Discover Benelux | Hotel of the Month | Luxembourg

TOP: Winter Garden Breakfast Room. BELOW: Light and colour in the lobby.

HOTEL OF THE MONTH, LUXEMBOURG

Far from Les Misérables! TEXT: MARTIN PILKINGTON | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GRAND HOTEL VICTOR HUGO

Centrally placed in Luxembourg City, the recently opened Victor Hugo Hotel is modern and proud of it, blending convenience with conviviality. The Grand Hotel Victor Hugo’s interior design makes a statement to guests the moment they enter the building. Unlike too many traditional city centre hotels, the reception desk is right there to greet you in a business-like fashion – this is certainly a place for the business traveller. But the lobby has character too, its clean lines flooded with light, colourful and quirky furniture underscoring the stylish modernity of the space adjacent to voluminous sofas to welcome the weary.

“Because this is a new hotel we could incorporate the features and comforts that contemporary businessmen and women would expect,” says the Victor Hugo’s manager, Giuseppe Daddato, a precise and energetic figure who complements similar qualities in his establishment: “There’s easy internet access for work, and excellent fitness facilities – including a sauna – so guests can escape their work and de-stress too,” he says. The design team made a fine job of the rooms too. Colourful textiles and feature walls add zesty touches to the predominantly white interiors, and intelligent use of natural and artificial light means they are a world away from the semi-darkness of certain old-fashioned rivals. Situated on its eponymous avenue the Victor Hugo, part of the Best Western network’s select ‘Plus’ brand, the hotel is within ten minutes’ walk of many of Luxembourg City’s leading financial, cultural and administrative centres, like

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the Courts of Justice, Grand Theatre and Notre-Dame Cathedral, yet it is just a 15-minute taxi ride from the airport. For guests arriving by car there is the huge Glacis car park 50 metres from the hotel’s door, free between 6pm and 6am. “We realise that getting a good start to the day is extremely important for our guests,” continues Daddato: “And we ensure they get that with a great breakfast menu in a fabulous breakfast space.” His description of the breakfast room is not hyperbole – its seating area designed like an orangery to maximise the light through glazed walls and ceiling. “If they’re energised when they leave here it makes a difference to their working day – and we hope this makes them want to return when they make their next trip!” www.grandhotelvictorhugo.lu