This property is situated in a wonderful location being steps away from the patrolled beach. The penthouse offers amazing views of the sea and the rooftop spa bath is an extra treat. We were unable to maximise the rooftop space as the weather was against us with high winds and rain most evenings. However, I can imagine in better weather it would be wonderful.
The size of the apartment was a pleasant surprise, being bigger than the photo suggests. We are a family of 5 and there was plenty of room for us to spread out. The kitchen was large as were the main and second bedrooms. However, as previously mentioned the 3rd bedroom is small with 2 single beds and no wardrobe. In addition one of the sliding doors of the 3rd bedroom was broken and had a post-it note on it asking us not to move it. This wasn’t fixed during our stay.
The furnishings are as shown but some are quite worn, ie. the chests of drawers in the main bedroom. The sofas are different to the photo and are now a blue leather.
Unfortunately, we had several issues with our stay. The first being that the kitchen had not been cleaned when we arrived. In addition there were no cleaning products with which to do this. So we had to purchase these plus all the basics for our stay, ie. washing up liquid, foil, oil, dishwashing tablets, etc. The only thing provided for our 9 night stay was one kitchen cloth and a tiny bottle of milk in the fridge. We had to ask Paradiso Resort for a tea towel and champagne glasses as these were also not provided. This seemed extremely mean considering the price charged and that it is an Airbnb property which, in our previous experience, have been better stocked with standard kitchen provisions.
We then had a bathroom sink become blocked and despite reporting this via a call and texts to the mobile no provided, received no response. We went to Paradiso Resort (where we collected the key) to be told it would be fixed that pm but nobody arrived. After another visit we were told someone would come the following morning but still no one came. Nobody contacted us to let us know what had happened and our calls/texts went unanswered. It was at this point we escalated the situation via Airbnb and the sink was fixed. We also mentioned our messages about the unclean kitchen and nobody could explain why we hadn’t received any communication. The property managers refunded the cleaning fee which we appreciated. However, we feel both the communication and the refund were only given due to our contact with Airbnb.
Whilst the location and outlook of the apartment warrant a 5-star review I’m afraid the total lack of communication made our stay a frustrating one. You don’t expect to pay the high daily rate charged to spend time chasing repairs and cleaning plus having to buy basic items.
In addition the managers failed to let us know that Peppers had closed off the Salt resort to Bale guests. Therefore, you are limited to using the Bale pool only and cannot go to the gym, etc. This restriction was not reflected in the rate charged and I suggest future guests check directly with Peppers on access. We only found this out when our key swab failed to open the gates to Salt and a staff member updated us.
We have stayed in many Airbnb properties both here and overseas and, sadly, this one did not meet the expectations set by the rate charged in terms of how it is managed. I’m not even sure who Kingscliff Accommodation is as we never met anyone employed by them - only staff at Paradiso Resort.
Overall, the issues above diminished what could have been a perfect stay and we hope this feedback will inform the owner of this property that the management of it should better reflect its position in the Airbnb marketplace.