We enjoyed our time staying with Regina in Emerald, but wanted to write an honest review of the stay.
Starting off, we absolutely adored the house. The house was beautiful, clean, tidy, and has a great feel to it. The way it’s set on the hill means it heats up nicely in the afternoon which is great if it’s a bit chilly outside. The master bedroom boasts a large double size tub for a good soak and relax. The kitchen facilities are good, and we would be quite comfortable staying there for a longer stay.
We had a couple of things that we thought other potential guests may want to know before booking. Unfortunately we found the host difficult to get in touch with, and we had a question relating to whether or not dogs were allowed. Originally when we booked, dogs were allowed, then it was changed last minute on the airbnb listing. We tried to contact the host to confirm the change was correct, as we had made arrangements to bring our boy. Thankfully we had family who were able to step in last minute, but this was a bit disappointing as we would have preferred to be able to make contact sooner. We only heard from the host for the very first time since booking (originally booked weeks prior to our stay) at nearly midnight on the stay itself. The airbnb listing had a checkout time of 11am, but we then received another contact from the host ‘reminding us’ that checkout was before 10am (it was then 10:30am), and she had a cleaner due in shortly. Thankfully we had just finished cleaning up and packing, so were able to leave, however we had no prior indication from the host that check out was earlier than stated on the airbnb listing.
This beautiful house does come with a significant price tag, however, we did find that the service was lacking in the house. We have stayed in much cheaper bnbs where the hosts went above and beyond to make a comfortable well stocked stay for the guests. In the airbnb listing, it says breakfast was provided. There were a few eggs, two brown onions, some tomatoes on the bench, an old small ramekin of butter in the fridge, used by the previous stay. In the fridge was a small packet of ham. There was a significant lack of nice glasses/ cups, which made sipping wine in the tub with the other half difficult! The one glass that we found also was covered in hair and fingerprints. We also were not able to access the wifi, as the password has been rubbed off/ worn off. This was frustrating for us.
The bathroom is fantastic, featuring a double shower which was great. It was neat and tidy. Unfortunately the only soap in the stay was a small bar of hotel soap, and while there was a travel size container each of shampoo and conditioner, that had also been opened and mostly used by the previous stay which was a little awkward and we were unsure about the hygiene of it.
TLDR: The house itself is lovely, but the service was lacking. For the amount paid, we certainly expected more to be provided. When you book your night here, we would recommend a stop at the local Woolworths (just 5 mins away) to get some food, soaps, etc, to make your stay more comfortable and easy. We would consider staying here again, but would like to see improvement on the services provided considering the price tag.