Southern Cross Apartments

1. Upon arrival at the Southern Cross I informed the receptionist that their was a problem with the window to my childs bedroom as the windows would not lock effectively this posed not only a security issue but a safety one as well. My 3 year old son would able to climb through the window. We were staying on a 7th floor apartment so this would be a problem as the balcony's were not child proof and he could easily fall. The representative attended our apartment and spoke to my wife informing her that the windows were just like that and he would not be able to do anything about it. I thought that this was pretty poor service but I managed to tie the window shut, I was not aware at the time that the man who had attended did not even enter the apartment to assess the problem. This did not follow due diligence rules under the Workplace Health and Safety Legislation (2011) and is disgraceful practice. We also found that my son's bedroom door had been knocked off it's hinges and we were unable to close it, we found this at a later date as we had brought our own stair gate

2. The second problem I have is that the apartment did not have screen doors or effective locks on the doors leading to the balcony. The apartment did not have air conditioning so it was intolerable to leave the sliding windows shut so we were on edge monitoring our 3 year old son for the whole of the break

3. Upon entering the apartments we noticed that there were maintenance works being carried out upon the building, there was also a sign informing residence that the swimming pool would be shut during the week. The proprietors had made arrangements for residents to utilise another pool which on the face of it appeared to be acceptable. We were not informed that there was going to be a jack hammer used from 7 oclock in the morning till 1pm in the afternoon on one day. We were also not informed that around 07 - 0800hrs in the morning we would have painters moving past our windows and alighting our balcony. I find this totally unacceptable and a violation of our privacy.

4. During the course of our stay we purchased a sunshirt for our daughter (45 dollars) we utilised the premises laundry facilities which left this stained. My wife went to reception to complain about this but whilst waiting over heard a derogatory conversation about another guest who had complained and was written off as being a post natal depressed person and was definately not being given a refund. This left my wife feeling as though her grievance would not be heard and did not persue it.

5. We also found a large approx 50 cent coin size blood patch on our quilt in the master bedroom. This is totally unacceptable as blood bourne diseases can still be contracted from dry blood, my wife and I are healthcare professional and are very aware of infectious disease risk factors

I feel that possible residents who have children should be made aware that this venue is not fit for young children.The the price tag appended to the apartment is totally unrealistic giving the impression that this is a top class holiday venue. The truth is that it is a dated, but clean venue which requires essential maintenance. The price tag is unrealistic and requires to be downgraded as it would be reasonable to expect a modern apartment with full air conditioning for the money which was demanded and paid

I complained to the receptionist upon checking out from the apartments and left my number, she informed me that her employer would be informed and would contact me upon her return to work last Tuesday, so far she has had well over 6 working days and still no contact.

My wife and I are obviously less than impressed with this venue. If the proprietor offers a further stay as compensation I would not be happy with this as we will still have our children with us and it is really not a safe destination (Date of experience: Nov, 2011 )