Wanting two days of rest and relaxation, I booked and paid for accommodation, breakfast and a massage. The property has lovely gardens and is not far from Ravenshoe.
As I approached the cottage, I noticed an odour that smelt like animal (possum?) urine around the front verandah. Inside, the cottage was functional and reasonably equipped, albeit needing some cleaning in the corners. However, the smell I had noticed earlier permeated the property all night.
Breakfast was left in the fridge; fruit, juice, butter, jam, yoghurt, with a hard doughy loaf of bread on the counter. Unfortunately the pillows were a choice of either hard or lumpy.
When I woke early in the morning the unpleasant odour was still very strong and was making me nauseous. I decided that I could not abide it for a second night, so I packed up and went to the office to advise there was an odour problem and I was unable to stay. I offered to pay for the second night, but requested a refund for three breakfasts (they had charged me twice) and the unused massage.
The female owner was very unpleasant. She demanded that I returned to the cottage with her to prove there was no odour. I refused, explaining the smell made me nauseous, and I left.
The subsequent email correspondence between the owner and I has been quite extraordinary. I have received a long rant denying the smell existed, suggesting it was my own clothes that smelt, making unpleasant personal comments about me and advising “if I would like to take further action (she) would put this matter into the hands of our legal team”.
Unsurprisingly, I have also not received the requested refund for services not provided.
My advice to future patrons is not to complain about genuine problems or issues, to avoid being threatened or abused by the owner. You certainly won’t be treated with courtesy.
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