5-star hotel
Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria
After a seventeen-year slumber, the Hotel Astoria has shaken off the dust, re-emerging as the Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria with enough Belle Époque swagger to make a Horta building blush. This isn't just a renovation; it’s a resurrection. The moment you step into the Palm Court, the kaleidoscope of the stained-glass skylight—meticulously recreated from 1910 fragments—sets a regal tone that carries through to the 126 rooms. Here, the heavy lifting of history (Churchill and Dalí checked in, you know) is balanced by modern stealth wealth: whisper-quiet Dyson hairdryers, crisp 400-thread count linens, and Le Labo amenities that smell like expensive secrets. The culinary game is equally serious. Skip the tourist traps for 'Palais Royal,' where Chef David Martin forces a shotgun wedding between French gastronomy and Japanese precision—the squid tagliatelle with samphire emulsion is a textural revelation. For a nightcap, descend into 'Under The Stairs,' a speakeasy that feels illicit in all the right ways. While service still has the occasional wobble of a new opening, the sheer ambition here is undeniable. Brussels finally has its palace back.
