Charlton Apartments

This is about unit 6. The rooms, lounge and bathrooms were clean, but some of the kitchen things weren’t. The frying pan still had oil on it, the oven racks were so dirty they couldn’t be used, and the small saucepan was extremely dirty. There was no TV remote or detergent in the starter pack at first. Both were brought over after we complained. There’s no beach view at all.

We stayed for two weeks while repairs were being done at our house. The apartment was well appointed, with a huge walk-in robe about the size of our spare room and comfortable recliners. The kitchen had everything we needed, from an air fryer, electric frypan and sandwich press to lots of pots, pans, roasting dishes and baking dishes. It even had a 900mm oven. The gardens were immaculate and the pool looked lovely, though we never got around to using it. The beach is just across the way. The parking underneath is very tight. I had to get out before the car was parked and couldn’t get back in until it had been backed out. We had a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. My only other complaint is that there was no offer to change the linen during our stay. We had a washing machine, but with my bad back, it would have been nice if someone had changed the bedding. There was also no mop and bucket for cleaning the floors. Pretty good overall.

The view was wonderful and the pool was nice, but the unit felt run down and grubby in places. It could use a facelift and a deep clean. There was congealed food from other people in the cutlery drawer and stains on the cupboard drawers. We only got one tea towel, there was no dishwashing liquid, and we needed to bring garbage bags. The garage is tight for larger vehicles. It didn’t feel like a $330-per-night stay. Picking up and returning the keys at a different address was quite inconvenient. We also had a frightening incident after one of the teenagers in our party behaved rather badly. I didn’t condone what the kid did, and we apologised profusely several times, but several people came to confront us instead of one person dealing with it. One man who seemed highly intoxicated lurked in the underground car park and approached us aggressively, using really bad language. There were two women and kids in our group, and he really scared us.

We had plenty of room in our two-bedroom unit for two adults and two kids, with good-sized bedrooms, two good bathrooms, a good kitchen and comfortable living areas. The water views were great too. We stayed five nights at Charlton in The Esplanade, and the managers were lovely. They made us feel welcome as soon as we arrived. It was our third trip to Hervey Bay, but our first time at this accommodation. We had a good experience from the start and would gladly stay at Charlton on The Esplanade again. Great location, and I’d highly recommend it.