Windsor House B & B — Hotel in Gippsland

This place has so much potential and we were so looking forward to our stay but this enthusiasm was dashed once we arrived. Our host seemed less than happy with her role and we were greeted with coolness, which had nothing to do the external temperature. |The house is a restored building with lots of history but the mismatched furnishings and poor heating leaves a disappointing impression. |The upstairs shower is gravity fed and the hot water only trickles out, put the cold on and you will be very chilly. The stairs, which are quite steep, have been refurbished so the surface is polished concrete which is problematic as it is slippery, so be careful. The rooms are comfortable but on the small side, however you cannot close the curtains due to the heather placement or complete absence of any blinds. Check your electric blanket, only one side of ours worked. The bed is also very firm. |The guest dining/lounge room is downstairs and again has so much potential - except when the host refuses to light the fire, despite the cold and request of guests at breakfast. The host had clearly been up for a couple of hours prior to breakfast service (the noise travels well) and had plenty of time to light the fire and add some atmosphere and warmth to the room. We wandered downstairs a few minutes early for our allocated breakfast time-slot and planned to have a coffee and relax on the couches, but we were greeted by an admonishment for being early! Not the best way to start the day. Breakfast itself was ok, certainly nothing special. |This same shared room was closed up and dark when we arrived back the previous evening, after dinner, finding the fire out and most lights off, again not welcoming at all. Given there is no tea/coffee facilities in the bedrooms the dining room should be set up and welcoming later than 9pm. We would have happily looked after the fireplace, but we were not allowed to do this either. |This property is up for sale and we hope whoever buys it will give this building and future guests the attention and care they deserve.|I doubt we will...

A gift for my parents (NZ) - we were left disappointed.||||While my parents have no mobility issues, a standard staircase was expected and not the steep one experienced. Saying that 95 year old's and the owner herself uses those stairs dozens of times a day didn’t acknowledge individual concerns at all.||||It would have been good if the website advised that there is no tv and wifi as these are normally standard inclusions when booking accommodation.||||The room was also covered in dust due to the renovations that were taking place. While the owner apologised for not cleaning the dust on the chairs and said that she would fix it while they waited, for the amount that we paid for the room, I expected that the room would have been ready for their arrival and that they would not have to wait for it to be cleaned.||||It would have been good if the owner had also communicated the fact that booking into the pub for dinner (only place open) before arrival would be a good idea. Because they didn’t, my parents were unable to get any dinner and were not even offered a cup of tea by the owner.||||The owner also expressed the struggles their business had experienced over the last few years due to rising utilities, insurance costs, bush fires, floods and lockdowns, which I appreciate but when you pay $220 for a gift you hope to get what you pay for. My parents did not end up staying and request for a refund, even partial was rejected.||||While the owner said that having someone leave was like a slap in the face, not getting what we paid for and the owner being so inflexible about a refund or alternative, was much the same. We were also made to feel at fault with the owner saying perhaps next time more effort into researching your stay might be of benefit. ||||Will not be promoting Windsor House to friends...

A gift for my parents (NZ) - we were left disappointed.

While my parents have no mobility issues, a standard staircase was expected and not the steep one experienced. Saying that 95 year old's and the owner herself uses those stairs dozens of times a day didn’t acknowledge individual concerns at all.

It would have been good if the website advised that there is no tv and wifi as these are normally standard inclusions when booking accommodation.

The room was also covered in dust due to the renovations that were taking place. While the owner apologised for not cleaning the dust on the chairs and said that she would fix it while they waited, for the amount that we paid for the room, I expected that the room would have been ready for their arrival and that they would not have to wait for it to be cleaned.

It would have been good if the owner had also communicated the fact that booking into the pub for dinner (only place open) before arrival would be a good idea. Because they didn’t, my parents were unable to get any dinner and were not even offered a cup of tea by the owner.

The owner also expressed the struggles their business had experienced over the last few years due to rising utilities, insurance costs, bush fires, floods and lockdowns, which I appreciate but when you pay $220 for a gift you hope to get what you pay for. My parents did not end up staying and request for a refund, even partial was rejected.

While the owner said that having someone leave was like a slap in the face, not getting what we paid for and the owner being so inflexible about a refund or alternative, was much the same. We were also made to feel at fault with the owner saying perhaps next time more effort into researching your stay might be of benefit.

Will not be promoting Windsor House to friends...