Golden Lion

I recently had the unfortunate experience of staying at The Golden Lion, and it was hands down the worst place I have ever been to. My boyfriend and I had just completed a grueling 75km hike over three days in Belgium when we fell seriously ill on the third day. Desperate for a place to stay, we found The Golden Lion. Despite the immaculate vibes, beautiful reception area, and the welcoming aroma of incense, our stay quickly turned into a nightmare. Upon arrival, I asked twice to book a room for the night. The woman who I assume owned the place silently handed us the keys, simply pointing us upstairs. Given our state—exhausted, ill, and carrying large backpacks—we assumed she understood our situation and we could settle the payment in the morning. The room itself was basic but sufficient, except for the toilet, which was right next to a window facing residential houses, and a bathroom window that exposed us to the landing, compromising our privacy. Additionally, there was no inside lock on the door, meaning they had access to our room at all times. Nonetheless, we were too ill to care much about these issues. We stripped off our clothes due to our feverish state and tried to rest. Our rest was soon disrupted by loud shouting from the people downstairs, who we assume were the owners, as they cooked dinner. The smell, although not their fault, made me feel worse due to my illness. The shouting escalated, and then, to our horror, our door was unlocked and the woman began yelling at me in French. My boyfriend was naked and throwing up in the bathroom, which we kept clean after use. I was also naked in bed. This invasion of privacy was shocking and extremely uncomfortable. I asked her to leave so I could get dressed and discuss the situation, but she continued screaming, threw our belongings onto the landing, and threatened to call the police. The man who spoke English eventually came up and explained they thought we were a different booking. Mistakes happen, but their handling of the situation was appalling. I told him we would leave immediately, gathered our belongings (including clothes) from the landing, all while still naked and trying to cover up with anything we could find. Despite being left alone for a brief moment, the woman returned and demanded to know why we were taking so long. It does not take two minutes to gather all our belongings and get changed, especially in the state we were in! She then stripped the sheets off the bed and continued shouting threats. The man had to come up again and take her away. We left immediately after gathering our things. The woman took no accountability for her actions or the mistake she made. Although the man apologised, I felt compelled to share this review for the safety of others. This experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. I highly advise against staying at The Golden Lion. Your privacy and safety could be at serious risk.

We stayed in the family suite aka two bedroom cottage for one night and didn't feel we got value for the price we paid. It's a one bedroom flat that has the living space used as a second bedroom. The blurb provided on-line about the features of the 'cottage' isn't very accurate and the payment, plus a security deposit was withdrawn from my credit card, three and a half months before we arrived, as soon as I provided the details. The booking app used stated that payment would be On Arrival.