Istay Precinct

First annoying thing was trying to find the hotel. We booked t IStay however the building name was something completely different, I walked in and had to ask the reception if I was in the right place, they confirmed yes, I am. When we walked into the elevator it smelt like cigarette smoke, it was so disgustingly strong we felt like we couldn't breathe. We walked out into the lobby, and it wasn't much better, it smelt horrible and dirty and that it was covering up more cigarette smoke. Once we walked into our room the smell wasn't much better. It smelt like they tried to cover up a dirty room. The carpet had stains all over it as well as the lounge. The lounge smelt dirty, i used one of their warm blankets from the cupboard while on the lounge but the blanket smelt terrible as well. We tried to relax in the balcony area but was unable to as people have clearly been smoking in the balcony area, so it smelt horrible. The hot tub was full of sand, i could feel the sand hitting my skin when the jets were on so defiantly not a relaxing experience, the sauna wood was all rotten on the outside as well. The photos on the website defiantly do not match the real-life experience. Theres notes on the outside of the elevator saying there's been a high rate of cars being broken into, this was super concerning as the carpark was locked and needed a buzzer to get in which means the people breaking in are the ones staying in the complex. All the cutlery was greasy and had food on them so the cleaners clearly don't check the cutlery has been washed, it was disgusting. I went to make myself a cup of tea and the kettle was completely rusted on the inside, absolute disgusting.

The room we booked was filthy - remains of food in fridge , old liquids in crisper , vanity had stains on it , holes in carpet, leg of table bent and broken, floor not vacuumed, air conditioning unit dirty - requested reception come up and she observed and took photos - offered us another room but as you entered that area foyer was overcome by cigarette smoke odours (coming from outside) - only minibar fridge in this room for an 11 night stay - we said we wanted to cancel and obtain a full refund. The only positive was the efforts made by the young lady receptionist and the fact that they provided the refund without argument. I am not sure where the 9/10 reviews come from but it certainly wasn't this room. This is a shared accommodation facility as some units are privately owned - my recommendation would be to book elsewhere or at the very least inspect your room before paying !!!

Stayed here for 2 nights at more than $300 p/night for a 1 bedroom apartment. While the balcony was good that was about it ! Foxtel didnt work, TV had to be manually turned on as the remote couldn’t. Shower head was built up with a dribble of water for a shower and the toilet hardly flushed. Tried to have a friend up for 30 minutes to charge her phone after midnight and security stopped her, wouldn’t allow her up unless she was added to the booking. With only a maximum of three allowed on the booking at any one time. Won’t be back 😎