Malibu Mooloolaba Apartments

Great location, however units are very poky, not serviced, yet are very pricey. eg, once you used the two rolls of toilet paper supplied for the week, you had to buy your own! Towels weren't initially supplied for four occupants. Main bathroom needs renovation, as I doubt it would pass safety standards and definitely doesn't meet accessibility standards. Woman at reception probably shouldn't be bagging Queensland attractions, such as the iconic Australia zoo. Not good coming from a fellow tourist operator. Would I stay again, only if there were no other options.

We chose this accommodation because it guaranteed a high-floor rooftop apartment, and before booking I specifically confirmed with Helen that the apartment would have one queen bed and one double bed. Unfortunately, the second room actually had two single beds pushed together, and the split in the middle was uncomfortable and hurt our backs during the stay. The air-conditioning in the master bedroom did not work from the moment we checked in. On the second day of our stay, we also noticed moisture around the air-conditioning. I contacted reception and requested extra toilet paper at the same time. I was told the air-conditioning would be fixed and toilet paper would be delivered the following day, however neither happened and we ended up purchasing toilet paper ourselves. We also noticed mould on the blinds, and the master bedroom had a mouldy smell. Mould is a serious health concern and hazard, especially combined with the moisture issues in the apartment. After I sent an email about the issues, Helen came to the apartment the next morning to address them, and the maintenance staff assisted with turning on the air-conditioning. Helen also noticed the room was dusty. When I pointed out the mould on the lounge blinds, she initially insisted it was dust and repeatedly tried wiping and tapping the blinds with her hand. I felt very uncomfortable inhaling what appeared to be mould particles and found myself trying to hold my breath during the interaction. The circular black patterns were clearly not dust. It is also concerning that the mould appeared to have been there for quite some time without being identified or addressed by staff earlier. Helen organised for cleaners to attend on the same day. When we returned to the hotel that evening, around 90% of the mould had been cleaned, however there was still visible mould remaining on some of the blinds. We were also advised that spraying of the building would take place on Wednesday. Because of this, I was surprised to see someone on our balcony on Tuesday without prior notification. On top of that, dirt and debris were left on the outdoor table without being cleaned afterwards. I found this to be quite a privacy concern. Another surprise was being told that because they are apartments, they do not replenish shampoo, conditioner, soap, or even toilet paper. I have personally never stayed at accommodation that does not replace basic necessities during a stay. They also do not provide toothbrushes, toothpaste nor slippers. In addition, the bedside reading lamps were extremely rusty, the carpets felt sticky, and the apartment overall did not give the impression of being properly maintained. The overall apartment layout was also much smaller and more cramped than expected, including the bedrooms, lounge, dining area, and toilet/bathroom spaces. That said, I do want to acknowledge that both the receptionist and Helen were always helpful whenever I spoke with them over the phone before and during the stay. Overall, the location and rooftop aspect were great, but the cleanliness, mould concerns, bedding issue, privacy concerns, cramped layout, and lack of basic amenities made the experience disappointing, especially considering the price we paid for the stay. It was especially disappointing to experience these issues while on holiday, when we had simply hoped for a relaxing and stress-free stay.

We’ve been staying at Malibu for 20 years and always had a lovely experience. Last time we stayed (not this stay) we noticed the management had changed. It was a wee bit disorganised and we found the managers a little “odd” but we didn’t let it stop us rebooking. This week we’ve stayed there again, just 3 nights this time for a family birthday. Sadly I don’t think we will stay again. We believe that the managers are a lady and her Son. Neither of which have particularly great customer service, memory recall or manners. The son in particular didn’t seem to be able to have a conversation on any level; even a good morning was unachievable. He did grunt however. The rooms lack maintenance and general cleaning. The beds are old and in need of new mattresses as they are incredibly lumpy and we could feel the springs. The bathrooms are old and in need of upgrading. The balcony and roof top terrace was nice and has comfortable furniture but the spa in our apartment roof (20) didn’t have a step to get into it, was old , noisy and dated and definitely was not worth the extra $ we paid. The final nail in the coffin was the fire alarms going off. No formal process was followed, no one visited each floor to ensure everyone was out and guests were using the lift. My disabled husband was on level 10 and struggled to walk the 10 floors down to be advised that it was a false alarm as the owner had burnt her dogs dinner. It was disorderly and a really worry in the instance that a real fire should occur. A real shame that these managers have distorted the Malibu reputation to be honest.