Family Hotels in Leuven with Spa and Wellness

A spa in a city hotel matters most in a place like Leuven, where days are spent walking between squares, museums and gardens. The three hotels here are all central, so you can come back between visits, use the wellness area in the late afternoon and still walk to dinner on the Oude Markt. Each one also has a family feature, which keeps children busy while parents rest.

Novotel Leuven Centrum is the most family-minded of the three. This four-star hotel near the centre has a spa and wellness area with a steam bath, a fitness room and, unusually for a city hotel, a playground for children. It also accepts pets and has a bar for a quiet drink once the children are asleep. The location keeps the Grote Markt, St Peter's Church and the Town Hall within a short walk, so a morning of sightseeing and an afternoon at the wellness area fit easily into one day. I would book it for families with children under ten who need a place to run around.

Park Inn by Radisson Leuven is the practical choice for families travelling by train. The three-star hotel stands across from Leuven's central station, so you walk from the platform to reception in a few minutes with luggage and children. It has a spa and wellness area and family suites, with modern rooms that offer individual climate control and tea and coffee making facilities. From the station, the walk into the old town along Bondgenotenlaan leads straight to the Grote Markt, and direct trains reach Brussels quickly for a day trip. With nearly two thousand reviews, it is well documented.

pentahotel Leuven is the largest of the three by number of reviews, with more than three thousand. The four-star hotel has 103 rooms a short stroll from the historic centre, a spa and wellness area, a game room and the Pentalounge for meals. It accepts pets, which helps families travelling with a dog. The game room is the family feature here: it gives older children something to do in the evening while parents take turns in the wellness area. The surrounding streets have plenty of restaurants, which makes dinner simple after a long day of walking around the city.

Leuven itself rewards a slow pace that suits a spa stay. The Groot Begijnhof, a walled beguinage of brick houses and small bridges over the Dijle, is quiet enough for a calm walk with a buggy, and the Kruidtuin botanical garden in the centre gives children room to explore between the plant beds. The M Leuven museum is close to the old town for a rainy hour. My advice: plan the sightseeing in the morning, return to the hotel for the wellness area in the late afternoon, and keep the evenings for a short walk to the Oude Markt or the Grote Markt.