I'll start with the positives which won't take long from our 2 night stay. The location of this 'retreat' is great, in the Byron Hinterland and is very quiet and secluded. It was easy to find and we stayed in a stand alone cabin. There appeared to be some rooms that were interconnecting. We were told we had the best room in the place, and I assume this comment related to the view, which was lovely. Even though it rained the entire time we were there this didn't affect our review as we were more than happy to do nothing and have a rest.
Now the negatives: the big one for me was cleanliness. Our bedspread had massive red stains all over it, and also hairs. One of the towels also had hairs on it and there was hair on the floors in the lounge and toilet, There was mould in the shower and hair. I wondered if the room had even been cleaned. Two of four mugs were dirty so we washed everything. It had been awhile since the blankets had been cleaned.
The other big negative was the lack of information provided. Usually there is a compendium with info on what is available to guests. There was nothing in our room and so I make the next comments based on the fact that if the facility was available no one told us: there was no DVD player, no phone or internet service, no books or games, no electric blankets (it was FREEZING while we were there) and the TV reception was intermittent. There was a heater in the bedroom but it was too noisy to have on while you slept.
Next was the restaurant - we had a 2 course dinner included in our room rate and breakfast. All the food was incredibly disappointing. The entree of cold tomatoes and cheese smothered in raw onion was terrible. The main of snapper was so so tiny I couldn't believe they called it a main. The dessert of flourless chocolate cake tasted like a square of cocoa powder that disintegrated in your mouth. And for the price it was just terrible value. I've eaten many gorgeous meals at hotels, and these were the size of a meal in a 7 course degustation. Also, we paid $110 extra for the 2 course meal. If we had just paid the room rate it would have been cheaper to order straight from the menu. The breakfasts were bland - the first day was slightly better with croissants and banana bread, but the second day was Helgas bread, cereals, fruit and some pastries. The advertised 'homemade breads' didn't make an appearance.
We paid top dollar to stay here, and were left bitterly disappointed. This property could learn so much from a Spicers retreat. My husbands pet hate was the day bed which was the only lounge chair to sit on - it was so uncomfortable for two people to share. The general decor was really motel style and just outdated and felt unclean. The shower was so small there wasn't even room to shave your legs!! There was no microwave which would've been great as it is a fair drive to any food, and the restaurant wasn't open on the Sunday night after 6pm. There was a door in the bedroom with glass in it which didn't have a blind or curtain so the light came straight in early in the morning. Just stupid design for a bedroom.
On checkout I mentioned to the lady that the torch in our room wasn't working, and that the bedspread had stains all over it. She nodded and agreed that she knew about that. When I mentioned the hairs she said 'oh that's disgusting' - no apology. I think it's disgusting that if you know a bedspread is stained all over with some red substance that you wouldn't just put it in the bin. Overall I felt the staff member didn't really care. Also, on our first day I asked for our room not to be serviced during our stay as we had computer equipment and there was no safe in the room. I was looked at like an alien and on checkout was referred to as the 'one that didn't want us to service the room'. It was the first trip anywhere in the world that all I wanted was to go home after the first night. I felt anything but relaxed. I would never go back and would never recommend.
