Ballarat Station Apartments

I never made it to my stay. I’d noted my lavender allergy on the booking and asked for the room to be scent-free, which seemed simple enough: remove candles, bath salts, and similar items. I’ve made the same request at other accommodation and Airbnbs without a problem. Instead, I got blunt, very rude messages saying, “we can't help you, best you book somewhere else,” with no attempt to accommodate it. The owners shouldn’t be in hospitality. After looking further, the terrible reviews didn’t surprise me, and I think I dodged a bullet. If you stay, don’t make a request, because apparently “THEY CAN'T HELP YOU!”...

It’s an old, spooky place, but comfortable and nice. We ran out of toilet paper because they’d only provided one roll, so bring your own if you stay. I also got a text at 7am while I was still asleep. That felt rude and badly timed.

It’s a cheap, very central place with most of what you need for a couple of nights. It was fairly clean and warm, though the mattress was quite firm. The building is old, with lights switched on by cords hanging from the wall, and there’s no smart TV, which shouldn’t really matter. In Apartment 3, noise from the top floor woke me just before 6am and continued for two hours, then laundry trolleys rolled past the windows from 8am. Don’t stay here if you want a lie-in. The blinds worked except for the apartment door, where light came in because its blind wouldn’t roll down. I had to hang my jacket over it. The spa is switched off between 9pm and 10pm, which is frustrating, and there was a big, unpleasant gap between the spa and the tiles. If you can put up with those things, it’s convenient for getting around.

Our weekend away was really upsetting, and the way we were treated spoiled it. I raised several issues with Jess, who was rude, dismissive, and disrespectful. The property isn’t staffed, and Platinum Stays, the management service, should be avoided. This is a guest house rather than an apartment, with rooms close together and constant noise, including plumbing. The bedding was old and uncomfortable, and there are only three parking spaces for many rooms; other parking is metered and time-limited. The online photos make the rooms look modern and spacious, but the building is very old and badly needs a full renovation. There are odd rules, including no “smelly foods” like curry and restricted spa hours. It was a waste of money. Avoid this accommodation and its service providers.