Panorama Cottage - 4 persons

-

Our second vacation in the Hoge Kempen. This year we stayed in a larger cottage with air conditioning. We chose the spot ourselves on the map. A really nice cottage in a great location! The cottage was spotless when we arrived. Despite the hot weather, we had a great time and enjoyed a wonderful vacation! Bonus: comfortable beds!

What a lovely park in a beautiful area of Belgium Limburg. Staff lovely and the accommodation was top notch. I cannot recommend Europarcs enough.

-

Accommodation type: Pietersheim Cottage (white cottages)

We stayed in a Pietersheim Cottage and had a wonderful vacation. The location at the back of the park is wonderfully peaceful, and the large playground behind the cottage almost felt like our own backyard. Our children had hours of fun there. In addition, there are several smaller playgrounds scattered throughout the park with fun play equipment.

During our stay, there was also a circus in the park. That made for a special experience: from our garden, we could see a camel, a llama, ponies, and other animals roaming freely. The kids loved it.

The cottage is cozy, but a bit compact for six people. We found ourselves regularly bumping our toes against chair legs, the table, or even the ottoman. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful, so we were able to spend a lot of time sitting outside. The spacious terrace and comfortable lounge set more than made up for it. The corner where the cottage is located offers plenty of privacy.

Unfortunately, we did have some bad luck with the Deluxe package upon arrival. We had chosen this option because it includes, among other things, made-up beds, a towel package, a tea and coffee set, and a shower set. The actual service didn’t quite meet our expectations. However, we were able to report this immediately via a reply to a WhatsApp welcome message, and they responded fairly quickly to find a solution.

Specifically, the bedding showed signs of wear in several places, with holes and even mold stains on a pillowcase. The tea and coffee set consisted of one packet of coffee and two tea bags, which is very little for a stay with six people over several days. The shower set also contained only one mini bottle each of shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner, making it not really suitable for a family.

The towels looked brand new, but didn’t seem to have been washed yet. We could tell by the new smell and because they barely dried us off and left a lot of lint behind. In the end, we had to wash and dry the towels ourselves at the laundromat, which took extra time and cost us more. For a Deluxe package priced at €204, we think the contents and quality should better live up to the name.

Areas for improvement:
- Pay extra attention to the corners of the bedrooms when cleaning; there was quite a bit of dust there, including along the walls.
- Check the cottage’s drain beforehand. In our case, the sewer drain was clogged.
- Molton protective covers for the pillows would be an improvement from a hygiene standpoint. We saw stray hairs from other guests on the pillows, and not all of the pillows smelled equally fresh.
- Make sure the information at the front desk is up to date. We were given slightly different directions to the cottage and were told there was a charging station at the cottage, but it turned out there wasn’t one.

Regarding the charging stations: the only charging points are located outside the park near the parking lot. For guests with limited mobility, the distance—including the slope back to the park—is quite long. A small parking lot with charging stations near the Pietersheim Cottages would be a valuable improvement.

Despite the mishap on the first day, we enjoyed our stay. The peaceful location, the many play options, the lovely outdoor space, and our good luck with the weather made for a wonderful vacation. With a few improvements in maintenance, cleaning, and the contents of the Deluxe package, the experience for future guests could be even better.

We had a really nice stay. The location is great (with all kinds of things to do and activities nearby), the park is well-maintained, and our cottage was in excellent condition. We also really liked the arrangement with the outdoor pool across the street.
The (rented) Segway/Ninebot activities were fantastic, but while the entertainment team at the park is enthusiastic, they’re still very inexperienced.
In terms of service, there’s still room for improvement. For example, the WhatsApp system seems like a good idea, but of course, the notifications need to be followed up on.

All in all, definitely worth recommending.