Just a train ride away - 30 years of Eurostar

To mark this anniversary, London and Brussels put together an event culminating in a party in Belgium’s capital to celebrate its success and announce its plans for the future.  

The London Convention Bureau took the opportunity to invite M&IT to explore some of our capital’s gems under an unusually brilliant blue sky and sunshine in November before whisking us off to Brussels.  

First off, we were given the opportunity to climb inside one of Europe’s largest self-supporting domes at Central Hall Westminster, and never has the city looked more gorgeous than from this fantastic vantage point overlooking many famous sites. With 23 event spaces and capacity for up to 1,900, this is a grand and beautiful building. Lunch was provided by caterer Green & Fortune, keen to discuss their sustainability initiatives. 

A trip out to Excel London to see how close its large £200 million extension is to opening – on track for early this year - was an excellent way to experience just how good the city’s transport network now is particularly with the Elizabeth Line helping those travelling across the city. The facilities here are, of course, vast and impressive. Set on a 100-acre campus at the Royal Docks, the waterfront location sparkled in the sunshine. 

Have you visited The Ned yet? It must be London’s sexiest hotel – and not just because it appears to have been designed explicitly for an unexpected tryst. Among my beautiful room’s amenities were: cleanser; serum; moisturiser; tampons; condoms; razor; shaving cream; toothbrush and toothpaste; lip balm and deodorant plus no fewer than five different full-size Cowshed shower gels. It really is designed for you to turn up with just your designer clutch bag and latest squeeze. A fabulous array of artfully-curated drinks and snacks means you’d never have to leave your oh so comfortable room. 

Located by Bank station in the old Midland Bank HQ designed by Sir Edwin ‘Ned’ Lutyens in 1924, it has been stylishly converted to offer 250 bedrooms with a 1920s style glamour and is full of hidden nooks and corners, elegant event spaces, terraces and the exclusive Vault for late-night cocktails. It has also pulled off that rare trick in a hotel of a heaving, buzzing ground floor overflowing with restaurants and bars, full on a Monday evening.  

I didn’t want to leave. Although on my way down in the morning, when I told a middle-aged man with a lanyard in the lift how beautiful I thought the hotel was, his truculent reply, in what may have been a German accent, was: “It’s a bit of a bunfight trying to get across the lobby most evenings.” 

But the Ned will require a generous budget. A more affordable option is the 190-bed nhow London. Part of Minor Hotels, nhow hotels are designed with unconventional touches that relate to its location. This one opened in 2020 and has as its theme ‘Old London Reloaded’, with a Big Ben rocket sculpture in the lobby and a huge Henry VIII on the bathroom walls. It is located a short walk from both Angel and Old Street tubes, offers three meeting spaces for up to 70 in the largest and 150 can be accommodated for a reception in the lobby area. 

Off to Europe’s capital 

Our first-class tickets on Eurostar the next day included sparkling wine and a fine lunch which didn’t prevent, may I add, my team winning the quiz laid on to entertain us.  

Unfortunately for Brussels, the weather wasn’t kind and it appeared grey in the drizzle compared to the magnificence of London in the sunshine. But the venues we visited were impressive and the majesty of the Grand Place weaves its magic whatever the weather.  

The contemporary-style and industrial edge of many of the venues we visited were exciting and innovative. Sparks, for instance, is a very stylish and modern purpose-built meetings venue where much thought has gone into the design, theme and layout of each of the stylish, fun event spaces and where the team likes to be involved in the planning and purpose of each event. 

Tour & Taxis is a beautiful, vast industrial site that has recently been redeveloped to create a stylish mix of event spaces with brick, glass and wood. There are also elegant meeting rooms and glamorous banqueting areas.  

Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria is all set to become the most prestigious address in the city. An historic building being brought back to an elegant life with no expense spared, it is peaceful and luxurious. While the Cardo Brussels, an Autograph Collection property with 486 rooms, has opened as part of a larger transformation of the Rogier neighbourhood. Offering substantial event space, it takes the city’s art heritage as its design theme including a towering reproduction of the famous self-portrait by surrealist artist Magritte on its exterior.  

We stayed at the nhow Brussels, which was great. A quick taxi ride from the station, it was all greys and sharp edges, concrete and glamorous lighting. My room was large, although there was a lot of street noise, and the bathroom had two huge orange sinks. This hotel would suit a young, hip event. 

The magnificent La Bourse just off the Grand Place is now an events venue and home to Belgian Beer World, which would make a fascinating tour for many groups and offered us the chance of a quick beer-tasting before taking our Eurostar train back to London. 

Eurostar post-Brexit 

There has been a huge increase in frequency from eight Eurostar trains a day in 1994 to 110 and journey times have been slashed. It now takes just under two hours to arrive in Brussels from London.  

And the future of Eurostar and travel to Brussels post Brexit? Well, it looks bright. Demand for Eurostar’s services, currently 19 million passengers, is growing. Tickets are now on sale for the reinstated Amsterdam-London direct service, which resumes in February, and there are more connections for services onwards throughout France and Germany.  

“We are committed to growth to more than 30 million passengers and we will do this sustainably with a commitment to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030,” says chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave. “Growth is good for us, it is good for our partners and it is good for our planet.” 

Eurostar is in negotiations for another 50 trains and will continue to develop partnerships after becoming the first non-airline member of the SkyTeam alliance. It also reiterated its readiness for the introduction of the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES), which is expected in the spring.  

I am still sad that we divorced from the rest of this stylish continent and the opportunities it offers. As I was leaving Brussels, I felt old at the reminder that 30 years had seemed to slip past. That is until I encountered the considerable charm of the young, handsome border control officer, who took one look at my passport and said: “You look 20 years younger.” I don’t, of course, but I left smiling – and was reminded that Europe’s many delights are, after all, just a train ride away.