Lotus Stay Manly - Apartment 31C

For $335 a night, I expected four-star accommodation, but I wouldn’t give this place even one star. Room 1 in the two-storey apartments was old, worn out, very dirty and smelled moldy. The skirting boards, window frames and door trim were filthy, and the paint was peeling. The oven didn’t work, there was no frypan for breakfast, the lounges had huge stains, and there was no decent cleaning equipment. I absolutely wouldn’t recommend it. Don’t believe the photos.

We stayed overnight with friends after a birthday in Manly. The apartment was clean and worth the price, with parking available right outside for us to use. It was just as advertised and very close to the beaches and nearby shops. The staff were excellent, kind and accommodating.

The bed linen in our apartment was reasonably clean, but the building itself was dirty and the carpet smelled. The sofa was so filthy I was scared to sit on it. The bathroom had no soap or shampoo. When I asked, I was told to wait 45 minutes, but nothing arrived. I went to reception and, for a two-bedroom apartment, got only 20 ml of shampoo and 20 ml of soap. Never again.

The apartment itself was nice, but the outside was pretty undesirable. We were two streets back from the beach, with no beach view at all, even though the photos on the website made it look beachside. Finding the apartment was confusing too: the website gave one address and the map another, so we had to call. Paying $20 a night for parking that didn’t feel secure was not acceptable.