The Rocks Apartments

On the plus side, the place is roomy, a decent size, and the kitchen is well equipped. There's a cafe right next door for breakfast and coffee. Still, our family was a bit disappointed with the accommodation on my third Halls Gap trip in ten years. It feels like it lacks care, attention to detail, and maintenance. The issues may be minor individually, but they add up. I've described them in detail, though I didn't contact management before writing this review.

We chose Room 3 at The Rocks for a romantic weekend, mainly for the fireplace and spa bath. Before going, we checked the reviews and messaged Amanda to ask if the reported problems had been fixed. She said the rooms were cleaned thoroughly and that she hadn't heard of the complaints. We trusted her, but the outside seating was thick with dust and spider webs, so I had to brush down the table and chair legs. I wasn't going to spend my mini break cleaning more than that. It got worse inside. There were dead flies squashed into the blinds, blood stains on the carpet, and a mouldy spa bath that I tried to clean before giving up. My partner wouldn't even use it as a shower. The fireplace didn't work. The duvet cover was just two thin sheets sandwiching the duvet, and it had come completely apart by morning. One side of the room could be opened, but not ours. We later found out it was a storage room that people entered during the day while we were inside. We heard them scuffling around and felt so uncomfortable that I stacked our bags in front of the door. There were dirty dishes put away, a kettle that should have been thrown out years ago, and only one individual milk container for two people over two nights. It was expired. Using the kettle and TV together at 6 am shut down the whole system, and the main kitchen light took two minutes to come on. There are serious electrical issues. After our stay, my partner and I both fell seriously ill. I've stayed in rural parts of Australia with far better accommodation than this.

I messaged about the problems in apartment 3 instead of posting a negative review, but got no reply. This place is run down, and I wouldn't recommend it. There isn't a fireplace, just an electric heater, despite the information book still referring to a fireplace. That feels misleading and suggests little effort is being made to maintain the property. We were given only two pillows, one very firm and the other far too soft, and two tiny bath towels. With a spa, an extra towel would've helped. Some bulbs were out, including the kitchen light, and the bathroom fan didn't work, leaving the room damp. The bedroom wall is so thin you can hear people talking.

Unit 3 is a good basic unit, and the floor was clean overall. Towels and basic essentials were provided, and the fake log fire fan heater did the job on cooler nights. There isn't a log fire, and the Airbnb photos are of a different unit. A few things weren't working: half the living room lights and the bathroom lights, though replacement bulbs were supplied for the bathroom. The hot tap at the bathroom sink didn't work at all. The windows need cleaning, and I cleared cobwebs from the room corners. There was also a damp smell in the bedroom coming from the adjoining laundry room door.