Gilgara Retreat

Lovely stay! This was our second time to Gilgara. Sometime between the first and second stay it has changed ownership, but I have to say nothing was too much effort for the caretakers.
We stayed for 6 nights for my partners 50th birthday. I had arranged a few things to be delivered to the apartment before our arrival along with a small bunch of balloons that needed to be collected. Jenny was only to happy to pick these up for me. It was all beautifully arranged in our apartment on our arrival.

The apartment was clean and comfortable and all amenities provided. Wifi worked perfectly.

The only negative I would say is that the kitchenette is poorly designed. Having the stove hob right next to the sink is not a good idea and not ideal for putting wet dishes on. And maybe upgrading the tv to a smart tv.

However, our stay was perfect in every way.

Not worth the money! The WiFi did not work, dust and an old sock under the wardrobe, an old sponge supplied for dishes, cupboard where the fridge is was very dirty.

We had a three night stay and were supplied 2 coffee bags. So if you want more than one coffee pack your own.

Info pack was not updated since 2018 and we constantly got a message bank when trying to reach the owners.

Grounds are lovely and the location very convenient.

I will be honest. We have been here before, but previously stayed in the homestead.

Last week we stayed in the garden apartments. The presentation was clean and the peace and quiet alongside the outlook was great.

The grounds are well presented with grass slopes and a pond with ducks and other wildlife scampering around. If you want quiet and peace here is the spot.

The apartment… clean, tidy and comfortable. Good bed and pillows. Even with the heater system running it was a bit cool for my wife. The apartment was a bit tired and a few things were broken or in need of maintenance. Not deal busting stuff but noticed.

Had to drop the rating a bit as a result if my observations and experience this time
Did not detract from our level of relaxation and how much we enjoyed our overall visit.

The location was gorgeous and peaceful with lovely grounds often roamed by local wildlife. That however is the only positive aspect we had of our recent stay at Gilgara Retreat. Upon entering our room we were confronted by a pungent fishy smell originating from the kitchenette. There was also an abundance of mould all over the shower, bathtub and sink. We complained to the owner which resulted in us being moved to a second room. Although the second room smelt much better there was still a large amount of mould in the shower and on the sink. We also noticed an hour after entering the room there were soggy chips and crumbs from previous guests left on the ground underneath the lounge chairs. This lead us to wonder if our room was even cleaned at all. After multiple back and forths with the owners they agreed to only a partial refund of the time we were in the room with the bad smell. It felt like they ignored our problems with the second room and ended up ceasing communication with us after the refund was given. The owners then emailed us back weeks after our trip had ended basically saying they didn’t believe us as they did a thorough inspection before we entered. I’m just not quite sure how you could miss a pile of chips on the ground and mould all over the bathroom in a “thorough inspection”. I would only recommend staying here if you want to be cleaning the entire time you’re on your holiday.

The accommodation is truly lovely. The downside is the closest parking was about a 70m walk from the room.

The location was absolutely beautiful, it was lovely and quiet we didn’t hear a single guest our whole stay. Unfortunately the bathroom was a huge let down, there was mould everywhere. We spoke to the manager and she was extremely helpful and gave us a partial refund because of the conditions. The room was lovely but the cleanliness of the bathroom was a shame.

A lovely stay in the original cottage; beautiful lawns, gardens, and bush surrounds. Shame about no breakfast offered; I thought that's what the second 'B' stood for!?

Lizzie at Gilgara was fantastic and extremely helpful with regard to our booking after the snap lockdown.
We look forward to staying soon!

Garden Apartments were beautiful, perfect for a romantic couples weekend away. Location was perfect, view was incredible. Thank you!

Beautiful quiet surroundings. The units have all the mod con's, even a spa bath. Get some magnesium bath salts from the wellness shop in Margaret river.
Amazing

Beautiful quiet surroundings. The units have all the mod con's, even a spa bath. Get some magnesium bath salts from the wellness shop in Margaret river.
Amazing

Brilliant wedding place, great for luxury outing but also very country atmosphere.
Like living in the city outback, cool twist.

Had an amazing 2-night stay at Gilgara retreat with my partner during a recent trip to the Margaret River. The self-contained apartments were just perfect!

Recently stayed for two nights with friends over the Australian Day Weekend. It was the best choice we made all weekend to stay here, perfect location on Caves Rd and only 5 minutes from the town centre. The Lady at the front desk was amazing and extremely helpful with anything we required. 5 out of 5 stars and we will be back! Thank you.

Let’s talk about the ANTS!
Not much of a welcome when you get to the accomodation not even a sign to tell you where to park. Upon finding the garden apartment we had unpacked and put our food in the cupboards and fridge only to find that when we had come back from only 2 hours of being away from the room that our food had been eaten by hundreds of ANTS! Once we had realised the shock of this and having to put $60+ worth of food in the bin we also noticed that the free wifi which is stated on the internet is restricted to 1GB per person per day which is always dropping out of range and also very slow and nothing loads. Also the TV never has signal which we never used due to it not working. For the two days that we stayed we didn’t see any staff members accept for the what we assume was their dog? Seeing as though we paid close to $500 for 2 days accomodation and being $60 out of pocket for food and no customer service at all we wont be coming back!

Do not book this place if you're on family vacation. This is STRICTLY for "Romance Purpose".
Please beware, this place is NOT for family holiday, absolutely NOT. If you think you can bring guest to stay over or have baby, you are WRONG. The rep knocked on our door to ask the guest leave the property and needs to be out of the site. The Homestead worker has specifically mentioned to me this homestay is for "romance purpose", not family vacation. The customer service office is just next to the rooms, they keep coming out to check on us. No freedom at all. The asian rep is friendly, suggest you speak with her. You will need to share the small fridge with someone else. The toilet is quite old and creepy, cracks on the wall. The worst is, hot shower didn't work properly, with slight adjustment, cold water turned into hot water, very sensitive. The tap also fell off every time.