At the hotel
Spa with various saunas, steam room, ice fountain, Kneipp walk, whirlpool and experience showers; state-of-the-art gym; beauty salon; gallery and natural-history museum filled with art and curios; apothecary and ‘Beautique’; botanic gardens; whisky tasting room; wine cellar; 15th-century chapel; charged laundry and dry-cleaning services; charged bike hire; free high-speed WiFi. In rooms: Smart TV and Bluetooth soundbar, free high-speed WiFi, iPad loaded with hotel services and city guide, Segafredo coffee-making kit, local Café Couture tea and kettle, umbrella, bathrobes and slippers, Saint Charles bath products, B’eau Botanic water, air-conditioning. The spa suites have a wellness area with a whirlpool, sauna, treatment table and Technogym stationary bike with classes to stream; a wine-climate cabinet and air-purification system; Evidens de Beauté products; and two free laundry and dry-cleaning items a room, each day, valet parking and shoeshine service on request.
Our favourite rooms
Wabi-sabi, the Japanese design principle accepting of aesthetic imperfections, is the inspiration behind the design used in rooms and suites here. Having said that, none of the rooms or suites seems to have any visible flaws – rather there are scuffed-plaster walls in restful hues, aged wooden beams, monochromatic marbles and gently rumpled soft linens (from De Witte Lietaer), contrasted with modern artworks and simple, Scandi-esque furnishings of the sort Antwerp excels in. Of the rooms, we like the Deluxe with a terrace for its serene private outdoor space. Of the upper categories, the Spa & Healthness Suite or Diamond Spa Suite will do very nicely, thank you. Each has a wellness area with a Jacuzzi, sauna, treatment table and Peloton, plus a special air-purifying system; and when you’ve reached peak health, there’s a climate-controlled wine cabinet to raid.
Poolside
The 18-metre pool is a very peaceful part of the sprawling spa complex, set in a building that resembles a chic barn with vaulted ceilings and lots of light. Take a few soothing laps pre- or post-treatment then sip an infused water on one of the surrounding loungers.
Spa
The spa here is so incredible that there’s a small chance you could turn up DOA and leave feeling peachy. Well, the therapists aren’t quite that good, but in the 1,000-square-metre space, where all aspects of health outside-in are considered, there’s a solution to many ills. The sanctum builds on monastic design with sustainable spaces designed by star spa-chitect Heinz Schletterer, and encompasses three saunas (two clothing-optional), a thermal circuit, ice fountain, Kneipp walk, experience showers with botanical infusions, a Jacuzzi, steam room, herb and vitamin bar, beauty salon, pool, health-conscious bistro and relaxation room with cocoons. And, in 10 treatment rooms (two for couples), magic happens using age-old phytotherapy, herbalism and naturopathy handed down from the monks; combined traditional Chinese and European practices (acupuncture, tui na, osteopathy); Evidens de Beauté facials that lift, detox, nurture and add radiance; Jetpeel’s needle-free skin-smoothing; Skin Vitals’ deep cleanses, peels and microdermabrasion; massages and flotation; the 3 Cure Method’s custom rituals according to your morphological typology; electromagnetic-wave monitoring; blood analysis; contouring and lymphatic drainage; and purifying wraps and herbal scrubs, plus Chrono Repair Homme’s pampering for men. The club gym is equally thorough, filled with Technogym’s most expensive and effective toys (Omnia 3 pull-up bar, Ercolina Rehabilitation cable-training station…) compatible with the Mywellness app, an InBody scanning system and personal trainers. And, just in case, there are Pilates, yoga and mindfulness sessions and a house nutritionist.
Packing tips
Dripping with diamonds and home to a prestigious fashion school and houses, in readiness for Antwerp tip your jewellery box into your suitcase and build your wardrobe with pieces by the ‘Antwerp six’ (Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, Marina Yee and Dirk Van Saene). But, leave some room, because the hotel has two shops: Beautique (at St Joris Port) sells candles, bathrobes and other mementoes. And the Saint Charles Apothecary has existed since monastic times, when medicines for the Sint Elisabeth hospital were made from the garden’s botanics, has been restored to its charming vintage state and has all-natural remedies, lotions and fragrances made to time-old recipes sold in attractive amber- and violet-glass bottles.
Also
A butler can tend to you, hold a wedding of party in the exquisite 15th-century chapel onsite or arrange a business meeting where you’ll team-build over music-video making, African drumming, graffiti or etiiquette classes, falconry and laughter yoga.
Children
Kinderen are most welcome. Most rooms fit a baby cot or extra bed (€50 a night for each bed or cot) and some have two bedrooms; the hotel has kit for all eventualities, activity backpacks and babysitters on call.
Best for
All ages will be well looked after here.
Recommended rooms
All rooms sleep a baby, but for larger families the two-bedroom Grande Suite is probably the best fit. Or the Spa & Healthness Suite which has a pack and play.
Activities
Onsite, activities are skewed towards adults, but the dinosaur fossils at Granada Gallery and the roamable gardens might appeal. Antwerp itself is very child-friendly though – the zoo and Stadspark are close by, Park Spoor Noord has playgrounds and skateparks, Plopsa Station is an indoor playspace themed around Belgian comic-book characters (yes, the Smurfs make an appearance) and there’s a giant ferris wheel. And, if you think the clothes for grown-ups are incredible here, wait till you see the dinkier versions. For an extra charge, you can get a backpack filled with fun things at the hotel.
Swimming pool
Little ones can use the pool from 10am to 6pm.
Meals
Across the board you’ll manage to feed any fussers throughout your stay.
Babysitting
The hotel will happily arrange a babysitter (for an extra charge).
Also
You probably don’t need to pack anything – the hotel is remarkably well prepared, with the Botanic Baby Bundle that includes a changing table and mat, nappy storage bin, nappy bags, a bath toy with water thermometer, thermometer, owl night-light, bottle-warmer, bottles, bottle brush, hooded towels, kettle, baby blanket, bathrobe, bed guard, bath, plastic cups, step stool, baby wipes, nappies, baby shampoo and baby lotion.
Sustainability efforts
Efforts have been made to preserve the 13th-century monastery’s buildings, staying sensitive to the style with its wabi-sabi-inspired rooms and incorporating and preserving original features. The 15th-century chapel has been kept in wonderful shape, the 16th-century apothecary has been restored, and the more modern spa has been built using sustainable materials (wood, stone and glass). The former monks’ holistic-therapy skills haven’t been lost either – many of their natural and herbal remedies are still adhered to. In the Granada gallery, the gemstones on display were excavated from the hotel’s own sustainable and ecologically responsible mines, and they have their own team of palaeontologists and gemologists to source artefacts. And, as is de rigueur these days, the hotel’s four restaurants all source ingredients locally where possible.