AUGUST HOTEL, ANTWERP

Antwerp, Belgium

November 2022

By Ross Belfer

On a crisp Autumn day, I arrived on the Eurostar from Brussels to Antwerp, which took less than 1-hour. The dichotomy between the two largest cities in Belgium is profound. The 40-minute walk from the turn-of-the-century station — with its grandiose glass hallway — offered a savory introduction to the Flemish cultural capital.

Eventually I arrived in the brick-laden district of Het Groen Kwartier (the Green Quarter), a pedestrianized development housed in a transformed 19th-century former military hospital complex and reply with creative studios, coffee shops, restaurant and design/fashion spaces nestled about, along with The Jane bar, which was sadly closed on this occasion.

The neighborhood is also home to the August hotel in Antwerp, where I had the pleasure of spending two nights earlier this month. Under the auspices and creative direction of legendary Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen, August hotel is a spectacle in itself, regardless of F&B, services, and hospitality. The sheer beauty of the place is reason enough to have a visit, or a stay. Each room is dressed with a unique personality; the scent across the hotel had the energy to transcend; and every nestle seemed to have been poured with excellently materialized aesthetic detail. But enough of my banter. See the below images for a better visual understanding of the hotel’s beauty and allure.