Anybody read German and/or French??
 

I found what looks like a beautiful castle to stay in in the Ardennes in Belgium. I went on Trip Advisor to read reviews. The only negative reviews are written in German and French., which I can't read. The name of the place is La Butte Aux Bois Hostellerie in the town of Lanaken. Also, I can't seem to contact the hotel directly to ask about the differences in their rooms, so I don't know what I'm getting. Help!!

If you would like someone to translate something for you it's courteous to give a link to the site you need translated.

I don't read either, but you might try copying and pasting the text of the negative reviews (and/or the hotel information) into the box at translate.google.com . Assuming things are spelled correctly, Google usually does a decent job at getting you the gist.

If you happen to use Google Chrome as your internet browser, it will automatically translate pages for you.

A link would indeed be helpful...

Reviews in German often give what seems like bad marks for a simple reason: in our schools 1 is the best mark, 6 is the worst.

There are 14 reviews, all of them positive except for one in French that complains about the restaurant - the wine was terrible and there were only 4 servers for 70 patrons, and one in German that says the reception was unfriendly. The rest, in English and Dutch, are unflaggingly positive.

The German review is quite old, from 2008.
The author states that they visited the hotel only shortly after it had become a "Relais & Chateux" establishment, and that the problem with reception might have been more a teething problem.

The reception did not yet meet the standard they had experienced in other R&C hotels, e.g. there was no porter available on check-in and check-out.
And the receptionist was not helpful and somewhat unfriendly in assisting them to get all the many luggage to and from the room.

The hotel itself got only praise from the author.

Can you imagine the "reliability" of someone who EXPECTS the front desk staff to help them with all that luggage everyone said NOT to pack? Definitely discount THAT one.

The French says that the restaurant was a disaster. The waitress spilled sauce over him, did not bother to change the tablecloth, he had to help himself to the wine and the food was just average (lobster probably frozen).
The Belgian says that it is very pleasant and improving.

You can also use google translate to copy paste the url and it will translate it for you. Try reading the text aloud, that helps me to understand it.


I never worry about the reviews when the complaint is that the people were unfriendly or inept. I can get along with anyone for the time it takes me to check in and everyone makes a mistake now and then.

Thank you everyone for your help! I'm sorry I'm not especially computer savvy, so don't know how to include a link. I decided, since it's a C & R property, to take a chance. I booked it through the C & R website, and asked my questions there. Thanks for taking the time to look the place up for me--I'll let you know how it is when I return!

dukey..
some of us live so close to Belgium or France that we can actually DRIVE there with our own cars... so no need to travel "carry-on only" ;-)

countrychick, take your mouse up to the top section of the page. Look here at Fodor's under the blue strip at the top. Now under that you see the Fodor's "F" in yellow and black then you see http://www.fodor.com

Run your mouse over that section - see how it gets black? Now right click you mouse and a drop down box will appear select "copy" and paste it onto the google site.

Get good at this and it will serve you well.

Please note that Lanaken is not in the Ardennes! It's in the province of Limburg, which is a fair drive to the Ardennes (abt. 120 km to La Roche en Ardenne).