Pacific Views Resort

We woke to the sound of waves and watched the sunset from our balcony, with beautiful ocean views the whole stay. The room was spotless and thoughtfully designed, and the service from arrival was warm, professional, and attentive. The infinity pool overlooking the water and the elegant restaurants were lovely, with delicious meals. Staff paid attention to every detail and went out of their way to make things comfortable and relaxing. A luxurious, memorable stay by the sea, and we can’t wait to return.

The view from our rental was magnificent, and the layout worked well. Our first and only interaction with staff was great, they were incredibly friendly, though there wasn’t much staff presence elsewhere on the property. The unit had a terrible smell when we arrived, bad enough that I left while my wife aired it out. It was fine once ventilated for our short stay, but the place didn’t seem to have had a deep clean in some time. The furnace filter was caked and stank, the pillows were stained, the carpet filthy, and the laundry room a bit unpleasant. If you find a sale price, the view and friendly staff may make it worthwhile, but after thinking it over I’m not sure I’d stay again. That initial smell spoiled a good part of the visit. I emailed my concerns to be helpful and never heard back. I expect a reply may say the feedback is taken seriously and ask for details, but past reviews make me doubt anything will happen. I still hope they make changes. Be cautious.

The beach is close by, and that was the only reason I gave this place two stars. We paid far too much for what we got. I booked through luxury escapes and specifically requested an ocean-view apartment with a kitchen, since we like to cook while travelling to save money. We got an ocean view, but the couch faced away from it, so you could only enjoy it from one of the kitchen chairs. The kitchen was ridiculously poorly stocked. I tried boiling eggs in a saucepan with a broken handle and burned my hand. There was only one roll of toilet paper, and extra rolls cost $1 each. The pool was closed because of a crane beside it that never moved during our stay. Coming from Melbourne, we’d hoped to sit by the pool and warm up, but instead watched guests at nearby hotels enjoying theirs. The pillows were awful, though the bed was comfortable. The foyer and apartment looked tired, with dirty walls and old crockery, cutlery, and the few cooking utensils available. Never again. I’m also not sure how long it’ll take for our $200 security bond to be returned. There are plenty of hotels nearby, so don’t choose this one.

We left after just one night and moved to another hotel 50m away. We lost $1446, but were glad not to spend another minute there. Check the room before handing over any money. We’d booked a Deluxe Ocean View for 7 days. At 1430hr on Saturday, no one was at reception and there were no instructions for collecting the keys. The living area air-conditioning didn’t work in mid-30s temperatures. The polite helpline couldn’t fix it and said someone would call the next day, but nobody did. The supposed ocean view was mostly a huge building towering over our tiny balcony from the front and both sides. We could glimpse the sea around it, but it wasn’t really an ocean view. We also got a rather passive-aggressive email saying we had to provide photo ID and a credit card by 1400hr the next day, despite already paying $1446, or our key card would be deactivated. Reception was only open from 1200hr to 1400hr, and we were down for a family function, so we couldn’t meet that tight window. Between the risk of being locked out and the awful accommodation, we checked out.