The Tickled Trout

The beds were comfortable, and there was plenty of space. Recent updates have really lifted the place, and the neighborhood and location are great. There are lots of secure spots out the back to leave things. A few more games or activities would have been nice, but we didn’t need them.

The stay was too good to be true, and I wouldn’t call Tickled Trout family friendly or suitable for groups. If you do choose to stay, I suggest photographing everything and keeping the curtains closed. The Stayz listing mentions air-conditioning, a DVD player and cooking facilities. There was no aircon or DVD player, and the only cooling equipment was a faulty oven that burned our dinner after just half an hour on low. For a much more reasonable price, we’d have been more comfortable in a hotel. The website describes Tickled Trout as a warm, sunny, private and quiet home away from home, close to town and priced like a hotel room. It says guests can get a key code before arrival, collect the house keys and check in any time after 2pm, with the owner available by phone or text. In our experience there was no privacy at all. A neighbor photographed and filmed us, and the owners harassed us. At one point they waited until nobody was home to enter the house. We found a dirty fridge, dusty floors under the beds and dirty cutlery, which we refused to use. Later we were told we’d been charged extra for cleaning, with the cutlery given as one reason. The owners accused us of having a party and more guests than we’d booked. We had a family dinner, hardly a party, and a hens night they knew about. It was over well before 11pm, with no loud music, just a bit of laughter. Two nights before our booking ended, on the afternoon the owner had been snooping through the house, they demanded more money. We hadn’t agreed to it, but paid unwillingly after they assured us it would be returned. The night before leaving, we contacted the owners to ask exactly what they wanted cleaned. We did that and more, and left before 10am on the final morning. A few days later we were told the bond wouldn’t be returned because the house had supposedly taken four hours to clean. They said the shower was black, there was food under the beds and the toilets were dirty. We call bullplop. The water was filthy, the space under the beds looked to us as if it hadn’t been cleaned for months, and we definitely cleaned the toilets thoroughly before leaving, after they’d obviously been used a lot. When we contacted Jenny to discuss it, she was aggressive and hung up instead of resolving the issues. After all that, we were told we’d never be welcome at Tickled Trout or the Spotted Salmon again. As if we’d want to stay again. The owners were rude, aggressive and money hungry, taking everything they could from us.

A comfortable place with all the comforts of home, and good quality accommodation in a great location. It’s only two minutes from Ulverstone’s main street.

We had a really comfortable stay in a spotlessly clean home. The fenced backyard was great, and it had everything we needed. Thanks, we’ll be back.