Villa Athena

Le très bon accueil par Iris qui nous a amenés de très bonnes tomates et prunes. Le jardin clôturé, impeccable pour notre chienne. Lit confortable. Douche. Canapé et table extérieurs. Situation géographique.

Ustensiles de cuisine. Pas de borne de recharge pour véhicule électrique alors qu'indiqué sur Booking. Le lavabo de la salle de douche beaucoup trop petit.

Buiten was het heel gezellig.

De kamer boven was heel warm

Met ons gezin van mama, papa, dochter van 2jaar en hond van 2,5jaar hebben we 12 nachten verbleven tijdens het bouwverlof. De aankomst is goed verlopen, er lagen nootjes, chips, vers fruit, cava, koffie voor mijn man (Nespresso) en hondensnoepjes voor Minion en een hoop nieuw speelgoed voor onze dochter Ruby. We hadden ook fietsen mee en hebben frequent fietstochtjes gemaakt in de nabije omtrek (fietsknooppunten), alsook ligt de Intermarché op fietsafstand van Villa Athena. In een straal van 30min rijden met de auto zijn er leuke uitstappen te doen; - Piscine de Wanze - Domaine provincial de Chevetogne (buitenzwembad in domein) - Dinant met de elektrische bootjes - Rail-bike (Les draisines de la Molignée) Maar bovenal hebben we een rustgevende vakantie beleefd met ons gezin in het huisje met goed omheinde tuin, alsook speelpleintje met schommel/glijbaan. Misschien een kleine tip, opletten voor je hoofd bij de 'lage' deuropeningen, maar terwijl heeft het zijn charmes. Lakens, handdoeken, keukenhanddoeken, sponzen, dreft, wc-papier, etc. waren ruim voorzien. Eveneens konden we de gastvrouw Iris elk moment bereiken. Op onze voorlaatste avond is de gastvrouw nog langsgekomen met de pony Chanel voor een kennismaking met onze dochter, ze mocht zelfs even op haar rug zitten. Een dikke 10/10 vanuit Brugge!

We were 4 mature people, fortunately good friends, who have travelled quite widely through France and Belgium over the years. We booked in the anticipation that Villa Athena would suit our simple requirements. And it so nearly does, but there are crucial failings that force us to say that this pretty little converted gardener's hut or stable is not suitable for four mature adults. Clean and beautifully presented with welcoming touches like fresh eggs from the hens visible from the kitchen and a bowl of lovely fruit, the cottage is a delight in so many ways. Plenty of hot water, a well enough equipped kitchen, a comfortable sitting room and plenty of outside seating, barbeque etc., make the Villa very attractive. The downside is that it is the conversion of a 19th. Century garden house and in order to squeeze two bedrooms, a shower room and living space out of it some bad compromises have had to be made: There is no privacy. With the exceptions of the shower-room and the downstairs w.c, there are no doors in the Villa. The only bathing space is the shower room leading off the main, upstairs, bed room. Fine for the occupants of that room, but hopeless for the second couple sleeping downstairs. There is a second w.c. downstairs, but with no washbasin in it  so teeth and hand washing has to be done in the kitchen. The bed in the main bedroom leaves very little space to creep past it to get to the shower room, a bit less than 15inches from the foot of the bed to the wall. The light switch to the bathroom is hidden behind a pigeon-hole storage unit and very difficult to use. The shower, itself, has a very badly designed door that has no handle on the inside making it near impossible to open with wet hands. Worse, the shower tray is very slippery when wet; getting out is not easy when you have had a new hip only a few months ago.

That brings me to hanging cupboard storage: there is none. A clothes rack upstairs, and none at all in the bottom bedroom. Then there is the lack of ventilation for the bottom bedroom. Unless you are prepared to have an unlocked and open door to the garden, the only ventilation is through a permanently open hatch to the kitchen, I should add that the lower bedroom has just a pair of curtains screening it off from the main corridor. As mentioned, there is a door to the garden, this is equipped with an ill fitting blind that cannot be used as it is too wide to lower into the space allotted because there are some poorly designed shelves either side of it. Access throughout the cottage is poor because three of the openings have lintel heights of around 5’3” so, it’s ‘duck or grouse’! The upstairs bedroom, leading directly off the stairs from the kitchen, has neither door nor curtain. This means the main bed room leads directly onto the top winders of the stairs that come down into the kitchen, potentially dangerous as bending to get through the low door at the same time as trying to negotiate the top, winding, stairs is tricky. Any cooking smells from the kitchen flow directly up into this room. The plumbing has been wrongly installed, as the flush of a w.c. will ‘pull’ the traps all down the run of drainage, with embarrassing glugs and gurgles not to mention potentially unpleasant blow-back. There are level changes throughout the property with some awkward steps, easily missed until the pain teaches you to remember where they are. With 4 people seated at the kitchen table, one chair is perilously close to the step down to the corridor. To sum up, as a former surveyor, I can categorically say that this property would not meet current building regulations in the UK. As to whether it does in Belgium, I cannot comment.