Wildman Wilderness Lodge

The lodge and site have huge potential and could offer a unique luxury wilderness experience, similar to Longitude at Uluru, by suitable management. The location is good but there was little to do if not going on planned and costly tours. The meals included in the daily rate (breakfast and dinner) were excellent and the service and staff associated with these meals were also friendly and helpful. The cabin was large and potentially very comfortable if only some maintenance could be done. There is potential for the staff to offer much greater service to make the guests (who are paying luxury prices) feel special. Some of the tours available could be incorporated into the base costs so that guests could feel they were getting value for money. As it was, paying $760 per night, for a cabin, which was unable to be locked to secure your possessions, and which needs upgrading, cleaning and maintenance, is very poor value for money, even though the evening meals (which did not include wine) were great. The billabong cruise was interesting and allowed us to understand the layout and history of the site.

Almost everything. On arrival, we were assisted to bring half our luggage to our cabin, but were left to carry the remainder ourselves. Not a luxury lodge introduction. The introductory information told us of the dangers of moving about the site (snakes and crocodiles) but then mentioned 1 walk we could do, without giving us details. The information in our cabin did not help. Signs are needed to help guests understand the layout of the site. A glossy magazine supplied in the cabin was dated 2016 - an indication of lack of care or enthusiasm by management. We were disturbed that we couldn't lock our rooms and that our privacy was undermined by children riding bikes past our bathroom window. There was only 1 comfortable chair inside the cabin for 2 guests. The bed sheets were not wide enough to tuck in fully. The windows were filthy. This applied to the communal lodge lounge area and in our cabin, especially in our bathroom which had mould on the inside of the window and dirt on the outside. The tiles in the shower need replacing and/or the mould removed. The cabinet for clothes had thick dust on the higher shelves. The coffee machine was jammed with the pods from previous guests and the kettle hadn't been cleaned out for some time as the water was black and there was encrusted dirt on the interior. The coffee pods were not replaced daily. A maintenance check is needed on a regular basis. The toilet roll holder is loose; one of the blinds had a broken cord, one blind was jammed behind the joinery next to the refrigerator. The timber surfaces on the joinery in the cabin need a clean and upgrade. The timber flooring in the shower needs resurfacing. The huge mark-up on wine with dinner added to the feeling of poor value for money. I was so disappointed with our 3 days: they were booked with great expectation that our "luxury experience" would be the high point of our holiday.