BSI Hive #2 May 2008 - The Tin

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feature zone
Appropriately close to the
Botanical Gardens, Hotel Bloom
is a self-decribed business hotel
which has blossomed out of the
former Royal Crown Hotel, the
classic brown, sombre interior
making way for a light, modern
installation. A nice touch: By the
end of the year, all 306 rooms will
have an individual fresco created
by young ‘artists in residence’
from 31 different countries chosen
by the European League of
Institutes of the Arts.
All 12 conference rooms, comprising
1,300 square metres over
two floors, have been refurbished,
creating luminous, modern, light-filled
spaces. Hotel Bloom gives its
meeting programmes names like
‘young’, ‘dynamic’ and ‘creative!’.
In between sessions you can take
a ‘boost break’ in the Meeting
Lounge, where thanks to a Wii
installation, you can recharge with
a game of tennis or bowling.
Vitamin-rich food and drinks
designed to keep delegates’ energy
levels up are called things like
SMART!, LIVE! and MORE!, and
they’re all served in the new
restaurant: OO! (where you can
‘meet to eat’).
Opened in November 2007, the sweeping
archways of The Dominican refer to the 15th
century abbey which once stood on the site.
Inside, the theme – by award-winning Dutch
design duo FG stijl – is modern medieval with a
touch of old European decadence. The original
façade of the building as it was when occupied
by the acclaimed French painter Jacques-Louis
David from 1816 to 1825 has been preserved
and integrated into the contemporary design.
The 150 individually designed rooms are situated
around a quiet inner courtyard in a cloister-like
setting.
There are three adjoining meeting salons, which
can be utilised separately or in combination to
accommodate conferences for up to 120
theatre-style, receptions for up to 300 people
and dinners for up to 120.
Hotel Bloom
Brussels is less
than two hours
away from central
London by
Eurostar.