A real mixed bag of an experience for us, while the views and location of this space were perfect. The rest of the experience sadly left a lot to be desired.
Starting with the pros: Communication was reasonably promt, and instructions were clear (however it did feel a little impersonal and I got replies from a different person than the listed owner) Getting there was a breeze, the house sits about 50 metres from the great ocean road, less than 10 mins from apollo bay. From the perch on the hill you do get truly spectacular views of bass strait and beach access is brilliant. The house features a good amount of space, and its easy to see its been set up with families, kids, and pets in mind. There are loads of books, movies, board games, and even a playstation with two living areas so parents can spend some time alone. The bathroom was another highlight, the shower in particular was pretty special.
On the cons side: the house felt like it had barely been cleaned. Everything needed a good dusting and there was an abundance of animal hair in the top living space (my wife is highly allergic and this is on us for not reading the description more carefully, however I would've expected a vaccuum to have been done) and the A/C in the room was broken. The master bedroom and bathroom were the only two spaces that felt like they'd been cleaned properly, likely due to the commerically cleaned sheets & towels. From the master bedroom (a loft-style room that overlooks the kitchen) it was clear the tops of the cupboards hadn't been cleaned in a while. The sauce marks on the beams in the kitchen confirmed this. There were also an army of blowflies, moths, and mosquitoes present when we arrived, not the end of the world - but not exaclty holiday worthy.
Otherwise the space just felt cramped and the attention to detail common with listings of this price and review range was missing. The louge suite and dining table just felt too big for the space they are in, the vaccum was left in a corner, the remote for the second TV wasn't working and was left in the wrong room, and there was dust and cobwebs left pretty much everywhere.
We spent so much time out and about that it wasn't holiday-ruining. Had we been there for longer than 2 days, or intending to spend more time at the house - I would've contacted the owners to do rectify the above. All in all the space just felt tired, a good deep-clean, a bit of paint here & there and maybe a bit less furniture and a bit more space would have comepletely changed the experience. Sadly the first bad experience I've had on AirBNB, and I hope this is an issue with a cleaning sub-contractor rather than a lack of care but based on the experience I sadly cannot reccomend a stay here.