I have been contemplating on whether I should write a review or not. We really wanted to love our stay but there are a few things to note about the property, communication and star rating. I would like to mention that this was also our first trip to see our family since covid and we all travelled to Sydney to stay. We thought that spending this amount of money would mean that our stay would be excellent and it just wasn't and I think other people should be aware of the things that made our stay 2 stars and not 5.
Let's start with the layout. I would suggest this might be a place to comfortably fit 2x couples with no children. The kitchen is very small, the balcony is off of a bedroom and not the main area of the house which makes the loungeroom/kitchen space VERY small to prepare food, lounge and sit with guests.
Photos do not show the true layout of the property. The stairs to enter the property and to go to the roof top deck are very steep. Obviously being a heritage listed building this is something you cannot change However, I would make note of this for guests. Not a place for children or elderly people and I would not recommend having a few cheeky bevs on the deck and navigating the stairs! There is also ZERO view of anything. The way the deck is built it hinders any view of anything.
There is construction right out the front of the property and this was also not described in enough detail to truly understand the noise. Jack hammers all day long and takes away what view you would have from the balcony. We understand this is out of the owners control, but I think this should be noted in better detail.
In the ad for the property it is quite clearly noted that any extra linen etc would cost money. We didn't have enough towels for every person, not enough face washers, hand towels and even tea towels and I messaged Suzanna and she didn't respond to me until the evening before we were leaving. There were no top sheets on the beds either. we didn't want to go through cupboards without permission and unfortunately we went without for our stay.
The dishwasher is not fixed into the wall and fell out almost onto my daughter while we were unpacking it.
The bathroom was extremely dirty when we arrived. There was mould, soap scum and when we arrived it smelt like sewage. The 2nd bathroom is a tiny little closet right next to the main bathroom and is totally random. Definitely not a suitable bathroom situation for family stays. Suzanna responded to my first msg when we arrived and thanked me for letting her know....
The overall interior design is tired and there are a lot of stains on the furniture. There was 1 wine glass between 5 adults and chipped mugs. I wouldn't recommend relying on the "sofa" (fouton) as a bed, it was extremly uncomfortable to sit on. There is more furniture in the property than is necessary and is bulky and mostly damaged and uncomfortable.
The wifi did not work for our entire stay which meant the tv access was limited. Hard when you have small children.
The location is nice but there aren't any grocery shops around that you would buy food for 4 days in.
We understand that the place may be suitable for people wanting just a place to rest their heads and will be out all day and night but I probably wouldn't pay this amount to just sleep on a bed. We chose this property because we have small children and it looked comfortable and nice to maybe spend the morning together on the balcony or having a glass of wine at the end of the day after our adventures. Unfortunately it was cramped and not at all what we expected.
I will also note that you can hear the people in the apartments on either side.
In short, I would change the description of 5 stars, be honest about what the property offers and make the stays less expensive because of everything noted. We could have paid the same amount for beautiful hotel rooms in better locations and we wish we did. We read the reviews for the property and it looks like that maybe they are a little old and don't reflect what is on offer currently.