Love Cabins — Hotel in Bilpin

I feel misled. For the price tag (on par with a luxury resort), the accommodation falls short and not worthy of such a steep price. When I booked the Wollemi Wilderness Cabin for a part of our Australian holiday, I was so excited! I couldn’t wait to surprise and impress my husband with the coolest accommodation ever. This was going to be a great place for us to reconnect with one another, however, it just didn’t inspire romance for several reasons.

WHAT I DISLIKED The location. I know I said I liked it, but it was also a pain to get from the cabin to the main road. You drive on an unpaved road for several kilometers which is extremely narrow and treacherous to travel on in the dark, because, well, it’s DARK. And there is a lot of wildlife. And big bugs. If you do any sightseeing, you had better be back at the cabin before dark.

THE LACK OF COMFORT. How do you not have an air-conditioner for 41 Celsius temperatures during the summer??? That is important information to know. The cabin was blazing hot when we arrived and remained sweltering and uncomfortable for the two nights we were there. I sent the owner an email shortly after arriving to inquire on how we were supposed to cool the cabin down. The one floor fan in the bedroom was not going to cut it. He stopped by the cabin to offer his “suggestions” which was that 1) the weather should be cooling down soon and 2) he opened the sliding door and the front door to try to get a cross breeze. I pointed out that doing so was allowing insects inside the cabin as there are no screen doors on either one. He was quite dismissive saying they only come in with the light, meanwhile I’m watching all sorts of flying things come in. The result: There wasn’t a cross breeze and it never cooled down to a comfortable temperature and we were miserable.

THE LACK OF GENERAL MAINTENANCE AND CLEANLINESS. The furniture was old and worn, the bookshelf with games and books was unkempt, the provided dishtowels had a gross, musty smell, the only toilet was a composting toilet complete with flying insects in the toilet and in the bathroom (this would have been important information to know upon booking), the screens on windows were not properly aligned (letting bugs in if you open the window) and the amount of spider/cob webs and live insects INSIDE the cabin (before he let MORE inside) indicated the interior floorboards, windows, ceilings of the cabin never get any type of cleaning attention. I understand we are “in the bush”, but that doesn't mean I want to share my cabin with the bugs INSIDE. Finally, let’s talk about the bed. We both tossed and turned all night as the mattress was so very uncomfortable. The bed linens were old, scratchy and too heavy for the hot summer weather, let alone to create a romantic environment.

Moving on...As I prepared to grill some steak for dinner, I go out to the BBQ to warm it up and guess what? There is no propane! If you know you are having guests stay at your accommodation it should be ready with everything they need. I missed out on the experience of having a glass or two of wine whilst grilling our steaks on the deck overlooking the bush and the gorgeous view. I finally get dinner ready and set the table only to notice there are no paper towels or napkins. How are you supposed to wipe your hands and face while eating your meal?

For the price tag I expected this place to be spotless, comfortable, well appointed, and immaculate.I was ready to pack up after the first night and find another accommodation except for the fact I paid so much for this place and most everything else was already sold out (high season). The website describes the Love Cabins as a romantic Blue Mountains getaway and “stunning” with “new” interior design concepts. Only if they mean “stunning” in a bad way. I seriously hated every minute here and the ironic part is that this was the accommodation I was most excited about on our trip to Australia. I probably wouldn’t be so bitter if I paid $79 AUD per night...

My partner and I arrived intending to stay for 2 nights in the love teepee. The view was nice. This was supposed to be a special occasion celebrating our 1 year anniversary and my partner proposed to me on arrival. We arrived not knowing where to go. We found someone who could help us and he showed us to go cabin. He then explained how to light the fire and that is about it. We went to use the amenities and discovered that the toilet was a drop toilet. The stench that came from it was unbearable (even with the seat down). We then turned on the tap for the spa.The water was yellow almost brown in colour. That also had an bad odour. No toiletries besides a bar of soap and bubbles. We had to bring our own towels. We used the stove that was working. My partner then turned on the heater in bedroom because the whole cabin was freezing, the fire kept going out. The little fan heater died 2 minutes in, while on. He then tried the TV, switching the channel only turned the TV off. The DVD option worked until you put a DVD in the tv and the disks wouldn’t read. So we gave up on that idea. The next day we cooked lunch on the stove which was working. we attempted to use the BBQ for cooking dinner. The BBQ was very weak and would not cook our meal. We then decide to fry the food on the stove. The stove kept beeping and turning off. We could not cook our dinner at all since the stove was no longer working. This left us no choice but to pack up and leave the premises on Saturday night and head back home. We saw a mousse running around in the cabin but we tried not to let it bother us. Our stay was not pleasant and has left a very bad impression. We will not be recommending our friends and family to book this place. We emailed the owner about these issues and he didn’t address them, wasn’t apologetic and basically said that we were imagining the smell. We feel ripped off for the...

Edit: the owners refunded one night of our accomodation in the end. We booked Wollemi cabin for two nights, stayed one and left. The place was full of spider webs, and had live spiders in them. There were literal spider nests/colonies in the bathroom too with baby spiders and all in there (picture with the wood and white patches). The welcome pack in the kitchen says “you are in the bush, yes there are spiders and bugs” (or words to that effect). It’s a nature retreat, we expected animals, Australia’s finest annoying critters and drop toilets. What we didn’t expect was them being encouraged to use the cabin as their own breeding ground, and me having to use half a can of the provided Mortein in the bathroom, downstairs sleeping quarters and living area to clean out existing pests. That’s the cleaners job, not mine when I pay $450 a night. It’s clear the accomodation was not properly cleaned as the kitchen and bathroom were full of mould as well (photos attached). We left the next morning and wrote an email requesting a refund of one night accomodation (which we got in the end). This is still the cheapest with the views, and if the cabin were cleaned properly I’m sure we would have enjoyed both nights. But this was our weekend away before our baby arrived so has soured our experience. Be aware that this is an eco cabin and off grid, it’s not clear on the website. It’s a gas stove, gas oven, rain water powered site. Take simple foods easy to cook stove top meals, steaks, cheeses, some wine and enjoy the awesome view (hopefully without the issues we had). There’s barely any phone reception too (on any provider) so make sure you tell your family and friends you’re unreachable while away (which is pretty good, free...