The Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria Brussels is a historic five-starluxury hotel in the Freedom Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Built in 1909 as the Hotel Astoria for the Brussels International Exposition of 1910, in a true Parisian spirit, the hotel's Louis XVI façade and majestic interior lend it a distinctly aristocratic appearance.[2][3] It is considered among the finest luxury hotels in the world, and has served as a famous meeting place for kings and other great statesmen and world personalities. The hotel closed in 2007 and reopened in December 2024.[4]
The Hotel Astoria was built in 1909 for the Brussels International Exposition of 1910, at the request of King Leopold II, to replace the former Hotel Mengelle, a vast neoclassical complex designed in the second quarter of the 19th century by the architect T.-F. Suys. The current hotel was designed by Henri Van Dievoet, a nephew of the architect Joseph Poelaert, in an eclecticBeaux-Arts style, mixing borrowings from the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. Van Dievoet furnished the hotel's 108 rooms in the Louis XV style, with luxurious amenities such as hot water and electric chandeliers. The laying of the first stone took place in 1909, and the hotel opened in 1910, just in time for the International Exposition.[1]
From 1975, chamber music could be heard every Sunday morning as part of the Astoria Concerts. For the wedding of then-Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde in 1999, King Albert II and Queen Paola organised a grand reception in the hotel.[7] Two years later, it was also there that then-Prime MinisterGuy Verhofstadt and Minister Johan Vande Lanotte concluded an agreement with Swissair about the fate of Belgium's national airline, Sabena, in the greatest secrecy.[8]
Since 21 September 2000, the hotel has been listed as a protected monument by the Monuments and Sites Directorate of the Brussels-Capital Region.[1] The hotel closed in 2007 and was sold to Global Hotels & Resorts, owned by Saudi Arabian Sheikh Mohamed El-Khereji.[9] In 2010, work began on renovations, including the demolition of an adjacent building for construction of a new wing for the hotel. The work was never completed and the hotel remained vacant. It was acquired by Corinthia Hotels in 2016[10] and reopened under the name Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria Brussels[11] on 9 December 2024,[12] with 126 rooms, Belgian brasserie, gastronomic restaurant by a Belgian Michelin-starred chef, Palm Court lounge, 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) of spa, retail concept space and private members club.[13][4]
^ abcdRégion de Bruxelles-Capitale (2016). "Hôtel Astoria" (in French). Brussels. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
^"Astoria: Die Nobelherberge von Brüssel", in Bonn Journal, November 1972, no. 11, p. 43–45
^Olivier Stevens, "La vie de palace. 3. L'hôtel Astoria. Palace et carnet mondain" (with illustrations), in La Libre. Match, no. 256, 3–9 August 2006, p. 88–95
