Luxury Abalina Cottages

We booked Cobden cottage 11 months ago. The cottage is in a great location and is a short walk to the centre of Bright's township. This was a family get away (3 adults) and we had a great time. The poor rating is due to the attitude of the host. We had to call the host the day before departure to find out how to access the property. On arrival there were ants in the main bathroom, on the floor, bath and toilet roll. We had to throw the toilet roll out. We didn't mind as the host had left us with half used rolls of toilet paper from the previous guest in each bathroom. I have never come across this in all the places I have stayed (both overseas and interstate). There was no supply of milk in the fridge, strawberry and marmalade jam, honey or vegemite as mentioned on the Abalina website. There was no washing basket, pegs or clothes rack. There was a clothesline outside, so we were sure that we just couldn't locate the pegs. We made a call to the host, as stated on the information sheet, she did say to call her if we had any queries. All she said was 'no pegs' and also said there was a clothes rack in the cupboard. We couldn't locate the clothes rack, so we tried calling the host again a few times. She chose to ignore our calls. We didn't want to use the clothes dryer as the sun was out and it was perfect for drying clothes. More ants were found on the living room floor and on the coffee table. Again, more ants were found in the second bedroom on the single bed. Blinds are dusty in living areas and bathrooms. Outdated condiments in the fridge. I don't believe this cottage is professionally cleaned. Tiny amount of laundry detergent provided. Live wire exposed on cords of both lamps in the front bedroom.

Due to mitigating circumstances I had to cancel our 3 night booking. They took $1200 from my account and even with 22 days notice during peak season they would not refund anything. Really devastating to us as this is a lot of money. I could understand them keeping a deposit but not the entire amount. They actually talked me out of booking through *********** to save money - I will never do that again as *********** refund your money when you are forced to cancel.

We were booked to stay here in September and we looked forward to it. In the week before our trip my husband was hospitalized for 4 days with severe food poisoning resulting in septic shock and severe dehydration. During his admission he had delirium and fell fracturing his ankle and requiring a cast. He also required heart monitoring due to the sepsis. We thought we might be able to to go to Bright but the severity of my husbands condition, his inability to eat, reduced capacity to mobilise and the need for him to be monitored by his GP following discharge resulted in the decision to return home. We rang the owner of Abalina to cancel with the possibility of a part refund or a credit note. We were told this was not possible because if they did that ‘they would miss out on the money’. She said they would advertise on the booking sites they use and refund any nights they could rebook. When I checked the sites the adds were confusing specifying people still needed to book for 3 days even though we had paid in full. We have not heard anything. While we understand that cancelling a booking due to a change of mind is not acceptable this was a situation where we could not possibly get there due to a critical illness. The other places we had booked accommodation cancelled our bookings without penalty which we very much appreciated. You live and learn and in this instance we learnt that we won’t book here again.

We booked Abalina 1-on-Cherry through Airbnb for 21-25 July, as we weren't able to find something on Mt Hotham for our snowboarding trip, and I'm glad we did! Beautifully modern, immaculately clean and well-equipped accommodation within reasonable walking distance to the town centre. Comfortable beds with a selection of pillows to choose from, a nice spread of tea and coffee (including a plunger!) and basic cooking needs, an ample amount toiletries and cleaning supplies to use during your stay, electric blankets on the beds and one for your lap, and plenty of wood for the fireplace! Extra special shout out to Bernadette and Cameron, who made their way over to the house while they were out, because silly me locked both the house and car keys inside, just as we were ready to check out 🥲 Would definitely love to come back next time we're in Bright!