We spent three nights at Rosa Brook Stone B&B…we pre-paid $150 per night without breakfast.
The B&B is located 16 km from Margaret River, which wasn’t a problem for us, but might be a drawback for some. We were hoping for a quiet spot in the country, and it was, save the occasional car zipping past at high speed on Rosa Brook Road, which fronts the property.
There is only one room on offer at this B&B – a portion of the owner’s home with a separate entrance from the verandah. Upon arrival we were told which part of the verandah we could use and asked not to round the corner, as that was the owner’s private area.
Our odd-shaped space consisted of a bedroom with smallish bed (supposedly a queen, but it felt smaller), a sitting area, a kitchen and a bathroom. The sitting area had a TV that was only useable for DVDs…no TV reception…this was unexpected, as there was no mention of this on the website or when booking.
The guest wing is decorated in what I consider a ‘Victorian’ style. It’s obvious that the owner is proud of her possessions, but there were just too many of them. Our space felt slightly crowded…too much furniture, too many pillows (10 on the bed alone and more on the couch), two sets of hand held mirrors and hairbrushes on the vanity, collectibles crowding the shelf above the bathroom sink…there was limited space for us to put our toiletries, etc.
But our biggest issues with this accommodation were water and cleanliness.
The shower was pitiful – the spray from the shower head was so fine that it was a mere drizzle, no water pressure at all. It took forever to get wet enough to actually wash. And it was cold – we had to wait about 10 minutes for the water to heat up, which defies logic if the whole idea is to save water.
The shower enclosure floor was also deadly slippery – the owner would do well to install shower appliqués, or some sort of traction for safety purposes.
The other major issue was cleanliness, or the lack thereof. The tile floor felt gritty and the bottoms of our feet and socks got filthy. There were crumbs on the floor, food stains on the wall in the kitchen, and an abundance of cobwebs and dust balls. There was black muck in and around the shower. The place really needs a good overall scrub. It felt neglected, and I had to wonder how many visitors this place has actually seen. Even the mini tubs of Vegemite left on the table had expired – in August of 2009 - our stay was in March 2011.
The good points – the bed is comfortable, the location is relatively peaceful, and the rammed earth keeps the place pretty cool, although the reverse cycle air conditioner also came in handy for us hot weather wimps.
Note:
I advised the owner of our disappointment with the accommodation, and to her credit, she offered to reimburse us a portion of what we paid so that we could have a dinner out on her. She acknowledged the cobweb issues, advising that it was partly due to her poor eyesight. She investigated the water problem and determined that her water tank was almost empty.
