Carrick Cottage - A Home Away From Home

Thank-you for your review. We welcome you back to Carrick Cottage when you are next in Lakes Entrance. Carlene and Rick.

Hi Dave and Emma, Thank-you for your review. We are so happy you enjoyed your stay at Carrick Cottage. We look forward to welcoming you back. Carlene and Rick.

Hello Adele, Thank-you for your review. We are so pleased you and your family enjoyed your stay at Carrick Cottage. We look forward to welcoming you again next time you visit Lakes Entrance. Regards Carlene and Rick.

Thanks Jessica for your review. I try to make it as much "a Home Away from Home" as possible. So glad you and your family enjoyed your stay. We look forward to hosting you again in the future. Regards, Carlene

Thank-you Mervyn for your review. We are so pleased you had a lovely break at Carrick Cottage. We welcome you both next time you are in Australia. Regards Carlene.

We are glad you enjoyed your holiday at Carrick Cottage. Thank-you for your lovely letter and we look forward to welcoming you both back when you are next in Lakes Entrance. Best regards, Carlene and Rick.

Thank-you for your review Jess. We are so glad you enjoyed your break at Carrick Cottage. We welcome you back in the future. Regards Carlene

Hi Karma, I am so pleased that you and your family enjoyed your stay at Carrick Cottage. Thank-you for your kind words and I look forward to hosting you again. Regards, Carlene

Hi Nicole, thanks for your review. We are so pleased that you and your family enjoyed your stay at Carrick Cottage. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. Regards Carlene.

Thanks Madeleine for your review. We are pleased you enjoyed your stay at Carrick Cottage. We look forward to welcoming you back. Regards Carlene.

Hi Rachael, We are pleased that you and your family enjoyed your stay at Carrick Cottage. Thank-you for leaving our home immaculate. We look forward to welcoming you back next time you are in Lakes Entrance. Best regards Carlene and Rick.

Jeanette, It is very unfortunate that you have published such an erroneous and slanderous review. For the benefit of potential guests who may wish to stay at Carrick Cottage I would like to respond to the statements you have made and finish with my own comments. 1. We are mainly based in Melbourne, therefore, in person communication was difficult at this time. When we are not in Lakes Entrance, we take the time to call our guests prior to their arrival day to verbally explain to them the check-in process as well as everything that Carrick Cottage offers. None of our guests have had any trouble with this and are most appreciative of direct contact. 2. With respect to the AC unit in the living room it is working quite fine. The reason why there was a slight delay of a couple of minutes before starting after you pressed the on-switch is because it had been changed to the Auto climate setting, most likely by a previous guest. A simple read of the manual, which was located in the drawers, as advised to you, would have revealed this. Nonetheless, whilst you were speaking to my husband the AC unit came on. I have now corrected this setting. 3. With respect to the house rules, they are clearly set out in the rental agreement for which you agreed to be bound, along with all the other terms and conditions of your stay. In addition, they are printed out and affixed to the wall in the kitchen, above the bins, and are hard to miss. Those house rules clearly set out what is expected of guests during their stay and on departure. 4. We do not expect our guests, nor did we ask you either, to vacuum and mop the floors, and make the beds (there were no sheets to replace with anyway). Our house rules state what we would expect of our guests. They include: a. Before departure, all food must be removed from fridge, all rubbish & recyclables put in the appropriate council rubbish bins provided, and crockery and cutlery washed and packed away. Oven and stovetop should also be cleaned if used. In short, the Property must be left in a clean and tidy condition, as you found it. b. Extra cleaning charges will be incurred for the cleaning of dirty dishes, emptying the fridge, removal of excessive rubbish, etc. Should the cleaning fee be more than the usual cost for cleaning the property, you will be charged the additional costs over and above the normal cleaning fee which will be deducted from the Security Bond. c. All furniture and furnishings must be left in the position they were in when you arrived. d. Crabs can only be cooked outside on the BBQ wok in pots supplied by Management. What my Cleaner didn’t expect to be confronted with after your departure was a dirty and messy house. After more than 4 years of guests staying at Carrick Cottage this was the worst she had seen. You are correct that she spent an additional 6 hours over and above her normal cleaning time to get the property back to some sort of normality. It didn’t help that the house stank of cooked crab, contrary to our house rules, rubbish was left out in the kitchen, furniture moved out of place, cushions strewn across the floor, the stovetop had cooked food scraps still on it, freezer was stained and tablecloth stained and ruined. I could go on but I’ve sent you the photos so you know what I mean. Additionally, the blind in the bathroom could not be wound down because it was cheap. In fact, all of the blinds in Carrick Cottage are custom-made. What occurred is someone wound it up so fast that it jammed the base against the frame. You neglected to report this damage at the time as required under the terms and conditions of the rental agreement until I pointed this out to you in our phone call. Perhaps you did not want my Cleaner/manager to come round to fix it in case she discovered that there were more adults in the house than you advised us and paid for. Would probably explain why all 5 beds and port-a-cot were slept in and all 16 bath towels were used - for supposedly 3 adults and 2 toddlers for only a 4-night stay?? I was not nasty to you nor did I yell at you on the phone – I don’t conduct myself in that manner. Your exaggerated indignation on the phone was probably because someone had challenged you on the state you left my property, and I never heard a peep from you again after I sent you the photos, until you posted your false review. In conclusion, I can only stand by what all of our previous guests have said about their stay at my property, their dealings with me and the 5-star ratings that Carrick Cottage has achieved. Unfortunately, you are the first, and I hope the last, guest that we have had to charge an extra cleaning fee. Our motto is “A Home Away From Home” and I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect our guests to respect our property as if it was their own home. You can always gauge the character of people by how they leave your property and if you thought that the state you left my property was acceptable, then it says a lot more about you than it does about me.

Hi Tanya, Thank-you for your kind words. We are glad you enjoyed your stay at Carrick Cottage. We look forward to welcoming you again to our Home Away from Home . Regards Carlene and Rick.