Belgium Hotels
Chateau de Limelette
Address: Rue Charles Dubois 87, B-1342 Limelette, Belgium Telephone: (+32) 10 42 19 99
Booking details: chateau-de-limelette@ chateau-de-limelette.be
Website: www.chateau-de-limelette.be
Hidden away in the Lauzelle woods, 30 minutes’ drive from Brussels, Chateau de Limelette is a surnptuous.nineteenth-centurv hotel built in Anglo-Norman style. A flower garden dotted with waterfalls and fountains surrounds the chateau, which also has an outdoor pool, gym and the largest marine balneotherapy centre in Belgium. The rooms are spacious and tastefully furnished, and the beds are big enough to spend an entire weekend in. Outdoor activities include golf, tennis, squash, mountain biking and clay pigeon shooting.
The ambience: A tranquil hideaway, this hotel blends rural charm with luxurious indulgence to create an escape-from-the-world feel.
Reqular quests: Creme de la creme of Belgian society and corporate types milling about the business centre and conference rooms.
Treatment menu: At the light, bright Thalgo Limelette, a team of osteopaths, physiotherapists, hydrotherapists and beauty counsellors efficiently whisk about. Algae, seawater and hot and cold baths are briskly dispensed, in addition to Thai and Tao massages. Smokers tend to head for the respiratory cocoon, while hookups belgium who are interested in cosmetic treatments love the Beauty Centre.
House speciality: The Postnatal Package, which is guaranteed to kickstart your post-baby body beauty plan.
Cuisine: Gastronomes will savour the gourmet menu at the Saint.Jean-des-Bois, which is located in a pretty pavilion overlooking the woods. Low-fat food is served at the Thalgo Light restaurant.
Ideal for: Couples. The magical environs of the chateau are wonderfully romantic.
What to pack: Beach shoes for the spa.
Oomalne des Hautes FaQnes
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Address: Rue des Charmilies 67, B-4950 Ovifat-Waimes, Belgium Telephone: (+32) 80446987 Booking details: (+32) 80 44 69 87 Website: www.hoteI2.be
Located in a protected parkland between the Ardennes and the Rhine valley, the hotel allows the jaded and burnt-out to unwind in the spa or let off steam through diverse activities. The conference halls and meeting rooms mean that the complex can get booked up for corporate events and team-building exercises, but the sports facilities are worth the trip, with nature walks, tennis, volleyball, basketball, badminton, boules, and many more from which to pick. To get a little downtime, visit the sauna, hammam, aqua gym and pool, or take a gymnastics course to help increase your suppleness.
The ambience: A health and sports retreat set in rustic wilderness, where overall wellbeing is achieved through exertion and pampering.
Regular guests: Executives on team-building schemes and fitness fanatics who want mentally and physically challenging pursuits.
Treatment menu: The list includes bust masks, facials, grooming treatments and massages, with marine therapies a speciality.
House speciality: The Anti-Stress Package includes a sauna, steam, water jets, body scrub and the Seaweed Pack – an energizing thalgo treatment – followed by massage and lymphatic drainage.
Cuisine: The Hot Stone Fagna is a customer-participation event; you choose the ingredients and have them cooked right before your eyes. The a la carte restaurant serves seasonal food with a focus on fish.
Ideal for: Families and outdoorsy nature-lovers.
What to pack: Cross-country skis in winter and climbing gear in summer so you can scale Signal de Botrange, Belgium’s highest point.
Thalassa & Beauty Centre at La Reserve
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Address: Elizabetlaan 158-169, B-8300 Knokke-Heist, Belgium Telephone: (+32) 50 61 0606
Booking details: info@la-reserve.be Website: www.la-reserve.be
Located in Belgium’s fashionable seaside resort of Knokke-Heist, the modern low-rise La Reserve hotel is perched on the edge of a shimmering blue lake, making it the ideal hostelrie for watersports enthusiasts. In addition to a 25 x 12 metre (80 x 40 foot) indoor swimming pool. which is filled with heated, purified seawater, and covered tennis and squash courts, guests can also partake in the numerous other sporting activities that are available in the local area, such as bowling, bicycling, golf, go-karting, horse-riding and fencing. The beach is just 300 metres (328 yards) away, and offers perfect conditions for sailing, windsurfing and volleyball. The hotel has a large terrace that stretches right to the water’s edge and 110 spacious and elegant rooms (five of which are exclusive suites) – each with its own sunbathing deck.
Knokke-Heist, Belgium
For those seeking less strenuous activities, there is the spectacular Het Zwin nature reserve, where quiet waterways, salt marshes and silent forests play host to a variety of flora, fauna and bird life. The old town of Knokke-Heist has museums, cultural centres, Norman churches and shops galore. Guests can also visit the neighbouring medieval town of Bruges, with its stunning architecture, quaint streets and chocolate shops selling calorie-laden trays of rich, creamy confectionery.
The ambience: Cool white corridors with black-and-white chequerboard tiled flooring and vaulted ceilings combine with sumptuous European-style furnishings and the occasional dash of Flemish rustica to give a nicely eclectic feel.
Regular guests: Those wanting to combine business with pleasure. The town of Knokke-Heist is a well-known conference centre and international meetings are frequently held in the hotel’s numerous boardrooms.
Treatment menu: The treatments at the Thalassa Centre focus on thalassotherapy (the use of seawater, which is rich in mineral salts and oligo-elements that are easily absorbed by the skin, for therapeutic purposes) and fango (mud) remedies. There’s also a sauna, Turkish bath (hammam) and hydrojet tub with extra stomach stimulator. Complementary massages include reflexology, shiatsu and Ayurvedic varieties, and the beauty parlour places special emphasis on expert hair removal. stripping guests of every last unwanted strand.
House speciality: The Beauty Centre at La Reserve does not offer any exclusive treatments as such, preferring to concentrate all its energies on the myriad benefits of thalassotherapy.
Cuisine: Healthy European fare is available from La Sirene restaurant, while breakfast is eaten at the Victoria restaurant, which serves hot fresh coffee and warm croissants.
Ideal for: Families; couples; singletons. The beach, golf course, historic town and shopping opportunities provide enough variation to keep everyone happy.
What to pack: Your binoculars so that you can join the ‘twitchers’ and go bird-watching in the nature reserve.
