Antwerp, Belgium

Hotel Julien

Price per night from$221.17

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR199.59), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Hotel Julien Photos

Style

Terrace-topped townhouse retreat

Setting

Coveted central co-ords

Explore

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In the heart of Antwerp’s Old Town, Hotel Julien quiets the city’s bordering bustle with calming interiors, lounge spaces and a secluded spa. Fill your days with visits to the city’s on-your-doorstep spots, loved by locals and expertly suggested by staff. And once dusk starts to draw over this diamond city, take your tipples up to the rooftop and raise a glass to your cosseting, convivial basecamp.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bowl of local sweets on arrival; GoldSmiths also get a non-alcoholic welcome drink at the bar

Facilities

Photos Hotel Julien facilities

Need to know

Rooms

21, including one suite.

Check–Out

Noon; but flexible for an additional charge. Check-in is at 3pm, but flexible subject to availability.

More details

Rates don’t include breakfast, but buffet options are available daily for €28 each.

Also

All rooms – except three – can be accessed by a lift, and some have been adapted with widened doorframes and spacious bathrooms for wheelchair users.

Please note

Renovations are currently ongoing, but disturbances are kept to a minimal throughout the hotel.

At the hotel

Lounge, courtyard, rooftop terrace, charged laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, radio, minibar, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, free glass-bottled water, bathrobes, slippers and Aesop bath products.

Our favourite rooms

The Dreamer and Experience rooms are set under original beamed ceilings in the eaves and make for sequestered slumbers. If you’d like your own city lookout, opt for the Experience Terrace, which has a well-appointed outdoor space that admires Antwerp’s Old Town.

Spa

You’ll find the secluded spa behind a subtly marked door, underneath the original 16th-century arches of what was once this house's cellar. The small space (which operates from 9am to 10pm) is only open by reservation, which means you’ll have private access to the sauna, hammam and hot stone seat. You can also book a massage or a facial in the spa’s treatment room.

Packing tips

Chuck in some trouser clips so you can cycle round the city with ease.

Also

Hotel Julien is the sister stay to Smith-approved August Antwerp, set at the edge of the city’s developed Green Quarter.

Children

Welcome, but the hotel doesn’t have any facilities onsite to keep them entertained.

Food and Drink

Photos Hotel Julien food and drink

Top Table

Take to the rooftop as evening falls for twinkling views of the cathedral.

Dress Code

Your finest imitation of the flâneur.

Hotel restaurant

There’s no formal restaurant, but you’ll find delectable breakfast spreads with oven-warm baked goods (including pastries from the city’s Michelin-starred Dome restaurant), fresh fruit, yoghurt, granola and just-squeezed juices laid out daily in the lounge. Light bites are also available throughout the day.

Hotel bar

Restored wood interiors add a warm, familial feel to the laidback bar, where classic cocktails, punchy spirits, vintage wines and locally brewed beers (the De Koninck is crafted down the road) make up lengthy drinks lists. When the city’s sun starts to appear, beeline to the rooftop terrace for cathedral-admiring aperitifs.

Last orders

Breakfast is available from 7am to 10.30am (8am to 11am on weekends).

Room service

Light bites can be brought to your door for an additional €8.

Location

Photos Hotel Julien location
Address
Hotel Julien
Korte Nieuwstraat 24
Antwerp
2000
Belgium

Hotel Julien is in Antwerp’s Old Town, a mooch from the Grote Markt and the central Cathedral.

Planes

Most European hubs have routes straight to Antwerp’s international airport, which is a 25-minute drive away. Alternatively, you can touch down in Brussels, just under 40 minutes away by car (depending on traffic).

Trains

There are daily routes to Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Paris, Bruges, Luxembourg and London from Antwerp-Centraal, which is a 20-minute walk (or 15-minute drive) from the hotel.

Automobiles

This city is extremely walkable, so a car won’t be necessary. If you’re venturing further afield and decide to pick up a set of wheels just be sure it’s compliant with the city’s low emissions law. There isn’t any parking onsite, but there should be plenty of spots down nearby Handelsbeurs, Meir and Groenplaats.

Other

Antwerp is well connected with cycling routes, so pick up a bike and explore the city like a local.

Worth getting out of bed for

You’re wandering distance away from Antwerp’s big names at Hotel Julien – and Cogels Osylei makes for a scenic introduction to the city’s art nouveau architecture and historic townhouses. Shoppers should take to Steenhouwersvest, Nationalestraat, Schuttershofstraat, Huidevettersstraat and Kammenstraat for independent boutiques; the De Wilde Zee neighbourhood for bigger brands and Graanmarkt 13 for a one-stop shop. Culture and art buffs have most of the city’s museums within easy reach, namely Museum aan de Stroom, MoMu and FoMu. And if you’re here for the cuisine, be sure to stop by Vogeltjesmarkt on the weekend for rows of scent-tantalising food stalls.

Local restaurants

The Jane is worth the 10-minute cycle (or 35-minute walk) for its Michelin-starred fare that was first conceptualised by lauded chef Nick Bril. Sample a little bit of everything with flavourful sharing plates at Briquet – an unassuming local spot, fronted by lush climbing vines and alfresco tables. If you find yourself at one of the De Koninck brewery’s famed beer tastings, book into adjoining Black Smoke after, for hearty servings of upmarket barbecued cuisine.

Local cafés

Old-school Goossens has been baking its storied loaves for decades, and continues to attract crowds for its racks of steaming pastries and chocolate-packed bread. If you’re in search of a sizable caffeine fix, stop by Rush Rush for specialty blends and New York-style sandwiches (the jerk chicken is an enduring favourite).

Local bars

Marigold brings Hollywood’s golden age glow to the streets of Antwerp, with a refined list of classic cocktails and an aureate, secluded setting. For something with a local feel, sip your tipples at Tazu, set in a historic building down mediaeval Vlaaikensgang, with interiors from Axel Vervoordt.

Reviews

Photos Hotel Julien reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this restyled stay in Belgium and unpacked their fine-art finds and jewels, a full account of their Flemish break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Hotel Julien in Antwerp…

Antwerp has long been known for its role in mining rare stones, but an influx of raffish residents and design-forward entrepreneurs has since rebranded its image and put the city on the map as one of the Continent’s creative capitals. And Hotel Julien is no diamond in the rough either, as much like its central locale, this boutique stay shines inside and out. Behind the striking 16th-century façade, interiors impress with contemporary Scandi-inspired style that’s as restful as it is charming. Upstairs, similarly inviting rooms, warmed with original features, are individually designed with curated artwork from a local gallery. 

And it’s not just the art that’s local: an in-house team of Antwerp oracles make this hotel your gateway to exploring the city primed with the inside track. From your flâneur-ready basecamp, you can roam the river bank, browse boutiques and savour sundry fare before reining the night in right with digestifs back on the rooftop terrace. Antwerp’s gems don’t only come in the form of diamonds…

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Price per night from $214.52

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