paul_dambra_aus
Google
Don't be fooled by the visually perfect images of 'The Hives' - they are impractical & the supporting service levels provided at Misty Mountain has a lot to be desired considering the prices being charged. Fortunately after giving them feedback I was given a discount on my stay but be aware.||I was not given any warning that the road to access the property was dirt, the first part of the road was ok but as you get close to the property it gets worse and worse with large rocks on the road as well as small stones (yes I have photos). Even driving slowly in the small car I had meant it was a risk of getting a stone caught in the tire and creating a puncture then or later. I had a rental car so this was even more stressful. When leaving I had to spend 20 minutes pulling stones out of the tyres before getting on the freeway| |During check in the person didn’t realise we had a package booked and began telling us about the restaurant menu & things like that for what we would need to book and pay for even though much of it was included.| |The room was supposed to be ready at 2pm and it wasn’t ready until much later, we drove many hours to arrive on time but had to sit and wait around in the bar area.| |The room was constantly hot because of the sun and no temporary coverings available on the windows, the air conditioning even on full power could not cope and it was uncomfortable. Opening the doors meant there was a nice breeze but then lots of flys and insects flew in because there are no screens or other protection devices available so we gathered at least 20 dead ones on the floor and in our luggage after spraying them.| |There is little to no practical storage area in the bathroom for toiletries not even a hook to hang a travel toiletry bag and it would be hard for one person let alone two so we ended up with things everywhere including the floor as there was no real usable space.| |The shower screen length is too shallow so it is nice and open but water spills onto the floor very easily and becomes slippery.| |In the room there was no soap, we were given body lotion to wash our hands with and this isn’t the same as soap so that was a bit confusing.| |We had asked for an iron to be sent to the room when it was cleaned on Saturday, no iron was provided| |There is no table to eat food on not even small side table or fold up table, so for example having our Brai lunch we had to either sit on the seats outside in the hot sun or sit inside on the bed which isn’t the nicest way to try and enjoy lunch.| |There was nothing to put our bags on so we constantly had to get on the floor to find our clothes / get dressed and the lack of storage or anywhere to put luggage made it a mess to walk in and out given the little space available.| |The cover of the outdoor bath has no spring or hinge which makes it dangerous to open as it can easily move/slip backwards because the handle is not on the edge of it, it is towards the middle so not the smartest way to make it easy to hold and move.| |We had to chase up our Brai order, confirmed what we wanted via WhatsApp & the timing of 1pm. At 1.30pm it arrived late, it was the wrong one. We had to wait over an hour before the correct one arrived which meant we didn’t eat lunch until 3 pm and had a dinner reservation at 7pm so you can imagine we didn’t enjoy our dinner the night as we were not really hungry, so one thing effected the other.| |Activity bookings we asked times available via WhatsApp and were told someone would check - we never got a response. Not even a call back or even a reply to say go to reception to check. We were just left hanging with no idea what was available eventually we did it ourselves by going to reception.| |Paying for Padel is ridiculous, especially when forced to buy new tennis balls it becomes one of the most expensive sport hire experiences I have ever dealt with in 30 years of travelling around the world. I understand some cost is involved but the amount being charged together with added cost of new balls is just outrageous in the context. We would have happily used old balls.| |There are no maps to show the basic unguided walking trails available. We asked one person at reception who pointed us to walk out the door and keep walking on the boardwalk which ended at a dead end on the property. We tried another path but had no idea where it was taking us and all we wanted to do is reach the look out mentioned in the property PDF explainer.| |Dinner feedback part 1; I ordered the same main both nights, the coast to coast. The first night had a great mix of vegetables with broccoli, cauliflower, capsicum/peppers, onions etc etc. The second night it was basically just capsicum/peppers with no other variety, it felt like the kitchen had run out of ingredients.| |Dinner feedback part 2; the entree’s were amazing, but my partner’s mains on both nights were not much better than frozen meals. The butter chicken lacked flavour, punch or even any heat, the pasta dish on the Sunday night was similar, they added chicken which was the skewer chicken pieces from the Brai baskets and just seemed weird as a combination but wasn’t appealing, she didn’t finish her main meal on either night.| |Dinner feedback part 3; Saturday night our server was lovely & explained everything. The Sunday night our server didn’t even greet us hello, didn’t ask how our day was and didn’t even mention the chef specials for the evening (luckily we heard them being mentioned to another table) and she constantly had to be prompted. It was like she didn’t really understand the basics of servicing / providing service.| |Dinner feedback part 4; At our first dinner we had to explain to the server our meal was included in the package, when asked what can we choose from the person said anything, so I asked as a joke for one of every dish to try them which she refused. There was no real explanation as to what we could or could not choose from the menu or how the package worked really.| |Breakfast - part 1; I asked for a double espresso on the Saturday morning and received what can be best described as half a long black. I asked the gentleman making coffee and he had no idea what the difference was between an espresso and long black, in his words he just presses the button on the machine. I didn’t make the same mistake Sunday and ordered a single but it too was weak. It isn’t the end of the world but for the prices you are charging for the experience it is sub par.| |Breakfast - part 2; we asked if we could have water for our table. The woman working the breakfast area said yes she would bring it. After waiting nearly 10 minutes we asked another person who said they would bring it. We waited and waited before going inside to ask again - to then be pointed to the water jug on the breakfast table serving area. Nobody mentioned that before or in the first instance and we were left sitting and wondering.| |Check out - this process became confusing because we were asked to pay for our meals even though they were included in the package. The wording in the marketing is ambiguous because the offer said 1 x 30 minute couple massage, 1 x 30 min quad bike, 1 x brai basket, dinner for two (but not a quantity e.g 1 x dinner for two) which I took as that is what came with any booking irrespective of length. They agreed to waive the cost of one of the dinners but it left a bad feeling, especially after all the other little things we had experienced that was below average.||While we enjoyed the opportunity to stay in a unique accomodation & location our overall experience was underwhelming. It feels like the staff are just not up to speed with how guests should be handled, how different divisions / teams communicate & the varying levels of service from front/back of house staff.| | |Everything felt clunky, problematic rather than relaxing, smooth, enjoyable and I know the conversations my partner and I had was more to do with ‘can’t believe they offer this as service’ rather than mind blowing commentary.| | |Added to that is the impractical design of the domes which are amazing in many senses but are let down by simple basic things that don’t make them liveable even for a short stay, its like they are chasing Instagram ‘likes’ rather than being a clever experience with the details kept in mind that balance the wow factor.| | |For the cost being charged per night I expected much more, much, much more. The staff are warm, engaging & personable but the service levels they are delivering is well below premium which is what this site is being marketed as
