Tidal River Units — Attraction in Tidal River

I always swore I would never join the noisy, jammed masses at the Tidal River campground and have always had to stay outside of the National Park. No more. These new units are not only in a perfect location (walking distance to the Tidal River bridge and trails as well as Norman beach), but they are private, have adequate car parking space and are modern and clean inside.||||They are not too expensive for what they are and as such, are in demand. We stayed off season in November and still had to juggle between units across 2 nights. We stayed in Cheviot and Natal.||||Oddly, while each of the 6 units are designed similarly, they have different orientations to promote privacy. For such a new build, not considering passive solar orientation is a weird one. With the largest expanse of glass in the lounge facing north they must be lovely and warm in Winter, but with no verandahs they are scorching hot in Summer. The westerly cabins of each pair face more NW and they get heated by the sun a lot longer each day than the easterly ones. So we found Cheviot to be a difficult night's sleep on a 28 degree day (there is no air con, just fans), while we slept very well at Natal.||||The downside of Natal is that it is right next to the communal BBQ area for the units so there is a lot of noise to contend with should a group want to use it.||||And speaking of noise, the units are all joined in the pairings by a central corridor that permits families to rent two of them together. It's nice to see it's a corridor and not just an adjoining door motel style, but sadly the linkage being present at all results in a lot of noise coming through from your neighbour if they are noisy. Our first night, we heard almost nothing, but the loud people the second night really tried our patience. Otherwise, the units are very quiet. Road noise is not an issue as the speed limit outside is 20km/h.||||So for comfort, convenience and location, these get 5 stars, but the lack of smart orientation to permit cooling in Summer and the neighbour noise transmission, knocks them down a point. Still a very unique offering and a great stay, just try for Elmgrove or Domain in hot weather. Domain might indeed be the pick for noise...

We stayed in the Domain unit (accessible) in Tidal River at Wilsons Prom for 2 nights, a Friday and Saturday night, a week after summer school holidays had finished. We loved it. Everything is provided (though only 2 of each piece of cutlery and crockery so if you want more, or bigger mugs, maybe bring some), linen is provided, we did a shop at Leongatha on the way and stocked up but noticed there is a small general store in Tidal River for last minute stuff if you get caught out. We reckon the middle 2 units probably have the best view but all 6 still have pretty nice views and they provide a really lovely level of comfort for being able to still stay right in the heart of the Prom! I'd definitely come back. I tried to add photos of what's included as I was wondering as we were packing! The bed wasn't really soft but wasn't as hard as we were expecting from the reviews, we brought our own pillows so I can't comment on theirs. There is no tv here but we had internet, my hubby made his phone the hot spot and we were connected. Well located in Tidal River, we are walking 500m up the road to go to the outdoor movie tonight. There is no air-con, just ceiling fans. Was fine for us as temperature about 20 degrees each day for us. Table & chairs on deck to sit out and enjoy the view and have a cuppa. They had saucepans, utensils, toaster, kettle, grater, sifter, scissors, detergent & cloths, we were pretty well covered. I would very highly recommend staying here. They do provide soap (but forgot ours) but not shampoo and conditioner. They do provide flannels, bathmat, towels and hand towels. We heard no noise at night and are kind of out of the craziness of the camping area yet still close to everything. We stayed in Feb 2022, just 1 week after school holidays has finished which probably helped avoid the worst...

There are six units (three sets of two interconnected units) and we stayed in one of the middle ones in June (ie., winter). There is a gas heater in the living room that works great but, interestingly, there is no heating in the bedroom. So it will get chilly at night, once you're in bed. There was a heat lamp in the shower, which probably would have helped more, except for the strange, huge open-shower design that also causes water to leak over the rest of the bathroom floor. Maybe that's why the water pressure for the shower is so low.

We definitely had Internet connection issues. Take note: No wifi is provided. We had our own data but connection kept cutting out while we were inside the unit (it was fine outside).

Also, the living room would have had a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains except that there is a strange overgrowth of tall shrubs directly in front of the living room windows. Such a shame.

The unit was really spacious, with a full kitchen, living room, and a bedroom that even has a large desk and tall cabinets. However, there were no electrical outlets in the bedroom and I thought the blankets provided were a little thin and stingy considering there is no heating.

Lastly, be aware that the Tidal River Visitor Centre--which acts as the front desk for this place--has limited hours. When we were there, they closed at 4pm. Also, when I tried to call, no one picked up the phone even though when I drove over a few minutes later, there were three people there.

Fun tip: We took a night-time walk with a flashlight and spotted so many wombats in the field...