We stayed here four nights with our family of five. The property is located about a fifteen minute drive from Bruges near Oostkamp. It is a lovely property surrounded by woods and ponds. The owner (Michael) met us promptly upon arrival and we were able to get situated. The bedrooms are comfortable though many of the light fixtures were missing bulbs. The kitchen is generally well equipped (though the freezer compartment was very small) and many of the consumables (soap, etc) were provided. The shower /tub is on the split level (half a flight up) and is a bit cramped for a six foot person. The toilet is on the ground floor.
Two issues immediately surfaced. First, the property is listed as having a washer and dryer and has neither. When we asked Michael about this he seemed surprised and asked us if that was important. We had planned our packing for our three week trip around doing laundry at certain locations and had booked this property because it supposedly had a washer and dryer, so it was important. Michael said he would see what he could do, but never brought up the subject again. We eventually found a good laundromat in Brugges (corner of Schaarstraat and Wittelleertouwersstraat) but had to burn a morning doing laundry instead of sightseeing.
Secondly, shortly after our arrival we discovered a large number of mosquitoes in every room of the house, mostly suspended from the ceiling. We went to work with newspapers and a broom to kill them, working our way through the entire house, upstairs and down. We killed around thirty before we could no longer find any, but along the way we discovered “squish” marks from previous mosquito hunts indicating the problem was not a new one. We discovered that only one window had a screen (not unusual for Belgium) and suspect that the windows had been left open during the day for cooling, allowing the mosquitoes from the ponds to come in. We brought the issue to the attention of Michael the following morning, who again seemed surprised but offered no solution. For the rest of our visit, we had to keep the windows tightly closed and the house, especially the upstairs sleeping quarters, became very warm and stuffy.
Despite all this, we really did like the property. Michael did lend us a scale to help us in our packing (we brought a lot of Belgian beer back) and while he was very nice, he offered no solution to either of the primary issues we had with the property, even though it was very apparent he was aware of both of them. Each of those issues cost a star. Adding some screens to the windows , and perhaps some fans, would go a long ways towards addressing the interior mosquito problem, adding circulation or treatment to the ponds would address the source, or just don’t go there in the summer. The washer and dryer should be removed from the listing or added to the property. Addressing both of these would take this property to four or five stars. As it currently is situated, I would recommend this property IF you don’t need a washer and dryer, or are fine going to the Laundromat, and in any season except summer.