Very easy to collect keys upon arrival. We called the owner (who lives opposite) and she came to meet us. She gave us a quick walkthrough of the property, and handed over the keys.
The location is stunning, and the property is beautiful and very clean. It is extremely spacious - perfect for two or three families. Lots of things to do - pool table, darts board (although it is hung slightly too high, even for my 6' tall son), plenty of board games, ping pong table, and foosball table.
The property is described as having a hot tub, but it's not at all what we expected. It looks like a standard hot tub, but hasn't been wired up to a power source. A wood-burner has been fitted to heat the water, but there are no bubbles. There is a control panel on the side, and you can see the jets and lights fitted to the unit, but none of it works because there is no power! This is not clear in the property description. You are essentially sitting in a bath with other people! The water isn't treated, so has to be changed every two days - for which there is a charge of €100 each time.
There is no mains water in the property, the water source is a well, and not suitable for drinking. This wasn't too much of a problem as we are used to buying bottled water when abroad, but not what you expect in Belgium. It's fine to shower in, but every time you turn the shower on, there is a brief smell of sulpher (rotten eggs) which is not pleasant.
The upstairs of the main building has two bathrooms and a separate toilet. It's fine (albeit unusual) not to have the toilet in one of the bathrooms, but very odd that the toilet didn't have a hand basin in it. We had to go into the bathroom each time to wash our hands.
It is written in the property description that there is to be no noise nuisance, and to respect neighbours they ask that you are quiet after 10pm. However, what isn't made clear is that the property is on a working farm, so there are animal noises (including a dog barking all night) and tractors outside bedroom windows well past 11pm! We weren't very impressed by this. Several members of the group didn't sleep well because of the noise.
The stairs in the annexe are steep and shallow - you can't get your whole foot on a step. Fine for us, but potentially dangerous for children.
There was no leeway on arrival time.
