April 11, 2008

Europe | Belgium | Genk

Carbon Chameleon

By Karena Akhavein

Europe's friendliest city wants you to spend the night.

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Brussels may have been recently voted “most boring town in Europe,” but with its new high-speed Eurostar link to London, a constellation of fashion stars in Antwerp , and Hollywood fame for Bruges, Belgium is basking in the spotlight. That’s good news for Genk, which is about to get glammed-up, too: On Monday, the former coal-mining city gets its first Design Hotel — and one that embraces Genk’s industrial past with a hyper-modern twist.

Smack in the center of Europe’s friendliest city (yep, another vote winner), Carbon Hotel plays off the carbon-coal motif inside and out. That translates as a carbon-gray façade and 60 airy rooms rooted in neutral color schemes (coupled with a tech-sensitive nod to guests who like their iPods and DVDs). The centerpiece of the bolthole is a 6,500-foot terrace garden that transforms the first floor into a black-tented chill-out zone, while the spa, called Carbon Sense, offers a Turkish hamman, two types of saunas and chromotherapy treatments. If that’s not enough, the restaurant’s name is Carbon Taste — which, we’re praying, is a wry Belgian joke.