Yallingup Lodge Spa Retreat — Hotel in Naturaliste

Save your money. Very disappointing stay.

We booked three nights at Yallingup Lodge Spa Retreat. Due to a back injury I was unable to travel in the car as I could not sit so we called to reschedule. Despite providing a medical reason, there was zero compassion and we lost over $1,000 which then led to them giving us a one night voucher. Mind you this was for my 40th and it was a much needed getaway to rest, recharge and celebrate a milestone birthday.

When we tried to rebook months later, we called around eight times before anyone finally answered. On arrival no one was at reception and when a staff member eventually appeared, there was no smile, greeting or warmth. The atmosphere was cold and unwelcoming from the start.

For $450 a night, our room was extremely disappointing, outdated, sticky surfaces, horrible mattress, unsafe decking and far from the private “retreat” it was advertised to be. I work in occupational health, safety and environmental law and have a background working in 5 star day spas on cruise ships as a beauty therapist based in the UK and USA. This place is nowhere near that standard. It is supposed to feel warm and luxurious and I can guarantee that is not the case here.

The spa prices are excessive. $200 for a one hour massage on weekends and $175 during weekdays. Staff seem disengaged. We even overheard management/owners speaking poorly about guests in the common area, completely unprofessional.

To top it off, the TV didn’t work and management took hours to return our phone calls and told us they would investigate the issue and get back to us. Hours passed and no update. Only to be found returning from town with food instead of addressing the issue which they never intended on addressing. We ended up packing our things and leaving that night at 7:30pm to drive back to Perth where we have more luxuries at home to be fair. We felt so uncomfortable being there.

The next day the owner Stacey called us to ask how our stay was. She had the Hyde to ask my wife about payment which upon booking we made it clear this was a voucher and gave her the number. If she was running a professional business she would have kept that on file. Ridiculous.

Yallingup Lodge Spa Retreat has potential and I can see their vision but it’s run without care, warmth, or professionalism. The love that this place needs is no where to be found. The energy felt cold, unwelcoming and uncomfortable. They market themselves as a health and wellbeing style lodge so a lot of spiritually minded and inclined people would be attracted to the concept but the energy and vibe is dark and heavy. Avoid at all cost.

We won’t be returning and do not...

I offered to write my review to the owner but was not given access to their email upon request.||This lodge is tired and needs some TLC. From the signs at the bottom of the drive one can see already the caliber of the accommodation. Both garden beds in front of the signs are unkempt and full of weeds. There is an old caravan parked in the field to the right and old unused garden boxes to the left. The smell at the bottom of the driveway is not pleasant, like sewage.||I asked to see the room on arrival but was refused until full payment was made. The room was dark and uninviting. The windows are high and the door is frosted so you cannot see out into the trees without sitting on the balcony. ||I was informed that the spa was filled and hot for our arrival and that there was a barbecue and microwave outside and that was the only information received. We were told to ask questions if there was anything else we wanted to know. ||The first thing I did was to empty the kettle to boil water for tea. I was surprised that the kettle was full and on pouring the contents out I discovered that it was full of coffee that someone had made in the kettle. I did not feel like using it for tea after that. ||We went into town to eat an early dinner and when we returned, we discovered that the spa was now lukewarm. There is no way of reheating it except by a loose tap fitting, an impossible task for the amount of water. If we had been told that this was the only way to heat it we might have used it sooner. The spa is also old and tired and not inviting. ||Later I went to use the microwave, it was dirty and smelt and I could not use it. ||The management was only there till 4 after which we discovered that the heater didn’t work, it worked for 10 minutes then stopped. At this point we looked for some help and a kind lady who works at the OM spa came and helped us with the heater and finding a replacement kettle for us. The heater worked for 10 minutes and stopped again, so no cosy glow, just the aircon to heat the room. ||There is no top sheet on the bed that one might expect in a luxury retreat and there was only one bedside lamp. Both the bedside tables and outside table needed cleaning.||There is no water in the fridge except for expensive bottled water and breakfast is extra. ||Needless to say we left the next morning as soon as we got up. We requested a refund but this was refused. We were refunded for the spa treatment that I didn’t have and I cannot comment on the spa as I did not go in there. ||What was supposed to be a luxury break for our anniversary left us sorely disappointed...

The pictures on the website don't match the suite. The garden looks more like a outback shed rather than the Balinese inspired retreat pictured on the website. We went fill the spa to find what looked like a clear bodily fluid floating in it. Needless to stay we didn't use this our entire stay after that.

This triggers me to check the cleanliness of the room, I check under the bed to find a dead spider and discover it hadn't been vacuumed. I check the sheets to find they are stained. I check the bathroom to find a cobweb in the corner ,I look up to the ceiling to see a ball of dust hanging above the bed, on top of the cupboards is thick with dust & behind the stool was a note from a previous occupant .

I go to use the pool to find a dead lizard sitting in the bottom. I know this is a resort in the bush, however I really would have thought staff would be checking the pool to remove things like this.

I went to have a shower & I had just put shampoo in my hair when the water went cold after a day at the beach with red raw sunburn the last thing I wanted was a freezing cold shower. I stood there shivering in a towel as I called reception but there was no answer . I then went down to reception at with my hair dripping wet still lathered with shampoo in nothing but the towel and stood there ringing the bell but no one came. I went back to the room and called both after hours numbers twice but there was no answer. I waited in the suite for someone to call me back & when they did thelady on the phone advised me it was just 'a minor error ' which is fine it just appears there's quite a lot of 'minor errors '. I later discovered reception closes at 2pm on a Sunday I thought 4pm was ridiculous but 2pm is just a joke

I tried to get a good nights sleep before the drive back to Perth. Only to be woken by the music playing in the room next door . This whole stay I have been able to hear guests private conversations from their rooms , Mysterious 'banging ' in the middle of the night and now incredibly load music which I imagine wasn't actually that loud it's just the fact the walls are so paper thin you can hear everything. Its uncomfortable for anyone being a courteous guest as you feel you have to tip toe around, and it's uncomfortable for anyone being a guest to anyone next door as you hear everything.

I told the lady upon leaving my stay really wasn't great & have emailed the resort but haven't heard a thing from them. This is not how a 4 star resort should be . Save your money I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS...