The Summit Rainforest Retreat

Lovely clean place with beautiful views. The air conditioner was freezing and no romote to change it with, had to turn it off completly using the handle of a dustpan brush Advertised free wi-fi, had to pay $20 for 24 hours if you wanted to, even if only for an hour

I was really looking forward to this mountain top location & optimistic about the retreat upon arrival, even after I found out it’s a just share house/lodge. We booked the “King Room” which appeared to have a nice view overlooking the valley below (according to their listing’s images for “this room”. Upon arrival we had to call management to get the combination to access our room key (should have been sent prior to our arrival), the “King bed” was just two singles shoved together (very uncomfortable) & nobody comes to clean the room or supply fresh towels during your stay. There was no view, just a tiny courtyard hiding behind a broken blind (which we had to cover with their room information booklet for privacy). The room has no air conditioning, only a ceiling fan, but does have its own bathroom/toilet attached (glad we didn’t have to share that). There was mould on the ceiling above the bathroom doorway and they only clean around the furniture as we discovered later when my wife moved the bedside table whilst looking for something. Who supplies a room with three bed pillows??? There’s a small hole in the wall which I can only assume is from an old door lock mechanism due to its shape. Upon arriving I also spoke to one of the guests and the topic of breakfast was discussed. He informed me that there was none available (as stated in the little book inside the room). This was a surprise, as when I booked it was an option that I’d selected, which usually costs extra by default. I decided to call the management again, and after some discussion some items were delivered to the house. Sadly I don’t think a “continental breakfast” is merely bread, juice, milk & mini packs of cereal….very disappointing when you’re paying high season prices. The kitchen has most things you need, but I wasn’t expecting to have to soak and scrub off baked/fried on dried food before I even started cooking & one of the large cooktop elements doesn’t work and has a broken button… The view was really nice from the balcony of the main house, you can see about half of Atherton, but the bushes have grown up in front of it and need a good trim. There’s a cute little pool on the balcony, two people max, but it’s clean and well maintained. There’s an air conditioner in the main lounge room of the house, but no remote control making the house very hot in the day time (I’m pretty sure this is illegal). Saturday night, time to have a late shower….nope, the water doesn’t work at 11pm this night, not even a drip. I tried the taps in the kitchen & same result. Being stuck here for five nights over Christmas was not my idea of a good time and having my wife complain about it the whole time was even worse! I do not recommend you bother staying here, given all of the unexpected surprises. If you are intending on staying, just remember that it’s right next to the phone tower (thought I was lost the first time I came up the dirt driveway), so you’ll have great reception to call