Design Hotels opens New Hotel in Genk, Belgium

Design Hotels has opened Carbon, its second member property in Belgium. Conveniently located in the centre of Genk, one of the most important cities in Belgium, the newly built Carbon Hotel is part of a vibrant rejuvenation of the city’s commercial centre. Genk, just an hour’s drive from Brussels, Eindhoven and Cologne, was formerly the heart of Belgium’s coal-mining industry in the 19th century.

Smartly inspired by its surroundings and their historical background, the Carbon drew its name and design by taking a page from Genk’s industrial history. A grey façade evokes the nearby mining fields and the use of carbon-based building materials references coal itself, a fossil fuel composed primarily of carbon.

The hotel's 60 open and spacious rooms are each equipped with iPod, television, DVD player and mini-bar. All are located at the back of the hotel, a deliberate design decision to provide guests with a stunning view of Carbon's expansive terrace garden.

On the hotel's top floor sits a vast, 700 m² spa and healing centre, where a sauna, hammam, chromotherapy, relaxation treatments, massage, cocoon corners, herbal baths, tai chi and chakra are available to guests, as is a large terrace with southern exposure. A wine bar, a restaurant with an open kitchen, and three meeting rooms are also available to guests.

The architecture office PCP developed both the building and the interiors, choosing materials based on carbon and five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Throughout the hotel furnishings were selected for their honest use of materials: metal tables, wooden chairs, solid trunks as occasional tables, and fragments of stone. Many pieces come from local designers, including beds by celebrity designer Stijn Helsen, who also designed the staff’s outfits. Black-glazed, freestanding bathtubs and ceramic tiles are by Porcelanosa and showers include rain showerheads and colored LED lighting by Kreon. Indirect colored light in the rooms can be easily adjusted to suit guests’ moods.

Today, Genk is a multicultural city with a lively shopping district, green spaces to explore and Bokrijk, an open-air museum where history buffs and architecture enthusiasts can visit Flemish buildings dating from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. The “Green City” is home to a beautiful nature reserve and also hosts a renowned international jazz festival every summer. Genk was voted the friendliest city in Europe.

Carbon’s rates range from 105-300 Euros.

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