Brussels, Ardennes, Belgian coast
Hotel spa consultant in Belgium
Are you taking over a hotel with a spa in Brussels, the Ardennes or on the coast, or does your spa need bringing back up to standard? I’m a consultant in hotel spa openings and operations. I work on the concept, treatment menu, procedures and team.
I’m based in Finistère, France, and travel to Belgium for projects. I start with a site visit, then the work continues remotely and on site depending on the stage.
01
Three markets in one country
Belgium recorded almost 45 million tourist overnight stays in 2024, almost 21 million of them in hotels, according to an initial Statbel estimate. Dutch guests are the leading foreign market (6.1 million stays), ahead of Germans (3.2 million), French (2.7 million) and British (1.8 million).
Brussels, the Ardennes and the coast run at different rhythms. In Brussels, hotels around the Grand-Place reached 82% occupancy in December 2024, and visit.brussels says leisure and business are more balanced than they used to be. The coast had 178 hotels and 14,680 beds in 2024. A hotel spa has to be planned around its real guests, whose expectations differ between a weekday in Brussels and a summer week on the coast.
02
A spa town on the UNESCO list
The town of Spa, in the province of Liège, is one of Europe’s historic spa towns. It has been part of the UNESCO Great Spa Towns of Europe since 2021. The old thermal baths closed in 2004, and a new thermal centre opened in 2005 on the hill above the town. A Belgian hotel spa speaks to guests who know this culture of water-based care.
03
What I bring to a spa in Belgium
I’ve worked on spa openings in three very different settings: a palace hotel in Switzerland, a mountain hotel in Méribel and an independent hotel in Brittany that I went on to manage. That last one taught me to run a spa with both local clients and hotel guests.
On a takeover or audit in Belgium, I review the spaces, menu, tools, team and figures, then set priorities with management. I put the changes in place with the team, along with a dashboard to track their effect.
My full method is described on the hotel spa consulting page.
Frequently asked questions
Do you travel to Belgium?
Yes. The review always happens on site. I then come back to support the team as the changes go live.
Which languages do you work in?
French and English. Team materials can be written in either language, depending on the team in place.
How does an assignment work remotely and on site?
The first visit is for the audit. I then write my recommendations, the menu and procedures remotely, with regular check-ins with management, then come back to train the team and launch the changes.