Byron Cove Beach House

Scam and corrupt organisation! Make sure to pay attention to the tone of their responses and how they always blame the customer. I booked Cove Studios for 2 nights for my mums 60th birthday. As soon as we walked into the room there was a strong smell of mould despite the air conditioner. As soon as you walk into the bathroom you could see it was absolutely covered in black mould, I then saw that it was all over the skylight that was above one of the beds and all over the heavy curtains in the room. Then my mum and I decided to go for a walk to get away from the smell of mould and as we went to leave we found that the door was flimsy and came out of the railings very easily. I then “locked” the doors, but found that even when the doors were closed and locked they could be slid over completely into the wall cavity which allows you to walk straight into the room. The lock on the door is completely redundant. There is no security at the property either, at one point a young couple came in with bags and towels and helped themselves to the pool area. Additionally the sheets were very stained, there was dirty fingerprint marks all around the light switches and near the doors. My mum was very uncomfortable staying at the accomodation and so we decided to leave. I tried to call the after hours number at the time, twice, with no answer. I then sent an email to advise we were leaving. I never heard back from Beach Houses of Byron. I attempted to rectify it and claim a refund through booking.com but they advised nothing could be done because the accommodation refused to compensate. So I think attempted to call Beach Houses of Byron directly. First time I was told it was the after hours service and that she couldn’t assist but she would get someone to call me back. After still not hearing back, I called again to speak to another staff member who advised management were in Sydney but that she would get them to return my call. After not hearing back yet again I called (today at 2:50pm) and spoke to the director Rob who instructed me to send an email to them with photos attached and that they would “investigate”. At 3:56pm I received a response that states there was no security issue and no black mould, despite me providing photos evidence of both of these things. I only saw this response at a few minutes to 5pm so I called the number on the email and spoke to the other director Casey. She was immediately condescending and rude and raised her voice at me. Having read the other reviews I’m not surprised she was immediately defensive- clearly this isn’t the first time they have been in this situation. I asked her about the email response and said my evidence was completely ignored and that I was being essentially gaslit. She kept yelling over me to say I “just left” the property without notifying them of the issue but wouldn’t let me get a word in to explain I actually had tried to call them and emailed before leaving. She then got even more aggressive and said “looks it’s 5pm and I’m with my children so I don’t feel like dealing with this right now, I can contact you on Monday to discuss this.” She kept yelling over me and so I told her I would leave a negative review to which she said “I wish you would, good luck with that!” Throughout this process I had been patient and calm but that was clearly no use. This “organisation” is disgusting and corrupt. Frankly given the reputation they have in Byron, I shouldn’t have booked them in the first place. Save yourself the hassle and do not waste your money on these grubs.

Great location, nestled on the outskirts of Byron Bay - a leisurely 10 min walk and away from main noise of Byron Bay main streets Beds are very comfy and the bathrooms as luxury comblined The grounds needed a little love on the daily - it was winter so the leaves and bird poo on the lounges and chairs were all over - a bit of a daily sweep and clean up will make it look more appealing Entry to property was via secure lock, easy to use You can order breakfast which would have been great - it was once provided in a room on site and looked very elegant and appreciated, they have turned these rooms into guest suites now, so you get the breakfast delivered, takes away the elegance a little but still lovely all the same Near the beach - so another great way to get a surf in or to walk to Byron this way

The Cove 2 bed apartment faces the road not the pool with lots of noise from traffic driving past from the beach. This is false advertising as the photos show a balcony facing the pool. It has a door to another room next to the kitchen with gaps all round and you can hear people talking in that room. Also a window onto the street with no blind and you can see in from the road. It is rather dated and tired with many things missing: such the chair in the “dedicated work space” it had no coffee table when I arrived, no hanging chairs as shown in photos, has no cushion on the sun lounger, dated grungy old cushions on the couch; very uncomfortable couches; all in all a very tired property and the management company clearly don’t want to spend anything but expect top dollar … really not worth the money…. Stay somewhere else. Power outages. Too far from town to walk. Don’t bother complaining to the management company if you go through airbnb because they will just threaten you that they will leave you a bad review. Really unprofessional and unwelcoming to any feedback or complaints.