THE CORINTHIA GRAND HOTEL ASTORIA IN BRUSSELS: A PALACE SUSPENDED IN TIME

words NATALIE GAL

Dear reader, allow me to share the story of a memorable trip to Brussels and a stay in, dare I say, one of the most beautiful hotels not only in Europe but in the world. A place that stands in history, so grand it left me searching for words, words I may never fully find. This is the Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria, on Rue Royale in the heart of Notre Dame aux Neiges, in beautiful Brussels.

It would be a great injustice not to talk about the history of a place so deeply shaped by the people and stories that passed through its halls. Back in the Belle Époque of 1865, future hotelier J. Mengelle bought this little building on Rue Royale, then just a simple boarding school. Soon after, the family expanded and developed it into one of the grandest palaces in the country. Picture it: horse-drawn carriages rolling by, women in corsets, men in top hats, a scene we now only catch on screen.

Not long before, two certain British sisters called this place a home. Not just any sisters, the Brontës. Charlotte and Emily, whose works such as Jane Eyre or the Wuthering Heights remain unmatched. Charlotte’s posthumous novel Villette even draws on her time at a Brussels pensionnat. Here, the sisters lived through love, loss, heartbreak, all the raw experiences a young woman faces, that turned into literature.

Then came the first automobiles replacing the horse-drawn carriages, and Brussels was already ahead of the curve, global before globalization was even a word. The city turned into a cultural hotspot. Just imagine who walked these halls: Salvador Dalí, James Joyce, Marguerite Yourcenar. Not only artists either, Winston Churchill, President Eisenhower who need no introduction. Legends passed everywhere you look.

This building overflows with stories. They are countless, yet so vividly present. To stay here is not only a privilege but an honor, akin to standing before a Picasso, a Dalí, or reading Fitzgerald and Joyce.

On August 27th, Corinthia unveiled its brand-new penthouse suites to a handful of journalists, and Numéro Netherlands was lucky to be there. It would be a disservice to call them hotel rooms, these suites are more than that, they’re experiences. Some of the most exclusive, jaw-dropping spaces in Europe, each with its own theme, made for the dreamers and visionaries of today just as much as yesterday’s history.

The Royal Heritage Suite, Belle Vue Penthouse, Brontë Penthouse, and Grand Masters Penthouse, all completely different, but united by a level of grandeur that’s almost unreal. My personal favorite? The Brontë Penthouse. A space made for writers and artists, with its large furnished terrace, spacious rooms, and deep navy interiors. It honestly outshines some of the palaces I’ve visited in Scotland and England. Special doesn’t even begin to cover it.

We gathered in the Royal Heritage Suite, where award-winning mixologist Hannah Van Ongevalle and two-Michelin-starred chef David Martin presented their creations. This suite was another highlight for me, its expansive balcony overlooks the Brussels skyline, and it’s likely the largest of them all, with countless rooms (enough to get lost in), plus a private gym and massage room.

Another highlight of the entire hotel is the spa. Imagine a fire crackling above a warm pool in a 1,200-square-metre sanctuary offering state-of-the-art treatments and massages. There’s also a dedicated gym with fitness programs designed by Paul Tucker, once a trainer of soldiers, so you know you’re in for an energizing session. After a workout, you can drift between the pools, unwind in the sauna, or indulge in the hammam, which is truly a standout.

And it doesn’t stop here. The hotel’s restaurants and bars match the grandeur perfectly. “Le Petit Bon Bon”, tucked into the courtyard, is made for late-summer evenings when the air cools and the wind softens, offering Belgian classics with a twist. “Under the Stairs” feels straight out of the roaring twenties: dim, velvet-draped, sexy, chic. And then there’s Palm Court and Palais Royal by David Martin, culinary perfection paired with architecture so beautiful even a writer struggles to describe it.

You sit in the grand hall, waiting, half-expecting a historical figure to walk in. Then it hits you, the eras you romanticize have long passed. Or have they?

Because here, they linger. In the carved columns that echo Greek statues. In the painted glass ceiling that filters the light. In the conversations beneath the palms, where people still talk of love, doubt, and happiness, just as they did a century ago.

You feel as though the good old times aren’t gone. They’re here. We just forget, buried in concrete and brutalist buildings. But there’s still softness in the world, and this place proves it.

A personal confession: I’ve always been obsessed with the twenties, an era buzzing with creativity. Was it perfect? No era is. Romanticizing the past is just elevating it, not rewriting it. Humans are flawed, and so is the history we write. But the art born in those times, that’s what lasts. That’s what still pulses through these walls. And for the first time, I actually felt dropped into it.

The beautiful outfits, the mix of French, English, Dutch, Italian floating through the air. Writers, artists, musicians, journalists, all gathered together. It gives even the most hopeless romantic hope. Because the good old times aren’t over. History isn’t something boxed away. There’s no such thing as post-history.

Here, it still lives.