Sundowner Tiona – Blueys Beach, NSW, Australia

Posted on Mar 30, 2015 in Accommodation

Location – outstanding. The beach is pristine and the lake is a lovely bonus. There is so much potential in this property but…..

The lack of communication from this group is mind-boggling! I’m not sure if this is operated as a tax loss but given the lack of customer service, it wouldn’t surprise me. Phone calls are never answered, if you leave a message it’s never returned. When I received a response to an email last week, we were unrealistically excited! That didn’t last long. The email said to contact them if we would be arriving after hours so they could provide security details to access keys. I did email and I still (after our visit is over) haven’t heard back. In the end, we went and found that there were a heap of keys just left in a box outside reception – no security so if someone decided to pick up our keys, given the communication issues, we would have been sleeping in the car. We stayed here to attend a wedding and a number of other guests commented that they attempted to stay at Sundowner as well but could never get through, calls weren’t returned, emails went unanswered, etc. In the end, they went elsewhere.

I think we may have been upgraded (but with the lack of communication, who would know!) I can’t begin to imagine what the cheaper ‘Lakeside’ cabins would be like. The condition of the Sand Dune cottages is appalling. We had mouldy curtains, filthy cutlery, unwashed mugs in the cupboard with coffee leftovers still very evident. The ‘fully self contained’ kitchen included two glasses (one large tumbler and one small), the burner was dirty and the plates needed to be washed before we could use them. When we arrived on Friday night, we had to sweep the floor before we felt comfortable going to bed and, without too much effort, we had gathered over a cup of sand. To top it off, the cabin never lost the mouldy aroma but that’s not surprising given the condition. I would have preferred to be staying in a tent.

FYI: we found almost zero phone reception on the beach side (Telstra) and on the lakeside, it was intermittent and weak. Not necessarily Sundowner’s fault but handy to know just in case you’ve told someone you’ll call to announce safe arrival (children/family, etc.)

The Green Cathedral and the Conference Centre were terrific, just don’t be tempted to stay on site.