Since you're expecting just one result:
if ($stmt = $mysqli->prepare($prep_stmt)) {
$stmt->bind_param('i', $user_id);
$stmt->execute();
$stmt->bind_result($lat, $lon);
if(($result = $stmt->fetch()) == true){
echo "'$lat' and '$lon'";
} elseif($result == false) {
echo 'db error';
} else {
echo 'no results'; // $result == null
}
}
If you have multiple rows, $stmt->fetch() will bind the next result to the same variables so you can do:
while($stmt->fetch()){
echo $lat, $lon;
}
It is just 1 way of many.. just read the documentation.