Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria Brussels

The Corinthia Grand Hotel offers an unparalleled guest experience. It feels as if the management team gives the entire staff a superbowl winning pump up speech each morning, which they all hurrah to. I can only explain it as if every single employee of wants you to feel like a foreign diplomat visiting their country for the first time. Each one of them is not only happy to assist you but proud to be doing so. The bellhop races to pick up your luggage while another holds an umbrella for you. The front desk manager, proudly invites you on a tour of his hotel remarking at the extravagant renovations and hinting to parts you may enjoy most. The spa staff asks about your travels and recommends treatments to best suit your specific needs. You don’t have a razor to shave before your meeting tomorrow? One will be hand delivered to your room. Without a doubt, the most polished hotel staff who have ever taken care of my visit. These guys want to be the best and deliver every single time. Everything feels fresh because it is. The grand old hotel, has been preserved and modernized to the fullest extent. The lavish atrium when you enter is abundant with sunlight and shinny marble floors. Each dining experience in the hotel has its own distinct feel and curated menu. The upscale speakeasy style bar feels like a place where you can enjoy a drink while quietly reading a book or exchange stories with other jubilant travelers. You’ll want sit at each couch and arm chair as they all look so welcoming and offer their own experience of the lounge. The spa, pool and hot tub is state of the art and essential to your stay. The relaxation room is a phenomenal touch which I haven’t seen before. Here you can enjoy herbal teas, admire stunning photography books or just shut your eyes post treatment before returning to your day. The bedrooms are a real winner as that is ultimately why we are here. I promise you’ll feel at ease the moment you step in. I appreciated the incredibly plushy comforters + bed sheets, high ceilings, tall windows, and modern touches like air play to the TV and integrated Bluetooth speakers in the bathroom allowing you to listen to your own music as you bathe. Room service is fire and has its own distinct hot menu and 24/7 late night option too! The Corinthia Hotel is unmatched and I encourage everyone to stay there even if just for a night as a did. It feels like a resort and delivers on all fronts. Bravo to the management team and staff you guys nailed it.

Living in Brussels it was just a voyage of discovery of the hotel facilities. The hotel is beautiful - restored after more than 20 years of closure. The staff are more than welcoming, helpful and excellently professional. A joy to re-visit after such a very long absence

And that is.... for a start... a more welcoming staff -which was short of being plain rude, from the reception desk to the breakfast room. Room was nice, medium sized to Bxl standards. Some heating misfunctions but I suspect that has been fixed since then and I must stress the maid tried to solve the problem by bringing us a little electrical radiator (which was far from sufficient) together with what might be the only smile we ever saw within the hotel’s walls. Location is very convenient yet not too central so parking is easily available in the street. We attended a concert on New Years eve and had not booked a table for after concert dinner, expecting to easily find something available at 11 at night. Quite a mistake. We then headed back to the hotel, arriving shortly after midnight to discover the restaurants and bar were closed already. Other souls, apparently as lost as us, were wandering aimlessly in the lobby, probably for the same reasons. There is, however, a good side to having dined – and changed years- on little more than crackers and cheese from the (very basic) room service : it is quite unforgettable and we still laugh at the evocation. The building itself is beautiful, needs some refreshment but not too urgently – all in all I really dont mind slightly tired upholsteries… Bar is very comfortable and a pleasant retreat after a busy day…. but, as I said, closes at midnight…. Nice varied hot buffet breakfast. On our departure, the reception clark spontaneously offered us our minibar consumptions as a compensation for the poor late night snack possibilities… and we hadn’t even complained nor asked anything. However we suspect other guests might have, as some of them seemed quite upset about it. We did appreciate the gesture.

I've stayed at the Sofitel Astoria in Brussels several times over the past years and if you're after genuine old world charm and elegance then this is the place to stay in Brussels, however if it's full service luxury then it might be best to choose one of the more modern Sofitel's. On 2 occasions the reception upgraded me to a suite at no extra charge which made for an exceptional stay. The room service was superb with a maid even coming in when I was out for dinner to turn my bed down and lay out complimentary slippers and a robe! The restaurant is one of the grandest settings I've seen in a hotel but the cuisine isn't anything special and a bit overpriced. However, in my opinion the whole point of staying in the city centre (especially in Brussels) is to go out and experience proper restaurants so it's ideal to have such a nice restaurant/bar for breakfast and an evening drink.

For a 3 night weekend in Brussels, we chose the Astoria believing that a the grand sounding description would make for a nice weekend. First impressions were fine, the room was clean and comfortable, and it had a great bathroom. But we then found that the restaurant was not open on Friday, Saturday and Sundays!! Breakfast was ok, but the lounge / bar area was not particularly welcoming. The decor, carpets etc were all looking very tired, and its situation is a good 15 / 20 minute walk from the Grand Place area. 2 night / 3 day stay would have long enough in Brussels, but it does have some beautiful buldings. Be warned though, the area of the city towards Gard Nord is the red light area.