Palm Retreat

Great location

So many stairs up and down No privacy in main bedroom and no blockout blind Bathrooms no privacy

What we really liked about the property: - The location of this property was perfect! It was close to the local shops, Lake Cathie Creek and the RSL. - The beds were comfy - Great ventilation with aircon and - fan in every room and communal areas. - water pressure of showers, although the hot water in the bathroom downstairs did run out for a period of time.

A few things about the property: - We booked this property as it is advertised as an entire house, but on arrival, we noticed that a part of the property was booked out separately and what divided you, was a door on the bottom floor right next to the living space (which is locked). - both the top and bottom floors were dirty; top floor made the bottom of our feet black and bottom was not vacuumed. We emptied out the vacuum bin + filter and cleaned the upper floors. - We didn’t use the pool as it had twigs and leaves in it and was not clean upon our arrival and the entire duration of our stay. - the bathroom upstairs had a sliding door which had no lock on it and did not close all the way for privacy. Perhaps changing it to an actual door would be better as it is right next to the lounge/tv area. - the sliding door security screen to the balcony next to the entrance stairs has around a 1cm gap at the top which let insects in to the house (we just closed that door completely but it should get fixed). The above are minor things which can be fixed to improve the stay. Overall, we really enjoyed our time at Lake Cathie.

Location close to family, and allowed dogs. The furnishings and amenities were well appointed. It is a lovely home, but probably more suitable for younger, more agile people and dogs who can manage steep stairs. Water pressure in the shower was great.

Although dogs are allowed, Palm Retreat on its own was not really dog friendly/practical. The only grass area was behind the locked pool fencing, and the internal stairs were very steep; even for me. If we were to book again, we would book the whole house, or the Little Gecko for fewer people as the smaller studio has a large grass area which is much more suitable for dogs and accessibility.

The house was beautiful in every way. Well maintained and a lovely decor complimented the great design. The host was helpful and friendly.

The location was great and I liked everything about it.