DD Apartments at ICC

We had booked this Sydney apartment months ahead through Expedia for seven of us over Easter, around our Hamilton tickets. Three people needed it for three nights and four for four nights, so we could stay together instead of splitting into hotel rooms. We hadn't paid yet, luckily, because payment was due on arrival. Getting in was the problem. We tried calling on Tuesday and Wednesday before our Thursday check-in, but the mobile number was disconnected and the landline was always busy. An email from someone in our group bounced back too. Expedia spent an hour on Wednesday trying to reach them, opened a case, and said the booking was confirmed and that we'd get entry details. By Thursday morning there was still nothing from either Expedia or DD Apartments. Another hour with Expedia got us told someone would meet us there, despite no message or case details. When we reached the address Thursday afternoon, nobody was waiting. The building was residential, with no front desk, and the address seemed to point to an empty Newlife apartments sales office. That office couldn't help with accommodation. The lobby needed a swipe card or code, and we had no apartment or floor number. There was no sign outside, and repeated attempts to reach DD Apartments went nowhere. Expedia couldn't contact them either. After nearly four hours on the phone, mostly on hold, we were sent to relocations. With our group and the Easter weekend, they couldn't find suitable accommodation and offered a $200 voucher. We were seven young adults stranded in an unfamiliar city on one of its busiest weekends, with no instructions and no way into the apartment. In the end we found a Holiday Inn with four separate rooms. Imagine if we'd already paid. I wish zero stars were an option. There was no customer service here, and Expedia left us with a token amount after all that. Save yourself the stress and don't book this apartment.

I cancelled my DD Apartments stay in early March, and I'm still waiting for the refund or even a reply about when it might arrive. Their refund service has been the poorest customer service I've experienced. I won't use Booking.com again, and I wouldn't recommend them or DD Apartments to anyone.

My ICC conference was cancelled because of covid, so I tried to cancel my stay. I was still charged for both nights. I know I hadn't paid for cancellation cover, but I hoped they might take the exceptional circumstances into account. Since I never used the room, I assume it didn't need cleaning or servicing either.

If Google let me give zero stars, I would. They seem to have no conscience, and I wouldn't expect any customer service from them.