Mantra Heritage

We’ve been coming for 15 plus years, but the condition seems to get worse each year. The gardens need attention, with weeds now prominent in the garden beds, and the pool deck regularly has no tables or chairs. I told reception, but nothing came of it. There’s no oven in the swim out apartments, and the kitchen basics are lacking: no salt and pepper shakers, no egg rings, and only pretty basic utensils. Why do other mantras offer casting so you can watch footy on a screen bigger than an iPad? For the rate we pay each night, it’s pretty sad. We’ll give it one last chance in February next year since it’s already booked and paid, but if nothing improves, that’ll be our last stay.

Our room was a good size, with a big comfortable bed, plenty of room to relax and a handy laundry. We had a swim up pool room on the main street side, which made it easy to get to everything Pt Douglas offers.

The location is fabulous, and reception staff were professional and accommodating. We had a swim out room with pool access, a private garden, spa, kitchen, lounge, laundry and barbecue, though the barbecue was greasy and filthy from the last users, so we won’t be using it. The room is dated but very clean, comfortable and well appointed. We’re here for 5 nights, and only learned on arrival from the welcome letter that this is a non-serviced resort and rooms aren’t cleaned for stays of 7 days or less. That wasn’t mentioned in the amenities description on the Accor booking site. If we’d known, we’d have chosen another hotel. I don’t want to do housework on holiday, especially without proper cleaning supplies. There’s no mop, bucket or bathroom cleaner, just a broom, 1 tea-towel, 1 dishcloth and a couple of sachets of dishwashing liquid. If something spills, you’d have to wipe it with the tea-towel or dishcloth, and the same goes for cleaning the bathroom. That doesn’t feel ideal or hygienic. Towels aren’t replaced either, though for stays of 3 nights or more you can ask for a new towel bundle. If your bin fills up, you have to take it to the rubbish bins in the basement carpark. This isn’t the usual high standard I expect from Accor, and it’s disappointing. Also, my booking form mentioned a coffee maker, but I only found sachets of instant coffee.

The pool was fine when it wasn’t being used by noisy kids, and there was a barbecue if you wanted to eat in. We had a comfortable hotel room with a spa bath, decent aircon and fans. The receptionists were friendly and helpful, and the location is central to cafes and restaurants. We stayed 10 nights and only had room service once. There’s no lift, so we had to carry heavy suitcases up the stairs. The free car park and wifi were excellent.