The Harrington Serviced Apartments

Room 19 was unbearably hot. The air conditioners wouldn’t work, even after we waited an hour for them to cool the room. My husband checked the settings online and found the error light meant an electrician was needed. Management said they’d send a couple of fans and call an electrician, but we only got one fan, and it worked on one low setting. On the second day, there was no update or even a courtesy check-in. We ended up sitting outside with the doors open and lights off to keep bugs down, waiting until 2 am for the room to cool to 25 degrees. The bedroom and bathroom were like ovens, and neither had an exhaust fan. We left before the final night. The kitchen wasn’t usable either: the stovetop was badly rusted and flaking, and there was rust inside the microwave. The windows and doors had no screens. We also found a wet toilet roll growing mould in a cupboard, and there were other cleanliness issues. Wear shoes on the decking, not thongs, as many nails are popping up. We cleaned and tidied the rooms before leaving. The office was unattended when we tried the bell twice, so we left the key on the reception desk. I called the office and had a reasonable conversation with reception. We got a refund for the last night, and they apologised about the air conditioners. They said it was the cleaners’ responsibility to report room issues and thanked me for the feedback. The room shouldn’t have been offered in that condition.

We’re fans of this place. They’ve cleverly turned old-fashioned, cramped rooms into cool little apartments with lots of space. There’s a kitchen, laundry, two toilets, great water pressure and a comfortable bed.

The room is big and on the second floor, so you get a bit of a view. But it smells of damp, old curtains, and airing it out doesn’t seem to help. The floor feels sticky, and we had to deal with a cockroach.

I’m not sure what happened with the two reviews before mine, but we had a good stay at Harrington for one night. We arrived around 5:10 pm and a friendly staff member showed us to our room. It was clean and smelled nice, and it was very quiet at night, so my partner and I both slept well. The location was handy too, just a few minutes’ drive to Australia Rocks and down the road to Quarterdeck restaurant. I sent my friend photos and told her I’d had a good time. We were lucky, and loved our stay.