HotelChatter - be

You Can Thank a Chinese Airline for Brussels' Next 5-Star Hotel

JetSetCD — 2012-01-27T16:03:14-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/hotel_sanya_HNAresort.jpg" class="top"> The HNA Resort Sanya (obviously not Brussels) Hotels and airlinestwo peas in a pod, or occasionally, the same pea. Airlines that have successfully spun off hotel chains are many; off the top of our head we can name Pan Am (Intercontinental Hotels), SAS (Rezidor/SAS) and Icelandair (IcelandAir Hotels). One that's lesser known, however is the Asian carrier Hainan Airlines and their chain of "business hotels" throughout China. They're 40-something in number, so it's not a boutique venture or anything; Hainan is serious and the good Tripadvisor reviews of their properties reflect this. Naturally the next step is to make a big move towards a luxury development in a city outside of Asia. In Hainan's case, that city will

Radisson Blu Channels New York's 'Flair' From Brussels

ASchechter — 2011-09-20T08:50:01-05:00

What pops into your head when you think of a New York-inspired hotel room? Turquoise carpeting? A Nespresso coffee machine? Black walls? We only ask because those are the three main features that make up the newly-unveiled "New York Mansion" business class rooms at the Radisson Blu Brussels. Now, we know Brussels has the whole mood ring hotel concept down pat. But, New York? We're not so sure.

These rooms are supposedly going for "sophisticated," but we can't help feeling the design is a little all over the place. That armchair? The bedspread? The clashing headboard-wall combo? The only New York vibe we're getting from this room is its size (small).

Just The Sort Of Welcome Note You Don't Want To Find In Your Hotel

juliab — 2011-08-25T17:00:01-05:00

Not the kind of thing you want to see in the information kit in your hotel room: a notice informing you that mosquito nets are available at the front desk.

What makes it worse is that this wasn’t the steamy South, or somewhere exotic. This was our hotel room in Belgium. Bruges may be the prettiest town in Belgium, but even that won’t swing it a get out of jail pass when it comes to mosquitoes.

Luckily, we’ve just emerged unscathed after three days at the Grand Hotel Casselbergh, so it appears the hotel may just be being a little protective of its guests. Better safe than sorry, though.

Zeebrugge's Ghost Hotel Is Belgian Sadness In Microcosm

juliab — 2011-08-23T10:14:19-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/21888/palacehotelzeebrugge.jpg" class="top"> Among the printable things that make us gasp are unexpected sightings of grand dame hotels. So imagine the excitement yesterday when we were on a tram in non-descript Zeebrugge, Belgium, and caught sight of the corner of what looked like a huge old hotel. We got off at the next stop and ran back to the building. And this is what we found: the shell of what had obviously once been a belle epoque hotel, but sadly gone to seed and renovated into what looked like apartments, from the for sale signs in a few windows. A local informed us that it had indeed been a hotel, but that it had closed after the war, and been

Brussels' Pantone Hotel is Like a Little Embassy for Colors

JetSetCD — 2011-02-22T14:20:28-05:00

Oh man—we haven't checked in on Brussels' new Pantone Hotel in almost a full year, but it looks like the New York Times is even slower, since the colorful hotel only just hit their radar.

The Times' T Magazine takes a deeper look inside the hotel, including its beanbag-outfitted roofdeck, mod lounge and appropriately vibrant breakfast buffet. There's not a review, per se, but they do state something we absolutely agree with, and that's the fact that Brussels suffers from a lack of cool hotels like this. The Pantone is filling a need there, and its rooms from $137 including free WiFi are hopefully a hit.