Sandbox Apartments

I’m deeply disappointed with my experience with Sandbox Apartments in Tugun, Queensland. After waiting 14 business days for my deposit to be returned, as instructed by Andre, I followed up as any customer would. The website (Google) clearly showed that the apartments were open (in green), so I called at 6:30 AM. When the call started diverting, I assumed it was too early and hung up, thinking nothing of it. To my surprise, I received a call back from the clerk's boss, who was irritated and downright rude. He was clearly angry that I had woken him up, and his condescending tone made me feel as though I was the one at fault for following up on a service I was owed. I explained that I only called because their website listed the apartments as open, and the call was diverting, which typically indicates availability. Rather than understanding my situation, Jason doubled on his frustration, making me feel like my call was an inconvenience rather than a legitimate inquiry. What’s most upsetting is the lack of professionalism and the complete disregard for basic customer service. I felt disrespected and dismissed for trying to resolve an issue that should have been handled weeks ago. This kind of treatment is unacceptable in any business, especially one that deals directly with customers and their money. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend Sandbox Apartments to anyone. This experience has left me with a sour impression of the company, and I will not be returning. It's disheartening to see that such a lack of care and respect for customers exists. Updated reply from the business: The transaction was returned and yes is a pre authorisation, about the phone call it wasn’t me but anyway you did what you had to do, with reviews and complains so I won’t expect anything less than another complain, by the way you’ve stayed here so you know there’s no one at reception at 6.30 am, so don’t say I didn’t know it wasnt open. About your escalation do what you have to do, but it probably will be arriving soon if it didn’t already. It has been escalated to the bank as no resolution was found, and despite their reply, they have not returned my deposit.

I had a wonderful 2 night stay in an ocean front apartment - the location is fantastic, the view is amazing, I loved sitting on the balcony watching the surf & soaking up the salt air. But honestly, this isn’t a “luxury” property. The layout & furniture is lovely but the whole place needs a good deep clean. For the $95 cleaning fee I expected it to be spotless but it definitely wasn’t. The windows especially are filthy, the couch has some noticeable marks & the doona on the main bed is stained & not in a cover. All the little things you would expect from luxury accommodation aren’t there - no toilet paper, no milk (even just 1 single serve longlife packet to make a cuppa on arrival), no dishwashing tablets (I wasn’t going to buy a full box for 1 wash) & the water dispenser in the fridge & filtered water tap didn’t work. There was quite obviously old (& dirty) ice in the freezer which I wasn’t game to put in my drink. I was told I could use the keysafe to lock up the keys while I went for a walk, which was very convenient, but when I returned the keysafe was unlocked & the keys were accessible to anyone who happened by. I had pretty much all my valuables inside the unit, thinking they were secure, so that was disappointing. But I got a cheap, last-minute rate & the weather was gorgeous so I enjoyed my stay overall & I would book again. I wouldn’t pay full price though. Hopefully management will read these comments & make some improvements. The property definitely has more potential.

The good: The view and location is unbeatable! The beds were clean and comfortable. Spacious room nice lounges and modern tv and air conditioning all working well. The Bad: Not much privacy, your balcony is not exactly just your balcony, you have massive sliding doors that open the whole front of the apartment up to the Oceanview however, if you’re in unit three the guests from unit four walk right past the front of your open room to gain access to the stairs. There is internal exits, but guests don’t seem to use them. So you are reluctant to leave the front doors open and let the breeze in if you want to go for a shower or a nap Considering we were called 30 minutes prior to 2 pm check-in and asked to wait longer as the room had not been cleaned yet due to lack of staff. 2hrs later we checked in The room needs a very deep clean! We opened the windows to let the sea breeze in, found fly screens were clogged with dust. Windows were very filthy, grime in shower, shower head about to snap off, mouldy curtains in bathroom. Washing machine had smelly mouldy sand in the filter. Parking is very tight if you have a large car Jets taking off right above you from Goldcoast airport which wasn’t listed anywhere. All in all if it was properly cleaned we would be back many many more times