[ENG]
This is the best spa I have tried in Belgium. So why…read moreonly 3 stars out of 5? Because on the European scale, it does not hold the comparison. Not for the requested price. Belgium has still a lot to learn (and a lot to gain) from proper wellness business. Let's get started:
The PROs:
- Infrastructure and atmosphere are relatively good, especially on summer days with the entire park next to the castle made available for sunbathing. (no textile allowed there apart from your bathrobe though. So if you are rather prudish, forget about it and keep to the textile area)
- Various saunas and steambaths available for every taste, as well as a nice pool of respectable size and a couple hottubs/jacuzzis.
- The food from the Restaurant was OK-Brasserie quality and the prices were typical from what you find in Brussels. (I haven't tried it since they changed the menu though)
The CONs:
- The staff. Seriously, in a wellness center, these are the people supposed to make you feel good. Instead, most of the time, they gave you the feeling you are a burden to them. (and this applies from the massage therapists to the restaurant waiters. For the reception the experience was variable. Sometimes fine, sometimes not.) Not good at all.
- No water (fountain, etc.) available for free in between the saunas. And you are forbidden to bring your own. This seems rather a cheap way to force you to buy the 1L water bottle at the bar for €4,5
- The price. €32 per person for a day entry. Compare to Therme Erding in Germany where you pay 38€ for the day and you get access to a complex 10 times the size of this one, with a caring staff, plenty of restaurant options, dozens of different saunas and relaxation areas, one of the best slides area in Europe, this suddenly sounds overpriced.
- The locker room distribution: when arriving at the spa, you get assigned a locker in the locker room. It seems they have a rather lousy computer system as each time we got there we were assigned a locker directly next to other peope who also just arrived while other sections were completely empty. And as there isn't really a changing cabin for each person (only one per section), this makes it rather awkward for everyone.
Conclusion: Again, like other places in Belgium, it is the current service low level and the rather overpriced day entry which keep this place from becoming a 5-star must-go. These are easy fixes and if the management cares about his customers, it will take action.