Tranquil loft near Queen Victoria Market
Duration of stay: 21 days from 31 July to 20 August 2022; 4 guests - 2 adults and two children
Pluses:
1. Great location - very close to the Queen Victoria Market and adjacent to tram stations
2. Quick response from the host to all messages; faults and defects to equipment were reasonably well attended to
Minuses:
1. Only one bathroom- not at all ideal for a two room accommodation housing 4 people
2. Overall the cleanliness of the apartment at the time of taking possession was significantly below expectations; examples are (1) the toilet had yellow stains in the commode which we had to clean before starting to use as the cleaners had clearly not done any cleaning of the toilet (2) the carpet in the living area was dusty and unclean and could have potentially exposed us to related allergies; we had to dump it in the storage area during our stay (3) the kettle had rusty stains and could only be used after thorough cleaning.
3. Only one key ! Again not convenient at all and made me wonder why despite earlier guest reviews on this matter the host has not actioned on this.
4. The bedrooms are upstairs and the bathroom/toilet below; did not find this a very convenient arrangement
5. Being a loft with wooden stairs it’s difficult if not impossible not to wake up every one from their sleeps to go down and use the toilet in the night…the thud and creek of the stairs and the floor is very loud and annoying.
6. One room is open to a void - lacks privacy
7. Though the property is listed as 2 bedrooms and good for up to 4 people , given the points in 1,3, 4 and 5 above, we found the property to be suitable perhaps only for couples and a small child at the best
8. We experienced recurring issues with washing machine - mainly with its front door- difficulty in opening and once mid wash it opened and soap water splurged all over the bathroom making the floor slippery for at least a couple of days. Also refer to positive comment 2.
9. Being close to the road and on a lower floor there is noise from outside that creeps in despite closing the balcony door.
10. No external windows for either of the rooms - if you are claustrophobic - you may find this place unsuitable.
11. The basic supplies - hand wash liquid, table tissues, detergent etc were lacking - clearly these were not replenished after the previous guest checked out. Though this was communicated no action was taken by the host. As the stores were accessible and these items were rather inexpensive we sourced this ourselves.
12. Subsequent to check out the host wanted to charge $25 for missing the QR code with the key tag that was printed on an almost worn out paper. I thought this was an unreasonable request as clearly if the QR code was so important it should have been printed using protective material ? But to be fair on my request the host waived this charge.
I leave it to the readers to weigh the pluses and minuses and reach their own conclusions !