Harbour Quays Apartments

Nothing, loved it

Everything was great!

We came home from a day out at movie world and were greeted with water at the front door. Immediately contacted Jess (management) explaining the gushing water sounding like it was coming from the apartment above, she informed us to turn off the valve under kitchen sink as it would most likely be coming from the tap behind the fridge in a cavity in the wall. The 2 bedrooms, walk in robes, sitting room were all under water. Our suitcases, bags water damaged. Kids books, belongings all water damaged. Maintenance arrived to suck up as much water as possible, second maintenance arrived with industrial fans and equipment. Jess advised us they were fully booked and if we didn’t want to complete our stay in that apartment (we had 4 nights left of our 10 night booking for 6 people including 2 children and 2 elderly parents) we would have to find alternate accommodation ourselves. When asked about compensation she said ‘can we talk about that later if and when necessary as I just need to get someone up there to starting cleaning it up’. After another phone discussion she agreed to refund us 4 nights (originally she said only 3 due to it now being 8pm - quite difficult to find alternate accommodation at 8pm at night for 6 people on the Gold Coast during school holidays - for the same price!!)
The maintenance man moved a mattress for us from the bedroom to the lounge area for our kids to sleep on for that night while myself and my husband slept on the couch! We packed up the following morning (after having cold showers as maintenance no 1 guy forgot to turn the hot water back on) Handed keys back and asked for the $200 bond to be refunded asap and asked when we could expect our refund. Was told ‘that’s for you to sort out with Jess’. I then messaged Jess to then receive a response of ‘Jess has initiated your refund with booking.com but as you booked with them you will need to make contact with them about your refund.

No notes xo

The weather!

Noticed abit of a funky smell the evening of day 2 and found a load of wet towels in the dryer. Faucet in kitchen was really loose.

Our stay at Harbour Quays, Harbour Town Hotel, from Saturday to Monday was an incredibly disappointing experience. What should have been a relaxing stay turned into unnecessary stress, rude communication, and a frustrating dispute over our bond.

Before booking through Booking.com, the advertised check-in times stated that check-in was available between 2 pm and 9 pm. However, immediately after making our booking, we were informed by a staff member named Michelle that checking in after 7 pm would incur a $50 late check-in fee. This was not what we understood from the information advertised before booking.

When we called to question this, Michelle was rude and told us to cancel 24 hours beforehand and that Booking.com would refund us, despite our stay being the very next day. As it was already Friday, we had neither the time nor the financial flexibility to wait for a potentially delayed refund and find alternative accommodation. I was also finishing work on the Sunshine Coast that afternoon, which was precisely why a later check-in was necessary.

Throughout Saturday, Michelle repeatedly messaged and contacted us asking what time we would arrive and whether we could check in earlier. The constant pressure was completely unnecessary, particularly when the property itself advertised check-in until 10 pm. In the end, I had to arrange for my sister, who lives on the Gold Coast, to check in on our behalf because the office staff apparently did not want to accommodate our later arrival on a Saturday.

Unfortunately, the problems did not end there.

We paid a $200 bond and took photos and videos of the room at check-in and check-out to document its condition. The master bedroom wardrobe carpet already had visible, dried stains that appeared to have been there long before our arrival. This was not damage we could reasonably be held responsible for without evidence establishing otherwise.

No Wi-Fi, no iron no hairdryer in the room

Apartment I booked was a little smaller than I expected, I didn’t realise I had only booked a single bathroom apartment so I’ll make sure next booking I select one with an ensuite. And the parking space I had was not an easy one to get into with a large car, just had to reverse in.. But there’s nothing I could really pick on that would stop us coming back.