First IHG voco hotel for Belgium

HOTEL & LEISURE
Tim Harrup

The Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts Group (IHG) has announced the future opening of the voco Brussels City North hotel, the first voco brand hotel in Belgium. The name ‘voco’ comes from Latin and signifies ‘invite and meet’. Due to open in autumn 2023, the 92-room voco Brussels City North property will be operated by Prem Group, a strong partner for IHG in the region.

The state-of-the-art hotel, say the developers, will feature a restaurant and conference centre and will adjoin the Living Tomorrow Innovation Centre, which is already open on the site, to create a hub for hospitality innovation and a truly stimulating environment. They go on to talk of a massive tower, reaching 50 meters into the sky. Housing a hotel, a gourmet restaurant, an experimental innovation center and a landing place for taxi drones.

Located to the north of the city, (Indringingsweg, 1800 Vilvoorde), the hotel will feature a 50-metre tower with huge glass windows providing panoramic views of the Brussels skyline. The site itself will be Europe’s largest experimental lab for creating ideas and a vision for the future. The Living Tomorrow Innovation Centre, together with the new tower, will house a hotel, a gourmet restaurant, an experimental innovation center and a landing place for taxi drones.

Willemijn Geels, VP Development Europe, IHG Hotels & Resorts, comments: “I’m delighted to announce that we are partnering with Living Tomorrow to bring voco hotels to Belgium. We know that Brussels is a strong market for branded properties, and we are confident that the voco hotels’ brand will fit well with the goal of creating a truly innovative hub on this unique site.”

Yin Oei, CEO, Living Tomorrow, adds: “Living Tomorrow is focused on driving the future and we’re excited to partner with IHG to develop this exciting hotel – the first voco in Belgium. The values of voco hotels fit well with our desire to innovate and push boundaries and we know that the strength of the IHG systems will provide a stable platform from which to innovate.”

Among numerous brands within the IHG portfolio, some of the best known are Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Vignette Collection, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts and Holiday Inn Express.