Cabarita Beachfront Apartments

The apartment was spacious and seemed to have been renovated at some point, and the location is good. But it was filthy, and the shared stairwells and other common areas were really unpleasant. Our stay began with a leaking waste pipe in the underground car park spilling the remains of a resident’s noodle lunch. We spent the first few minutes vacuuming the floors and getting sand off the couches, using a vacuum that was dirty and malfunctioning. The air conditioner didn’t work. I told reception, but heard nothing more. The portable fans in the apartment made me think they already knew about the problem. Very disappointing, since basic cleaning and maintenance could make this a great place to stay. Edit: We were moved from apartment 13 to apartment 10. That apartment was clean and the air con worked. Thanks, Kelly.

The pool and location were the only decent parts of this stay. The building and apartment were old, dated, poorly kept and filthy, yet extremely overpriced. There was mould and dust throughout, with visible mould on the blinds, linen and pillows. The linen was stained, and there wasn’t enough dishware. The cleaners need to learn how to clean properly. There’s no elevator, so carrying luggage to a top-floor apartment would be a struggle. The stairwells and common areas were old, dirty and smelled bad. We had no Wi-Fi on the first night and no welcome book explaining parking or facilities, so it was guesswork. Reception was supposed to be open at set times but was closed when we arrived. The receptionist on day two tried to help, but the property seemed poorly managed, and the owners appeared not to care about details. It seems they can charge such high prices because of the location.

There’s no elevator, so we had to carry everything up three flights of stairs. Travel light. Also, booking direct through the website came with a hidden $20 fee. After entering my card details and confirming payment, I got a notice showing the payment plus a $20 credit card fee, which hadn’t been mentioned. I raised it with staff at check-in and was told they’d look into it and get back to me, but nobody did. I said this felt dishonest, since booking through booking.com might have been cheaper, and that perhaps I should tell fair trading. At checkout we asked for an extra hour. We were told nobody was booked after us and that management would be asked, but again, we never got an answer.

The location was great, but I left a night early because I couldn’t stand staying another night. The office was already closed when I arrived in the early afternoon, which wasn’t a welcoming start. The parking is on another street and still has ‘Diamond Beach’ written on it, even though the accommodation is called Cabarita Beachfront Apartments. If the name has changed, it should be changed everywhere. I wanted a cup of tea before heading out, but there was no jug in the apartment and nobody at reception to ask. I boiled water in a saucepan instead, then found the balcony table and chairs filthy. Inside, the couch had food crumbs on it and the floor was dirty too. The bathroom and toilet exhaust fans, beside the bedroom, ran constantly and couldn’t be switched off. Their droning, humming vibration was irritating in the daytime and made sleeping impossible. The internet dropped out regularly. After getting home, I checked my credit card statement and saw I’d been overcharged. A terrible experience from beginning to end.