Last year, on my birthday, I wanted to go all out. I mean, I knew it was my last year in Brussels and I had to go out with a bang! So, I started to hunt for the perfect spot to celebrate my birthday. It wasn't going to be a party, but just me and Atyudarini, in a resort, chilling & relaxing for 3 days. I looked into various hotels & B&Bs. I did come across some excellent B&Bs but none that suited my dates. Finally, I decided upon Dolce la Hulpe.

The best part about Dolce la Hulpe is its location. Located in the heart of Sonian Forest, you're just surrounded by the peace, quiet and serenity of the forest. Ofcourse, depending on the public transport, we took the bus to reach there and the walk from the main road to the entrance of the hotel which was about 1 km and this is exactly what makes the hotel better. You don't even hear the sound of the highway inside the hotel. Anyways, you should be prepared to walk that distance... 

Even as you ride the bus, you're already, partially, seeing the Sonian forest as you cross Bois de la Cambre and then, you are completely inside Sonian Forest with wooded areas on either side of the road. You'll soon cross Groenendaal hiking area of Sonian Forest before reaching Dolce la Hulpe. 

Staying in the middle of the Sonian Forest means....... I was able to go on a hike inside the forest till as late as I wanted, even after sunset; I woke up hearing the songbirds from my window; I breathed fresh oxygen; I 'could have seen' the night sky full of stars (but it was cloudy both the nights that I was there, unfortunately). We went on a hike after dinner and we were in the forest a bit after nightfall began! This peace & serenity was all that I wanted + the comfort of good food, swimming pool and a soft bed, for my birthday! Dolce la Hulpe just checked all the boxes.

DAY 1 AT DOLCE LA HULPE HOTEL - HIKING TO CHÂTEAU DE LA HULPE & FONDATION FOLON

I had planned for a 3 day trip which would mean, we reached Dolce la Hulpe much before the check-in time. I dropped my bags there and picked up a map from the hotel's reception which led me to Château de La Hulpe. A tiny passage next to the car parking that goes into the wooded areas and in about 300m through densely wooded area, we touched the main dirt-track from where Château de La Hulpe was 1.7km. So, a 2km hiking on the whole, from the hotel. 

Château de La Hulpe is a private property that's open only for events, so, like last time, this time too, we couldn't go in. A short 500m from Château de La Hulpe, was Fondation Folon. The last time we went on a hike to Château de La Hulpe, we missed Fondation Folon and this time I really didn't want to, but still, Atyudarini was getting tired. I gave her the choice and she decided to go ahead with the hike to Fondation Folon and there we were. 

In the whole, the hike to Folon Fondation & back is about 5km from the hotel. I'd suggest wear some nice shoes or even rain-boots, esp. if it has rained the previous night or if it's a wet season. The dirt-track was so muddy that Atyudarini's jeans & shoes were a muddy mess afterwards! 

After this was a 'tunnel' with the postal stamps with the first-day covers. The one that attracted me the most was, of course, the one in Bangla language. More on this below. Then, we moved on to an animated movie and then the path led outside. Here, in the middle of the garden, was one of my favourite sculptures of Folon - Rain Man. Rain Man is a sculpture of a man wearing a trench coat & top hat and...... he's holding an umbrella or is he??? We'll he's holding a stick with waterworks inside and when the fountain is on, it looks like he's holding an umbrella, with, water forming the umbrella. It's just awesome! 

We then got into the 2nd building and went through his larger-than-life-sized sculptures, most of which we had already seen at Abbaye de Villers. One that I hadn't seen was called 'The Sea, the Amazing Sculptor'. This sculpture can be see today still at Knokke beach (where he frequented as a little boy). A miniature version of this is here at the museum. The museum wraps up with the an animated sculpture of a man atop a ladder in a mini-planetarium!!!

Once out, we had out own picnic sitting beside a Folon sculpture of a 'Man reading a Book'! There's also a cafe/restaurant beside, so you don't have to pack a picnic. 

Now, this particular stamp came out on 21st Feb 1972 and was dedicated to the Remembrance of Martyrs of the Language Agitation. It showcases the Shahid Minar in Dhaka. I still don't know & don't understand how Folon designed the Remembrance stamp of Bangladesh. I can't figure out the connection still!!! I've asked the curators of the museum about this and I'll update here once I know.

While booking, I had requested for a room with the forest view and that's what I got. You gotta understand that this is a huuuuuge property which means, there are 5 wings with many floors which houses 264 rooms! Apart from the rooms, the hotel has 2 restaurants, a bar, a swimming pool with sauna & hammam, a spa and ofcourse, a gym. My wish to get absolutely pampered on my birthday weekend was met!!!

My room had a tub and a huge French window overlooking the forest. I went to sleep as the setting sunrays fell into my room creating beautiful shadows and I woke up with the beautiful sounds of songbirds singing! It was incredible. Ofcourse, the room has all the basic facilities incl. the cafe corner and to sip my morning coffee, looking out the French window, hearing the song birds, while Atyudarini was fast asleep, was just the best feeling...

DOLCE LA HULPE - FACILITIES & SERVICES - SWIMMING POOL

As soon as we got back to the hotel from the muddy hike, we cleaned up a bit and it was time for hitting the swimming pool. The swimming pool has a maximum limit of people which means, you may not be allowed to go in, if the pool is full! So, it is a good idea to pre-book a slot, esp. for the evenings. One aspect I loved is that the pool is open to kids only till 6:00PM, so adults without kids who want to enjoy some peace & quiet can do so after 6:00PM till 10:00PM. That's the best of both worlds without guests complaining about each other, when the hotels has only 1 pool. The pool is temperature regulated and it is always at 28°C. The guests of the hotel will have to change to the bathrobes in their rooms and then go to the pool. It is funny because, most of the rooms have access to the pool going across the reception/lobby/bar; and you're walking there wearing your bathrobe while the visitors are impeccably dressed!!! It was funny the first time...  

The swimming pool also has a hammam & sauna. It was Atyudarini's first time in a sauna and she was very amused to say the least. The sweating was a bit too much for her and I literally tried to convince her saying, it is going to a bit similar to this in Chennai in summers, but in less than 5 minutes, she wanted out. 

After a shower, we plunged into the pool. The pool is only 1.15m deep, which means, it is safe for all adults, even if you're not a swimmer. There's no lifeguard on duty which means, kids are the responsibility of the parents.

DOLCE LA HULPE - FACILITIES & SERVICES - BREAKFAST BUFFET

The next day, as soon as Atyudarini woke up, we headed down for our breakfast. I should say that this is one of the few hotels I've been to in Europe, where there were 'options' for vegetarians in the breakfast buffet. Normally, I'm used to breads & spreads at any hotel breakfast in Europe and I expect nothing more. But here, boy was I surprised to see, hashbrowns, baked beans, croquettes and more apart from a variety of breads, spreads & fruits. We headed back to the room, for some TV time, which is kind of, our ritual in hotels! 

DAY 2 AT DOLCE LA HULPE HOTEL - EASTER BRUNCH SUNDAY & ACTIVITIES

Every Sunday is a Brunch Sunday at Dolce la Hulpe. Brunch Sunday means, after you wake up late and be lazy on a Sunday you head to the restaurant here, for a brunch from 12:00 Noon to 3:00PM where you have a feast!!! 

After watching TV for a bit, we got dressed to the nines, and at about 1:00PM we headed down for the brunch! It began with some nice sparkling white wine, followed by a huge spread from salads, cheese boards, nuggets, croquettes, pasta, pizza, risotto, gratin, lasagna, pies and so much more. For a perfect wrapping up, there were atleast 10 varieties of desserts. If you know me, you know that I'm a vegetarian and when I say, I had a heartful and tummyful of yumminess, you know that it was so so so veggie friendly. 

Being an Easter special brunch, there was live music and a man who made balloon animals. It was Atyudarini's first time seeing balloon modelling and she was fascinated. He made a Goofy for Atyudarini and upon special request he also made a horse for her. What more, well, there was bunny, walking around the lobby and outside the restaurant giving away chocolate eggs to the kids. Btw, the bunny also played some table tennis with the kids!!!

It was almost 3:30PM by the time we finished lunch and I carried by glass of sparkling wine for the go (inside the hotel, ofcourse). After resting for an hour, it was already time for an even more spectacular evening with a magic show! It was Atyudarini's first time, witnessing a live show. It wasn't a true magic show perse, no optical illusions, but more of a talent show of the artist with juggling, balloon modelling, rope tricks, swirling plates of sticks, etc. This guy did juggling even with knives and it was absolutely phenomenal. There was also a bouncy castle outside which was a superhit among the kids. 

The thing is, this Sunday brunch is open for everyone, even if you're not staying at the hotel. So there was quite a few people who had visited the hotel for just the brunch. They stay in the premises from noon till late evening & then leave. 

DAY 3 AT DOLCE LA HULPE HOTEL - STARWARS THEMED EASTER EGG HUNT

The next day, we woke up early and came down for......... a starwars themed, Easter egg hunt! Again, this was the first time, Atyudarini was seeing people dressed as Darth Vader, Princess Lea, Stromtroopers and Anakin Skywalker. Topping on the cake was a robotic Yoda toy that was moving around!!! 

The Treasure Hunt was to solve a series of puzzles that are posted along the way of a short way-marked trail in the forest & write down the answers. One stupid thing that we did was, we didn't realize that the 'treasure-hunt' would be in a hiking trail, so, we had worn our regular (kinda semi-formal) shoes and not rain boots which was not very suitable, as it had rained the previous night, and the trail was very very muddy. But ignoring that, the treasure hunt was awesome. To begin with, to write the answers, a pen was given; guess what was on it - Yoda! First Atyudarini took a BB-8, but then she exchanged it for a Yoda! Some loved Yoda, sometimes, she even talks like Yoda.... or should I say 'Like Yoda, sometimes she even talks'... 

There were logical-thinking, word puzzles, some maths puzzles, some activities, etc  a to be solved all the way along with trail. There were also 3 categories in each step, for 3 age-groups and ofcourse, Atyudarini did the easiest/youngest one. It was just a 1.5km trail (but super muddy though), and at the end of it, was the last activity - the typical carnival game of hook-a-duck. Hooking 5 ducks got her a little bagful of chocolate eggs. The whole activity had taken a bit more than an hour and then we were back at the starting point. Back at the starting point, it was time for face-painting and Atyudarini chose a rainbow unicorn. 

DOLCE LA HULPE - FACILITIES & SERVICES - RESTAURANT & BAR

After the treasure hunt, we headed to the restaurant for lunch. Atyudarini had been asking for the pumpkin sauce pasta with roasted chestnuts, ever since she saw it in the menu, so that's what we had ordered with a side of fries along with a plate of veggie burger. She absolutely loved it. We wrapped that up with a nice drink at the bar. Atyudarini specified that she wanted her orange juice in a champagne flute glass and she got it; she was super happy and with her, I was happy with my little birthday treat of premium single malt whisky on the rocks!

DOLCE LA HULPE - FACILITIES & SERVICES - BIKE RENTAL

When hiking through the forest is one of the top things to do in la Hulpe, it is evident that biking is too and so, the hotel does provide bike rental service. However I didn't opt for one.

DOLCE LA HULPE - FACILITIES & SERVICES - EARLY CHECK-IN & LATE CHECK-OUT

On the 3rd day, after lunch, I went back to the room to and Atyudarini and I relaxed for a couple of hours, watched some TV, before saying bye to the room by around 4:00PM. Yeah, one of the best things to do while in a relaxing hotel is late-check-out. Normally, while traveling, I would have checked-out at 7:00 or 8:00AM to go sight-seeing or do activities, but in places like this, where the hotel/accommodation itself is special, like Sint-Alpaca-Road or Sintra Marmoris Palace or Evolve Back Kabini, it's always wise to opt for late check-out and enjoy just being in the hotel. Dolce la Hulpe provides late check-out at 4:00PM and I had booked that while booking the room, already. 

DOLCE LA HULPE - WEEKEND ITINERARY

24 hours itinerary at Dolce la Hulpe:

Reach at 11:00AM.

Leave the luggage at the reception.

Hike to Chateau de la Hulpe & Folon Fondation

4:00PM - Check in

Till 6:00 - Swimming pool, Sauna & Hammam

Dinner & then a short hike in the forest in the darkness

Sleep!

Wake up late to the sounds of the song birds

Have a cuppa coffee while looking out the window!

12:00 - Sunday Brunch

3:00 - Relax in you room

4:00 - Check-out & have a drink at Badian Bar

Btw, if you're planning a longer getaway or an alternative option on a non-Easter time...

Opt 1 - Morning Hot-Air Ballooning in Walloon Brabant followed by Sunday Brunch

Opt 2 - Hiking in Sonian Forest at Groenendaal 

Opt 3 - Ottignies & Lovain-la-Neuve - 

Opt 4 - Waterloo - Napoleon's last battlefield - This is 7km away and the best way to reach there easily, if you don't have a car, would be by hiring e-bikes at the hotel.