We arrived very late on a Friday night as along with several others staying for the weekend at Victoria House, our special train from Melbourne was unpunctual due to factors outside of Seymour Rail Heritage Group's control. Entry was via a code that opened a locked box. Our room was accessed via the 1858 house's original staircase, built at a time when building regulations were non existent so the stair rises don't meet 21st century standards. It must have been hard carrying bed frames or mattresses up and down. The house is beautiful inside, as was our specious room. The latter had a good Queen bed with excellent linen, two bedside tables with lamps, a two seater sofa and in what would originally have been a separate room, a small round dining table with two chairs (only one of which had a cushion),m a cabinet containing a fridge, tea and coffee and spoons. Lighting was very good in the room. Holland blinds blocked light: we moved the bedspread's accompaniment to block light coming in from the hallway. The fridge had some milk plus cold water, as Portland's water quality is abysmal: shocking. The toilet was through a period door, but the bathroom sink was outside near the fridge, but on a raised tiled area. WiFi was at time a bit slow but hot water for the shower and sink worked well. Towels were standard white, and adequate. The shower was roomy with three small plastic bottles (made in **************, no doubt at a cheap rate and perhaps even by prisoners) of shampoo/conditioner. Similarly, soap came from **************. Why can't B & Bs charging high rates support Pental in Shepparton that manufacturers motel sized soap? It's stocked on the government-run NSW TrainLink XPT's showers between Melbourne and Sydney but clearly tourism proprietors despite imploring us to 'see Australia' prefer to save a few cents an item and not buy from Pental's Country Life soap range. Ironic. There was a wall-mounted TV that was easily viewable only from the dining chairs, not from the bed. The heating was a Mitsubishi Electric ceiling mounted reverse cycle air conditioner, probably installed within the last five years. It was OK, though a bit noisy. I have the same manufacturer's aircon at home but never use it for heating, as ducted gas heating is far more effective and quieter. Why one would go for electric heating when gas gives a proper perception of warmth is beyond me. Apart from briefly seeing the friendly cleaner on Saturday morning when we headed out, we did not see the owners or any staff. I had a quick look at what was on offer for the continental breakfast: some yoghurt from German-owned supermarket Aldi - again, why don't the owners buy Dairy Farmers, Yoplait or Farmers Union yoghurts manufactured by Australia's listed dairy company Bega and available at the excellent Daly's Supa IGA up Percy St in Portland - plus toast and tea/coffee. Definitely not worth it so we ate elsewhere. It's a commentary on how overpriced Austra
Outstanding
47 Reviews