Europe has long been a summer playground for travellers across the world, but one destination still largely under the radar – when it comes to summertime escapes – is Belgium. Helping change perceptions is one of Europe’s most exciting new holiday rentals – Paradis Apartment: a charming self-catered escape in the Belgian seaside city of Ostend.
Founded out of a year-long shared love for Ostend, design, art and hospitality, Paradis Apartment is a curated space available for short and long stays, as well as for events, meetings, and shoots. Filled with art and collectables, it’s a stunning place to bed down in the stylish Belgian city – known for its long beach, promenade and vibrant cultural and art scene.
Paradis Apartment is the perfect alternative escape for couples or friends this upcoming spring or summer season. The two-bedroom apartment of 97 square metres, sleeping five, serves both as a holiday escape and an inspirational place to sleep, meet, share and dream. Described as ‘a moving, versatile and evolving project,’ the owners see the apartment as a curated space where the works and objects are put to everyday use, away from the sacredness of museums and galleries – making art accessible and integrating it into the holiday and travel experience.
The kitchen, designed by Ghent-based Atelier Ternier, is at the heart of the apartment – an open-plan space blending into the soothing, Mid Century-inspired living area with sweeping North Sea and beach views. Artworks are courtesy of gallery and collective, artlead, with works by John Baldessari, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Sam Durant, Armen Eloyan and Max Pinckers all adding colour and joy to the space.
Designed as ‘an experiment in self-organization and a questioning of the spaces in which one can present design and art’, the apartment is inspired by the early days of prolific art figures like Leo Castelli, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Gavin Brown, who all started their careers in the art world by staging exhibitions and presentations outside in domestic places. Instead of galleries, their living rooms, kitchens, or even hotel rooms were used, and Paradis Apartment embodies this same hybrid venue energy as a space for creativity and observation, but also to relax, unwind and enjoy a beautiful Belgian seaside holiday.
For those who fall in love with the apartment and want to take a piece home – almost all of the works, furniture and collectable design items in the apartment are for sale, creating an immersive and shoppable experience unlike any other private rental. Included works and pieces include those by Coseincorso, destroyers/builders, HAY, LERRY ceramics, Middernacht & Alexander, Bernard Dubois, Christoph Hefti, Lukas Gschwandtner, MANIERA Gallery, Muller Van Severen, Rooms Studio, STACK, Tekla, valerie_objects and Vormen.
Paradise Apartment sleeps up to five people and is available to rent for €280 a night (about AED1,075), paradisapartment.com, @paradis.apartment
When in Ostend…
- Oysters & Champagne at Café du Parc
- Moules Frites at Café Mosselhuis
- Diner Vue Sur Mer at Brasserie Albert
- Fruits de Mer at Bar Bristol
- Pizza Pronto at Rocco Eats
- Crevettes at Vistrap
- Apéro Art Deco at Et Alors
- La Plage at the Lido
- Jazzy Drinks at Lafayette
All images: Frederik Vercruysse
Dubai-based Isabella Craddock is the founder of Near+Far, a founding Academy Chair for The World’s 50 Best Hotels, former Condé Nast Traveller editor and a hotel-obsessed, design-devoted travel planner—for friends, loved ones, and readers alike.
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