From sugar refinery to grand hôtel

The history of Martin’s Grand Hotel is interwoven with the thriving industry of the beginning of the 19th century. In 1863, the Raffinerie Nationale de Sucre Indigène et Exotique (National Refinery for Indigenous and Exotic Sugar) was founded. This new undertaking purchased the current La Sucrerie site, just outside Waterloo’s town centre, to cultivate sugar beet and to make sugar.

During the 19th century and a large part of the 20th century, La Sucrerie was mortgaged and resold more than once – so the site changed owner and activity several times. It was once a plant in which condensed milk was produced. After that, a lamb nursery and even a demolition company took up residence. At one time, the French-language Belgian Radio and Television company established a film studio there. Thereafter, the buildings housed various municipal services. 

In 1989, La Sucrerie started a new chapter in its history: the Louis de Waele holding company rebuilt the site entirely into a business centre with leisure possibilities. Martin’s Grand Hotel and its La Sucrerie restaurant were born in 1992. The hotel, with its 79 prestige guest rooms and four meeting rooms, soon began attracting businesspeople, as well as numerous tourists seeking the luxury of a prestigious grand hôtel in Waterloo.