General Review for public use
Summary #1
A great place for a holiday beside the bay. Comfortable. Good value.
First impressions
Our five nights at 35 Lake View Crescent, St Leonard’s were good. The house reminded us of granma’s place from those earlier days of the 1950-60s but, for all that, it was spacious, clean and presentable, friendly, warm and welcoming. The house is located in the back blocks of the town in a quiet residential neighbourhood – one of which, or so it seemed, was largely empty of people in mid-Feb22. One estimate suggests <10% of the house occupied (on the basis of a car in the driveway). So, the place is quiet at that time of year.
Inside the house
The house is well-presented with reasonably modern furniture and fittings – carpeted throughout, comfortable 3-piece suit in the lounge, modern television and portable space heater. There’s a DVD-player and video-tape player beneath the television, neither of which we explored. There’s an air/con unit fitted into the wall but, again, we did not explore it. The main bedroom contains a really comfortable double bed with plenty of covers. There’s a ceiling fan, but we never explored it. In the second bedroom there is a single bed and twin bunk bed with the lower bed designed for a couple (the first time that we have seen this novel configuration).
The kitchen is well-organized with an L-shaped working surface/sink unit along two sides. It was well-equipped with a stand-alone electric cooker and solid hot plates – granma again – and it works fine – top plates and oven. The same with the small electrical utilities – kettle/jug, toaster, microwave oven. There is sufficient selection of modern chinaware, glassware, cutlery, kitchen utensils, cooking ware and similar for a family of four. Everything clean, presentable and functioning and, we’d guess, purchased fairly recently. Nothing damaged, crack, chipped, etc.
The hot water supply to the kitchen is reliable – with the same in the bathroom and laundry. The washing machine worked well – with a rotary clothesline in the garden. Pegs, washing powder, etc. were provided. Iron & ironing board in a cupboard. The lavatory, wash basin and shower in the bathroom worked well. We were provided with large new fluffy towels.
There is a spacious two-door walk-in store/larder/shelves unit leading off from the kitchen. In here is the compact double-section fridge/freezer – more than sufficient storage space for a couple during a week’s stay. The light to the store is activated by a switch set into the door jamb – open the left door and the light comes on, etc.
The windows throughout the house have been fitted with modern sliding venetian blinds – all worked OK.

Recommended changes/additions?
What about:
1. A bedside table lamp in the main bedroom; this would be a useful addition – making it easier to ‘read in bed’ w/o having to get up and turn the ceiling light off.
2. Providing a set of table mats (to protect the table surface from hot plates, etc.).
3. An anti-slip mat for the shower unit (given the slippery nature of the shower floor when wet).
4. WiFi would be a great advantage. There was a new modem/router in the house, which suggests that WiFi may be on the way. (There’s no laptop working surface in the house apart from the dining table. It’s at a distance from the wall-plugs. We carried our own extension lead, but also noticed a lead in one of the cupboards – as we were leaving.)
Additions
Out back there’s a large semi-abandoned grass-covered garden with four fruit trees at the far end. An excellent place in which to kick a ball around with the kids. The garden is secure, and separated from the car, driveway, rain/sun port and garage (all of which are accessed from the front of the house). The garage is locked and not available.
The house is a great base from which to explore the Bellarine Peninsula: everywhere is within easy reach – Geelong 30 minutes, Queenscliff 20 minutes and Portarlington little more than 15 minutes.
There’s a small commercial centre in St Leonard's with an IGA supermarket, hotel/pub and a couple of take-away/food places – your regular ‘Fish & Chips’ and a pizzeria. We purchased a meal from the former and ate back at the house. The place/food comes highly recommended.
Summary #2
The house also come highly recommended.
Peter Steele
25Feb22