Be Manos Hotel ★★★★

As the ‘Capital of Europe’, Brussels never seems too far away from anywhere. Indeed, we boarded a train in London and less than two hours later we were emerging into the daylight beneath an uncharacteristically clear blue sky at the Gare du Midi (maybe the sky isn’t grey all the time in Brussels then). From there, it would have just been a few minutes by foot to the Be Manos Hotel ****; but since we were heading to a hotel worthy of any pampered celebrity supermodel, we decided to get into the diva mindset nice and early and made the most of the hotel’s free transfer service.

This turned out to be just the first of many extravagant luxuries which the hotel had in store for us. Once we had arrived, we were immediately greeted like the hotel’s most honoured VIP guests, a welcome reserved for absolutely everyone who sets foot in the Be Manos. The lobby and bar area already gave us a tantalising taster of the kind of chic design which has firmly put this inventive boutique hotel on the map for style-conscious travellers: the gleaming black walls reflect the soft light emitted from shimmering chandeliers, while the space is carefully strewn with quirky armchairs, glittering streamers, and glamorous, fashion-style prints hanging on the walls.

We were directed through dark and atmospheric corridors towards our deluxe room, where everything was just as impeccably designed. The work of the various prestigious designers who lent their expert touch to the Be Manos’s design was evident, with eye-catching furnishings, bold black-and-white patterns and more glamorous prints providing an elegant backdrop for our enormous, inviting bed and four-star amenities. This stunning style even extended into the bathroom, where the intense black of the brickwork contrasted with the gleaming white of the bathtub, sink and fluffy bathrobes. Sensual, sleek and seductive, it was tempting to simply hole up here together for the rest of the day, but a city bursting at the seams with beer, chocolate and culture awaited…

By the time we headed back out into the city, the sky had predictably clouded over slightly (never mind, the grey sky is part of the authentic Brussels experience), but the ornate facades of the Grand Place still seemed to dazzle as we took a seat at a street café, sampled a couple of local beers and watched the world go by. As the skies grew gradually gloomier we moved onto Avenue Louise, ‘The Champs-Elysées of Brussels’, where we flitted in and out of the upscale boutiques and tempted ourselves to splurge on designer goodies in order to fit in with our voguish surroundings at the Be Manos. We managed to resist, and eventually headed back to the hotel to recover from the day’s ‘exertions’ with a massage and a refreshing cocktail.

This is the kind of ultra-luxurious hotel and enchanting city which will always leave you itching to come back, searching for any excuse to book in again. Fortunately, you do not need to search too hard for a reason to come back to the Be Manos! It may simply be that your taste of the fashionable, supermodel lifestyle has got you completely hooked, or perhaps that you have been looking for somewhere suitably glamorous to see in the New Year and this seems like the perfect spot.