For value for money for our 2 families - taking into consideration the ages of our children - this was not the house for us.
We had looked forward to using the games room to play pool and table tennis once the kids were asleep but due to the cold and no heating we did not use this carport area at all.
The heating for a house this size was quite inadequate, one reverse cycle upstairs for the entire house, and although there were oil bar heaters you could plug in downstairs they really only JUST took the edge off the cold (and if you are not keen on leaving them on all night in a 3 year old's bedroom then these were quite useless).
The beds were comfortable, upstairs bathroom was nice and kitchen was well equipped.
We weren't able to make use of the 2 queen suites as they were detached from the main house meaning our young children would have to unlock the front door, walk outside and then unlock the doors to the suites to get to us in the night. We were refunded our extra cost of linen ($25 pp) due to not using the suites but still paid full price for a 5 bedroom/4 bathroom house even though we only used 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Exclusive escapes were lovely and communication with them was good, just unfortunate that we didn't know sooner.
As families who travel down south this way multiple times a year and book something within this price bracket each time we know there's better choices out there.
Sorry to leave negative comments, I don't normally feel the need to but don't want other young families to struggle with the same issues we faced.
House was in a nice location, quiet and private with a lovely bush outlook from the deck.
Would recommend 'The Retreat' for a summer stay for adults or atleast families with older children that keep their blankets on 😊