Aussie tells of ‘putrid’ stay at Apollo Resort in NSW

WHEN this family checked into an Australian hotel for the weekend they never expected the horrors that awaited them.

The Apollo Resort in Wamberal is far from a “resort” according to this guest. Pic: TripAdvisor.

WHEN this Aussie family checked into a hotel for the weekend, they never expected the horrors awaiting them.

Melanie, from Sydney, her partner and seven year old son checked into the Apollo “Resort” in Wamberal on the NSW central coast after making a last minute booking through accommodation site, booking.com.

Charged $285 for the two night stay, the family were confronted with dirty sheets, unexplained stains, used underwear and dilapidated furniture.

“Our first impression when driving through the car park was that it looked like a detention setting and incredibly run down, the grounds were overgrown and only four cars in the car park. It was very quiet and darkly lit,” says Melanie.

Other TripAdvisor reviewers posted photos of the “green” pool. Picture: TripAdvisor.

The carpet was covered in stains.

After being taken past a “terribly old looking staircase” and “walls covered in dirty marks”, the family were shown to their room.

“When I walked into the bathroom, there was a used mini body wash bottle in the soap tray, rubbish in the garbage bin, hair on the floor and the bottom of the toilet bowl looked like it had brown scaling from not being cleaned enough.

Half used container of soap left in the shower.

“The beds looked made yet when we pulled back the top layers, there was dried fried rice on the blanket (presumably from the restaurant on the grounds) on one of the beds and a few black marks on the sheet. A syringe packet was also on the floor, near the bed.

“I turned on the light and saw numerous white stains on the floor and a wasp nest cocoon inside the thick maroon curtains. The entire top of all the curtains were frosted with dust that had probably never been cleaned,” says Melanie.

Dried up food looking like fried rice on the beds.

An alleged empty syringe packet on the floor.

When news.com.au contacted the owners of the Apollo resort they were told that daily housekeeping was performed.

“We have a staff to perform a daily house keeping.

“In the past, the guests provided us a constructive comments or requests in the Comment Sheet in each of rooms or speak with us directly. We answer it quickly,” said an Apollo Resort spokesperson.

But Melanie’s hellish experience didn’t just stop inside the unit. When she ventured out onto the balcony, which had a broken door lock, and was covered in cigarette ash, dirt, spider webs and rusty furniture.

“A very strong smell of bleach could be smelt outside. I presume this may have been from the pool, described by TripAdvisor reviews as “green and un-swimmable”. Being five months pregnant, I couldn’t stand the smell and quickly went back inside,” she said.

Outdoor furniture covered in spider webs.

The air conditioner filters were full of dust, the walls were dirty and the inside of the bedside lamps were peeling. They even found underwear in the kitchen bin. “It was putrid,” she said.

“I took a photo of a hand print on the wall which looked like a blood stain. The whole place felt like a crime scene and my legs were bitten by bugs or fleas during our brief time there.”

The air conditioner was a hazard for their son who suffers from asthma.

They took the air conditioner apart and were shocked at the dust accumulated in it.

A dirty pair of boxers and a G-string were sitting in the bin.

Melanie and her family were not the only ones to be shocked at the state of this hotel. Of the 73 reviews on TripAdvisor, 47 rated the place “terrible”.

Reviews included: “Don’t walk.....RUN!”, “disgraceful”, “Faulty Towers ... without Basil!”, “This place is disgusting and poorly managed”, “Crack den”, “Rodent poo everywhere, no lock on door & aggressive owner.”

In fact there was only one positive review about the hotel in the past year.

This TripAdvisor reviewer found black hair on the floor. Picture: TripAdvisor.

Horrified by the state of the “hotel”, the family checked out and demanded a refund. By this stage the manager had arrived back at the hotel who offered the family another room. Distressed and now 10pm at night, all the family wanted to do was leave and took the manager’s word that they would not be charged for their stay.

“He didn’t apologise, try to negotiate or even seemed to care at all that we were going. No hospitality or customer service, whatsoever”, she said.

The family then made a further 90 minute drive to Newcastle to stay with family who offered to put them up for the night after learning of their ordeal.

Thinking their nightmare was over, Melanie instead awoke to an email from booking.com informing them that the hotel had informed them they had been a “no show” and would be charged a $285 cancellation fee.

“I wanted to vomit. We couldn’t believe our eyes — no one deserves to go through that — the place should be closed down. It’s a health and safety hazard and should not be open to the public.”

After emailing booking.com explaining their experience and making repeated contact with the owners of the Apollo resort, Melanie finally received confirmation that their booking was to be cancelled without a penalty.

Peeling lampshades and furniture that was falling apart.

Booking.com has nearly 9000 property partners in Australia and said they have a 24/7 customer service team who can assist with complaints.

“We have a number of robust policies and procedures in place to ensure all of our guests are satisfied with their accommodation. If we receive a complaint via email or phone, our team contacts the property and investigates the complaint thoroughly. Typically, we will ask the guest to provide proof of damage or poor service if possible, and where appropriate they are then fully reimbursed,” said Alberto Yates, Booking.com Australia Regional Manager.

“In the unlikely event of a property receiving multiple complaints of the same nature, our local Booking.com team visits or contacts the property to discuss the issue, and if no resolution is achieved we will look to take further measures.”

Melanie said dirty hand prints on the wall looked like blood.

So what can you do should you find yourself in a similar situation?

According to the NSW Fair Trading, they received 549 complaints in 2014 about resorts, hotels, motels and other types of accommodation.

“At the time of booking it is important for consumers to carefully read and understand the terms and conditions. Under the Australian Consumer Law, goods and services must be of an acceptable quality and match the description, as it is an offence to make false and misleading representations about a product or service.

“Depending on the specific ACL breaches, hotel and motel operators can face penalties of up to $1.1 million for corporations and $220,000 for individuals,” said a spokesperson for Fair Trading.

Fair Trading tips for consumers booking holiday accommodation:

• People need to make sure they get what they pay for and check cancellation and refund policies for restrictions or special conditions.

• Make sure you are paying the amount you were quoted and check all goods and services offered are included in the final price.

• In serviced accommodation, be wary of add-ons or in-house services like room service, the mini bar and pay-to-view movies.

• Always review your final account before checking out to ensure you have only been charged for what you have used.

Dirt and dust has accumulated on the windowsills.