voosh

I purchased two vouchers for Deep Sea Fishing in August 2012. I contacted them right then to book a half-day fishing for October. I have not got any response so I naturally followed up on booking confirmation a week later. A couple of days later I gave them a call on link phone and left a voicemail message as nobody was answering. I did not hear from them so I called their link phone again as well as mobile phone...again. Then I finally got through to a man who was apparently out of office and promised me to give me a cal back at the same day. He did not, neither following one. So I called their mobile phone again, but nobody answered. Then I placed a query to contact me via their web site as I could not think of any better way to get a confirmation of my booking. We lived in Brisbane and driving up to Noosa where we could potentially find out the booking had not been made, would be pretty annoying...therefore, I needed them to confirm it.

I even contacted a provider of deals to help me in this matter. They did not do much for me. Long story short...at the end I had to change the booking so I had to get in contact with them again. Surprisingly, they answered a phone and were willing to assist me with the change of booking. However, I was so annoyed with the whole chase-mouse-like-a-dog thing that I could not help myself to tell the lady on phone. She had heaps of excuses that I was amazed she told me...it was a monolog about them having a family business and two small kids, being busy with life and her husband (businessman) dropped his mobile phone into water so had no phone for a while and could not return any of my calls...

I, personally, lost all my interest to use their services so we did not go. At the end of the day, I asked the deal provider to refund my money as this was a hassle from the start. I also would not recommend this company for using their services at all.

Big no, no!

Pancakes on the Rocks is one of the most unforgettable restaurants of Sydney. I was taken here when I visited Sydney first time in my life. I absolutely loved it here. Since then, every time I visit Sydney, I am thinking of visiting the restaurant again. Food is very nice, pancakes (more of crepes kind) are light and service outstanding. Surprisingly enough, prices are not too bad considering usual expense of dinning out for that area.

I can recall queue lined up at the front door that we had to stand for 30 mins or so. Yet, it was a worth of waiting! Always!

We stayed over for two nights. Peppers Guest House offers all you can wish for...beautiful and peaceful location, lovely suites, very polite staff and great service. We have not dined in the house, not even for breakfast for that reason I cannot review their dinning services. However, every other experience was very pleasant. Guests can use complimentary indoor pool and sauna which we dried. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to enjoy sauna as we went there shortly before our departure. Stones had not been heated prior our visit, for that reason we spent fair bit of time waiting for stones to heat up.

My partner said he would love to go back there if we ever visit Hunter Valley again. I personally would rather stay in different wine area because my wish to explore other parts of Hunter Valley...yet, I was very happy with my partner's choice :)

What to say about Movenpick boutique at Barracks (?) I love their icecream so they earned points from me partially for the product. I liked the staff & service, however, would rather support a boutique in Fortitude Valley - Emporium as I liked service there better. Whereas the boutique at Barracks had two girls on board on Friday night, the service was not that great. I could not miss a couple of empty cups left on customers tables...and note, it was not busy. We did not have to wait in queue as we were the only new customers.

If my taste-buds were calling for some ice-cream and I was in that area, I would go back there but would not do a special little trip for it :)

Absolutely brilliant service. Even restaurant full of customers on Friday evening is served within reasonable time. We turned up at 7pm with no reservation, were seated indoors by our choice. I had spicy calamari dish with bean salad, my partner had garlic chicken kebab with mjaddarah & tabbouleh...then we shared three scoops of absolutely beautiful ice-cream in flavours of halva, Turkish coffee and baked apple. We will be definitely coming back to try other dishes...Turkish pizza looks interesting and I think beetroot salad may be worth of trying to (since everyone on WOMO review it very well).

My partner and I chose Movenpick in Emporium for redemption of a voucher we purchased through Groupon. It was for a basket of three scoops of icecream of our choice and a sensual shake. Surprisingly enough, only one man serving quite busy boutique of customers handled orders very well. We were served with a basket promptly. Then he said he would have brought the shake to us. I personally did not see him neither preparing nor mixing ingredients for shake at that time as a result I was amazed he brought it to our table only few minutes later. I had thought it would've taken him quite while because the queue of customers lined up behind us. Very good job! If I had the chance, I would have told him how impressed I was.

Movenpick icecream is sensation that you must try...and I recommend you to visit boutique in Fortitude Valley :)

Recalling my dinning experience in Sofitel that I visited for breakfast a couple of times, I have to say "wow, it was always unbeatable". I can imagine it would be beatable for less cost but the same quality...I want you to find the place though. All-inclusive breakfast with a glass of champagne costs $50 per person which is not cheap. I went there only for very special occasions and still think of it as the best hotel breakfast I have ever had. Unfortunately, I always overate for the large variety of foods they offer (warm Aussie breakfasts, savoury & sweet pastries, cereals and breads of different kinds, little sweets, fresh & dried fruits, yoghurts & parfaits & smoothies, ham & cheese plates, sushi, smoked salmon, variety of spreads, nuts & seeds, fruit bars, fruit and vegetables juices, variety of coffees and teas). After having breakfast in Sofihotel, I suffer with a guilt of filling my stomach to the top so I do not have to eat for the rest of the day...Who could help themselves for the availability of amazing foods.

Restaurant of Sofitel is heaven and hell in one :-D I can imagine going in early morning and spend there until they close for breakfast...take my breakfast slow and easy, savour every bite, read a book and just relax surrounded by beautiful staff and food.

Stay in Sky Lodge and you will be planning your next trip back...that is how I felt about our stay over two nights here. Sky Lodges, as their name indicates, are located in nature nearly on the top of a mountain. The location is absolutely peaceful for that reason (and not only one) you would better of leaving any communication technology at home. Because of the area, you'd better of taking at least a phone with you, however, you would feel like turning it off and fully enjoy the beauty of birds singing and nice smell in the air.

Accommodation is breath taking. Sky Lodges offer views from the mountain straight to valley. As windows facing to valley are all over the walls, you are exposed to a chasm of trees. For lack of people living in this area, you would feel like lost from the world...if you aim for a break from people, this is the place! You are still not left alone as there is staff to response to any of your query but nearly no-one else...maximum privacy.

Lodges are modern, spacey and very well equipped for stay of a number of days. You can easily prepare your own meals as kitchen has got all necessary you may need. Bathroom is large with shower, bath tube, sink and a toilet.

We did not taste hotel restaurant but we would in our next visit. I can tell this is one of the best accommodation I have ever been to...therefore, I highly recommend to nature-lovers.

We spent a couple of nights in the hotel during Easter holiday this year. As we arrived to Newcastle past 5pm on Friday, we were not able to check in until nearly 8pm. Owner of the hotel was so responsive that he showed up there just to hand in keys and show us around. Rooms and bathrooms were really nice looking and neat. I personally was impressed with bathrooms as they looked like the ones you can see in Business Lounges at the airport. Kitchen was equipped with all necessary kitchen appliances you could think of for making yourself toast or cooked breakfast. They even supply assorted cereals, milk, toast bread, a few spreads, coffee, milk, tea and juices.

We had dinner in the restaurant once. Apart from many customers, I very enjoyed the dinning experience…nice meal and you can choose some for reasonable prices.

As we stayed over Monday night to Tuesday too, we were charged slightly less than the first night on Friday.

If I ever had a way to Newcastle again, I would definitely accommodate here.

I have been going to Abuzz for hairdressing services the last two years. I always book an appointment with Troy as I find him very knowledgeable and experienced in the field. It is even nice to have a casual chat with him at the time. I met Troy on event organized by Tall Women's Club where he presented his salon. I found him very charismatic back then…and he has not changed.

Apart from Troy's service, I have also tried pedicure and facial treatment once. I was disappointed with service of pedicurist because I had expected she would have scrubbed off hard skin on my feet more. Yet, it seems like they want you to come back more often or they simply focus on toenails polish.

I possess a loyalty card which allows me to claim 20% discount on my 7th visit (I think). On the day when I went to pedicurist, I also had hair done. When I paid, I handed in my loyalty card for their signature. The pedicurist signed only one field on card so I asked about it as I thought a signature per treatment. She asked me back whether some other staff signed my card more than once when I used two services at once. Right then I was told a signature per visit…so no matter what number of services you are using on the day, you will not be given any more than one signature. Considering the prices for treatments, I have to say the loyalty program is worthless... The “lovely” pedicurist did not find out that I had been given two signatures when I was treated by my hairdresser and purchased a product from Dermalogica. Haha!!! …so the rules are very unclear…depends on who is serving you, I guess.

It is not a bad place to get indulged but I bet there are better ones in Brisbane. I am going to use my 20% discount on my next visit which I am going to make the last one too.