October 23, 2009
I stayed here a night whilst doing a pilgrimage to In de Vrede, which I did in the afternoon and then sat at the bar here and drank until I had to go to bed. Highlight was the oldish 3 Fonteinen Kriek in bottle. Service could have been a bit faster and there were a fair number of beers not available from the menu, especially the lambics. Also took ages to find an Orval chalice. Overall though I liked the atmosphere, even if everyone else was speaking Flemish, I was made to feel welcome at the bar.

December 17, 2008
Deserted. No one behind the bar, nobody in the hotel.

November 29, 2008
Maybe we came at an off-night for the bartender, but we tried this place twice to give him the benefit of the doubt. Very good beer selection. No food. Least friendly bartender we have encountered outside Brussels. Complained when we arrived, complained about each beer we ordered, complained that we ordered a beer within half an hour of closing. And the sign above the bar says "Keep Smiling!" Closes early, even during the hops festival, which only happens once every three years. Life is too short, and there is too much good beer elsewhere.

June 4, 2008
Small bar on the first floor of a hotel. 4-5 draught Belgians and a small beer book of pretty decent stuff, but all I wanted was an Orval. Visited late at night, so a small crowd of people friendly with the staff were sitting around talking and smoking and drinking. Nice enough place overall considering the town.

January 17, 2008
Well, if you are ever in Poperinge, this place is a must stop. Has a huge beer menu to look through, the service is in English and was personalized by of the family owners herself, and the knowledge shared with us tourists was great. I’d go back in a second if in the area. The Westvleteren beers are available here, although not for sale. Just spend some money at the Palace and ask for a bottle, and they might serve you one (because they can’t sell it). Unfortunately, most of the town of Poperinge shuts down on Wednesdays as a rest day, so be sure to arrive on another day (although, the owners would have opened it for us Wednesday IF they did not have something else they were attending that same evening - so be sure to call ahead IF you cannot avoid a Wednesday!

January 8, 2008
Visited the pub when we were in town for the hotel’s beer festival. It would be fun to come back and stay at the hotel sometime. A nice beer selection heavy on good regional stuff. Great location for adventures to Westvleteren, De Dolle, etc. It was crowded for the fest when we were there, so it was hard to get a feel for what the atmosphere is normally like. I’ll be back.

January 14, 2007
A tribute to Guy and Bea. Nice people in a fine place to be. Price quality of the hotel is very good. The place to be for WW I tourisme, very central to a lot of musea and cemetary’s & Talbot house. Beer amateurs can go there with their eyes shut, you will be served like Cambrinus. Very serveable, nice and pollite.

December 1, 2006
Beatrice was awesome. We didn’t have reservations and just showed up and she was not only able to get us in, but she helped us find where to go for a great selection of beer. She also called us in the morning for breakfast after a long night of drinking. The bar was a bit smokey, but she gave us the scoop on all the beer she served us. I will definitely be back here on our next Westy beer run.

November 25, 2006
Stop in to see if they had any rooms available for 3 people and opened a door to the area. The owner not only took us through their vast beer selection, but what local beers where made in the area. They also helped us find a near by place to purchase over 430 diffrent beers. A bit smokey in the bar at night, but overall a friendly atmosphere. Plan on staying again when I make another trip to get Westvleteren, which is less than 5 min drive from the hotel.

November 8, 2005
The owner was nice suggested a beer or two after some resturant/food confusion regarding the closing time of the kitchen and she even bought me a beer a local made Kerelsbier. Big beer list worth a visit.