While the third-floor eaves might feel snug to an American traveler, they offer a hushed intimacy that the sprawling chain hotels nearby can't manufacture. Inside, the specs are razor-sharp: Le Labo has been swapped for Molton Brown, and the silence is absolute—a rarity in this city. Downstairs, the basement spa is the real showstopper, featuring a lap pool lined with Murano glass mosaics inspired by Le Corbusier. It’s dramatic, dimly lit, and usually empty. Dinner at the in-house restaurant is a serious affair. Skip the safe options and order the Limousin beef tartare, followed by the Champagne Tiramisu—a boozy, decadent finish that justifies the room rate alone. The verdict? It’s not for the traveler who needs a taxi to the front door (the square is strictly pedestrian), but for the fashion set, it’s the only address that matters.
