Melfort Pier and Harbour

1 reader found this review helpful

We have stayed at Melfort Pier many times over the past 9 years - on our own and with other family members. We tend to go there for long weekends as the surroundings are so beautiful and relaxing.
It is true that over the years the houses have aged and are in need of some updating, however this has never spoiled any visit. I noticed on a web-site that the place is up for sale which might explain why they haven't invested in upgrading the properties. They have however recently installed digital freeview boxes in all of the houses giving way more tv channels than the previous old satellite system. I have to say we rarely watch much tv when there, as we are too busy enjoying ourselves.
If you research the houses on their website before you book, you can find the most appropriate for you. Some have small spa baths and some have huge jaccuzzi's which you can get lost in. Most have log burning fires and all have sauna's - one or two even have a sunbed. There are houses with disabled access and houses more geared up for kids with bunk beds and toys. We have stayed in most of the houses now and some are way better than others. I really wouldn't want to stay in one of the houses above or beside the office and bins though. A little bit of reasearch and planning before you go, can make all the difference.
We have found the main attraction of Melfort Pier to be the location rather than the accommodation. It is truly beautiful - i always feel sad when we have to leave. Last time we were there we spotted two otters swimming in the harbour!! Sometimes we have been really lucky with the weather, being able to sunbathe in April and November, and other times the weather is really miserable which is when the log fire, sauna and spa bath really come in handy.
We have always found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, and the houses have always been spotlessly clean upon arrival. As it is self catering and in a really rural location, you really should go prepared with lots of food and drink. You cant blame the staff for the fact that you have gone un-prepared for your stay and dont have milk - SELF CATERING says it all. And as for complaining that you have to tidy up and do dishes before you leave - so you should. I would never check out of a self catering home leaving behind a dirty house and pile of dirty dishes. You are paying for the rental of the property not for a daily maid service.
Even though the properties do need updating, I still love the place. I always leave feeling totally relaxed and wanting to come back again. It's not five star luxury - but neither are the prices.

8 readers found this review helpful

We arrived at Melfort Pier and Harbour July 2008 excited to experience this luxurious family break we all deserved and were eager to enjoy. On arrival the accommodation appeared fine superficially; the staff were initially friendly and the location beautiful.
Unfortunately on closer inspection once we had settled in it was clearly evident there was absolutely nothing luxurious about this vacation other than the view. Our first evening my husband and I were keen to put the kids to bed and indulge in each others company within the (emphasized spectacular bathroom with spa and sauna facilities as stated so frequently online)
We had paid £215 per evening to afford us the privacy and opportunity to pamper each other.
Not only was the so called Jacuzzi a mere one person bath with spa facility which was barely long enough to allow one person to lie down it was unfortunately disgustingly adorned by a previous visitors hair debris in the drainage area and on surrounding floor tiles, it also had damp spores around the broken caulking on the tub and stains on the overhead shower unit. The smell of mildew was evident, the workmanship had been done by an amateur, the sealant and caulking and finishing in this bathroom was appalling and most certainly not conducive to any relaxation.
Then moving on to their so called superb quality sauna room which did have enough room to squeeze two in; we found they had supplemented the original water scoop by replacing it with a small plastic kitchen ladle and the wood was swollen and coming away from one wall because it was not finished correctly. (This is not luxury, nor adequate to call ultimate indulgence)
Obviously we were extremely disappointed by our findings so decided to put the satellite TV on to browse for a decent movie and to our amazement were only offered a handful of useless channels along with camera shots of the park. Again not as expected from a £215 a night vacation.
One thing we believed we could rely on was a decent cup of coffee (having luckily been allowed to purchase one carton of milk from the bar area on arrival given that there truly are no self catering grocery facilities within this I was told this was all we were allowed)
WRONG the kettle was as temperamental as the staff member we had the joy of encountering the following day. We not only had to boil water in a pot on the hob but also make up our baby bottles this way. (Very luxurious!) All hope was not lost though the kettle decided to work again in the morning and yes you guessed it by night once again it had failed.
We snuggled up in bed ready for a peaceful night. The last thing we were prepared for was a rude awakening from a smoke detector placed above the kitchen fridge screeching at 4am because they had overlooked replacing the battery. Then on attempting to have a longer lie in we had to endure the other guests discarding their refuge within the bins directly under our bedroom windows from 7am onwards. The sound of breaking glass was a real pleasure to wake up to. (Phew this was all in the first 24 hours of our break).
On alerting the staff to the smoke detector we were told to bring it to the office (our break, but they expected us to do the running for their shortfalls, they did not even offer to call and collect it) We asked for some guidance as to where a few tourist attractions were and the staff member bluntly told us we don't have that information here you need to go into town and ask there. No politeness or help whatsoever.
We spent the majority of our vacation subsequent to our arrival evening out with the complex as much as possible. We were all disappointed with this holiday. (No play areas for kids above 3years old and even under 3 were lucky to have 2 toys to play on.
For the amount of money they are receiving per accommodation they could easily place a better TV system in the homes and provide adequate play facilities for all ages. They could also take the time to bring the bathrooms up to a luxurious standard as they so wish to advertise and maintain they have, maybe even install a proper Jacuzzi large enough for at least two people to share as anyone would expect on a luxurious romantic break; they already have you believe that this is what you will be receiving with their deceitful statements. When in reality it is a normal size bath tub.
We had to do our own tidying, cleaning, dishes etc all prior to leaving just as you would on a Butlins holiday (not what you desire from a luxury vacation) nothing wrong with this if this is what you bargain for and pay for. They couldn’t even provide fresh towels on a daily basis.
This break was most definitely not as we expected. Therefore on returning home we decided to follow up with a letter to highlight our disappointment and offer advice on where they could improve their complex for future guests. (as we did not want to spend our complete vacation constantly in their office dealing with the shortcomings we found so decided to enjoy our holiday the best we could whilst there despite all of the above)
Please keep in mind we were not requesting nor did we mention a refund of any monies or indicate this in any way. Again to my disbelief what we received was two very rude responses. These included these statements
"Maybe self catering is not the right relaxing holiday for you as a mom of three little children"

"Next time you stay somewhere and have a problem, report it at once and show it to the staff "You could have taking photos of things you created yourself"
Yes that's right (we transformed into magicians) then we broke the caulking, made black damp overnight placed someone’s black hair in the spa drainage (we would have had to scalp someone to do so considering no one in the family has black hair) and made wood swell on the sauna wall. We badly sealed the bathroom and stained the shower, even made a loose wire in the kettle to encourage us to live like the Victorians boiling our water slowly on a stove, then we put refuge bins under our window to utilize these in place of an alarm clock to save on electricity not to mention deliberately put a dead battery in the smoke alarm unit for fun.
We then contacted the satellite company and asked them to reduce the amount of channels received because the vast amounts were so overwhelming. Yes this professional well educated family desperate in our busy schedules for our well earned and deserved hard to come by family vacation done all of the above just to induce some excitement.
We also done some artwork and badly painted over the broken wood on the balcony rail to disguise it and pulled a light directly of the living room ceiling to leave an exposed wire for aesthetics sake. The staff have taken no responsibility for any of the points we have highlighted.
Fact is this complex could not and do not wish to be mature enough to accept constructive criticism they certainly are not going to attempt to fix any of the above issues in the near future as they are more interested in letting these homes out and furthermore making money they also stated "As Crows Nest is one of our most popular houses, it has been fully booked since you left" do they care that the accommodation is substandard? NO. Do they care their facilities fall way short of luxury? NO. Do they care they steal money for services not provided? NO. Do they care their cleaning is insufficient? NO. They only care about booking these homes up. Please contemplate seriously before wasting your time, hopes, effort and money on a vacation here as you will be very disappointed.