Cumberland Resort & Spa

The travel people picked this place for us as it was 4 star and a luxury resort. Well someone got it wrong. The place is very tired and run down. Maybe 1 star at the most. First morning we sat down for a coffee before we went out for breakfast only to discover the kitchen chairs had spider webs all over the legs. Not good cleaners. The shower leaked water all over the bathroom floor. The towels are all frayed along the edges. No aircon only ceiling fans that are noisy. Jumped in our rental car that was supplied by the accomodation provider drove down the road for breakfast and could feel every bump in the road. And there are a lot of potholes. The car which was very old was making a sound banging noise over ever pot hole. I had a look underneath and bracket the hold the shocker was broken off due to rust. We reported this to reception only to be told thanks for letting us know. They said they had quite a few cars that are damaged and waiting parts. We paid $2.80 a litre for unleaded fuel. Fresh milk was $20 a litre in the supermarket.

We enjoyed our stay the staff are lovely but the property is exaggerated - there is no orchard just an avocado tree and some bananas growing- we booked an executive room with spa tub but got a normal room with shower - the resort is well positioned for walking to shops and restaurants and staff organise a car and tours for you which is lovely

We booked the package for Norfolk Island for 7 nights. This included staying at a ‘4 star’ accommodation called Cumberland Resort & Spa. Our initial impressions were not good. We arrived at our unit which had been described as an Executive Spa Villa. It was not what we expected. Were our expectations too high? I think not as we’ve stayed in many accommodations that are 4 star and this at best was 2. The toilet flush was broken …this was fixed straight away by the owner getting a plumber in. The accommodation was tired looking, appliances showing wear and tear …I couldn’t read the oven dials as they were so faded. The extractor fan didn’t work. Labels on the bin were faded so you couldn’t tell what you were supposed to put in them. The walls and doors all need a lick of paint. The furniture was dated and we had a wobbly coffee table! The shower wasn’t the cleanest looking and all over it looked like it hadn’t been maintained well. Then we were shown the hire car …this was an embarrassment…it was 19 years old and had many scratches and dents on it and it looked awful and the interior was dirty. Based on what I’d paid for the package I was expecting a newer model. We certainly didn’t pay budget prices for this package! The owner was notified and seemed mortified and shocked but in hindsight and further research this wouldn’t be news to him based on some TripAdvisor reviews! He was very defensive and insisted that it was ‘4 star’ and that it had good ratings. Also the excuse for many things was the lack of rain and everyone was experiencing drought conditions. This has nothing to do with what we had observed. The gardens were very scruffy and you could see many structures that needed attention …fencing, pool gate etc! You couldn’t see the outside shower head near the pool as vegetation had taken over. The pool and spa area were scruffy with torn seats and old furniture. A faded tarpaulin covered the pool which you were to roll back yourself! I had a look underneath but there were black marks all over the bottom (doesn’t look at all like the photo) and the dials and jets were rusty looking… not inviting at all. I never saw anyone use that area. The gate was a big concern as it was left off the latch. Yes there is a sign to close the gate but clearly that is not checked. We had to lift the gate up (heavy) for it to engage in the latch. That badly needs attention. Anyway we complained to our travel agents Traveldream and they informed the owner. He spoke to us and offered us an upgrade to a romantic spa villa. This was an improvement but again issues …the shower(only hot water almost scalded ourselves) and no plug for the spa bath. We put up with it as didn’t want to keep complaining. The microwave oven is up too high and dangerous at that level to take hot food in and out. We were offered for the last 2 nights ‘The White House’ which is 4kms away. This is more 4 star and some of the photos from that are used to advertise the ‘resort’ in the town