Wellness: Relax Around Brussels

We take a look at two exclusive thermal wellness centres around Brussels.

Thermae Grimbergen: For sisters Tine and Joke Vanderzijpen, their father’s dream became their own. Around 20 years ago, when the Thermae project began, there were in fact very few wellness centres to be found in Belgium: “I see my father, my sister and me as being among the pioneers of wellness in this country,” explains owner- manager Tine.

“Plus, for my father, it was all about finding the perfect location – and, for Thermae Boetfort, he certainly did that, with a 400-year-old castle in Melsbroek, but that came later, five years ago to be precise. Thermae Grimbergen was our first, and we can now look back on 18 years’ experience of providing what we believe to be the very best massage, beauty and all-over body care that money can buy.”

Thermae Grimbergen is located in a superb, early 20th-century manor house. Here, there are saunas, jacuzzis and steam baths to be enjoyed and all may be combined with a relaxing massage or an invigorating body treatment.

“We encourage our guests to stay overnight or longer at our hotel – why not make a beneficial wellness weekend of it?” says Tine.

And the accommodation would certainly appear set up to put body and mind at rest – the Thermae Grimbergen Hotel offers four types of rooms (Budget, Classic, Superior and Deluxe) and the breakfast room, all situated a stone’s throw from Thermae Grimbergen.

And Grimbergen itself is a pretty village near Brussels, not far away from Zaventem Airport (12 km), EXPO Brussels at Heysel 7 km), and only at a few kilometres of the A12 and the Brussels Ring.