Kickback Cottages

The smell and dirt made the house unbearable to stay in for even a couple of minutes. The bed and sofa had bugs, and the stove and fridge were both dirty and smelled awful. We booked through booking.com and had asked booking. Com to sort out the place three weeks earlier, but nothing changed. We also felt booking. Com treated us fraudulently. When we asked for a refund, the manager disappeared and booking. Com gave us nothing back. Australia should close this place. Please don't stay here.

We had to leave straight away, and the owner was rude and full of himself when we asked for our $100 deposit back. We paid $950 for 2 nights through Airbnb, whose photos didn't match the place at all. Save your money and go elsewhere. Airbnb should remove this business from its site. People deserve better. The room smelled strongly of urine. There were blood stains on every bedsheet and pillow, plus some kind of bodily fluid on the carpet. Old food stains covered the kitchen, as if it hadn't been cleaned for months, and mould was in every corner. Dead bugs were all over the window ledges, floors and bathroom. The bathroom and shower were grimy, mouldy and marked with brown stains. Public bathrooms are much cleaner. I don't know how this business is still operating. Health and safety should come in and shut it down. Stay away unless you want to get very ill.

The outside needs serious cleaning. Nothing had been swept, there was no kid friendly area like the listing advertised, and large tree limbs were being held up by ropes, which seemed unsafe. I wouldn't take a child there, ever. It's an insult to lovely Lakes Entrance, and this isn't a third world country. I'm angry the health department hasn't closed it. I wish I'd taken photos. This is a warning to stay away. Our first room was filthy and disgusting. The fridge had mould, the toilet was brown and stained, the floor was black with grime, and the carpet was dirty and stank. There were cobwebs all over the windows. We called Charlie the manager, and he told us to try unit 1. It was a little better, at least the fridge had no mould, but there was a used old soap block in the bathroom. The furniture was filthy and the room smelled horribly of urine and mice. The sheets were old and awful, and a dirty, scrunched-up blanket was left on top of the cupboard. In the morning, after just a few steps from the bedroom across the lounge kitchen to the bathroom, black grime came off my feet when I got into the shower.

We booked 2 nights, but refused to stay and tried to get our money back. The owner still won't refund us, and Hotels .com has been terribly unhelpful. We're taking this matter to consumer affairs now because this is illegal. Don't book here. The photos bore no resemblance to the real place. It was falling apart: the carpet was so worn the base showed through, the bathroom lino was lifting at the edges, the blinds were broken, and there were paint patches around the toilet. It was filthy too, with food smeared over the oven, a cockroach in the shower, an old pizza box under the couch, and the previous guest's toiletry bag still there. It clearly hadn't been cleaned since their stay. This accommodation is an absolute scam!