Olive's Cottage: Superbes vues sur la rivière Tamar

Rose-Lynn was a pleasure to deal with. Travelling all the way from Illinois she asked intelligent questions about Olive's Cottage and Tasmania. She and her group treated the property with respect and we are so glad they enjoyed themselves. Exactly the kind of guests we love to have.

First, many thanks for sending us the terrific sunset photo taken from the main deck - it is now up on our website! We are pleased the cottage had everything you needed. We aim for a feel that is welcoming and bright and lived in, to give guests a quite different experience to a hotel room or apartment.

Hi Tash, We are pleased you enjoyed the cottage. Our manager was very impressed with the respect you showed it, leaving it in great condition! You were the first guests to experience the new sleeping arrangements which were implemented at the end of May when we installed a king size bed in the main bedroom and a queen size bed in the second bedroom, with new quilt covers that make the rooms even brighter. Since your stay the lounge furniture has been undergoing some rejuvenation and we are considering upgrading the Nespresso machine. The gardener has used the quieter winter period to finish overhauling the gardens and lawns. They are now more manicured and should look wonderful by the time the busy season starts in a few months' time. We hope to see you at Olive's again!

Dear Neville, We have had mixed messages from you about your stay at Olive's Cottage: your individual category ratings in Stayz are somewhat higher than your overall rating and on the survey form that guests at the cottage have the option of completing on departure you gave 'Excellent' to a number of categories. So it seems you had some positive experiences. But of course we aren't happy that you had some negative ones. On the survey form you did note that the bed in the second bedroom was "small" yet in your Stayz review you say it is "way too small". But it is a normal standard sized double bed, which is indicated on our website www.cicadabay.com/olives. (Stayz enquirers will often include specific questions to us about things that are very important to them, the two most common being the sleeping arrangements and whether the property is suitable for people who can't manage too many steps or stairs.) On the survey form you completed you noted that you felt the couch in the lounge was uncomfortable. However, hopefully you enjoyed the lounge area as a whole, with its outlook to the front garden on one side and views to the river and the West Tamar vineyards on the other side. Getting everything right to suit all guests is a real challenge for property owners. Ever since we first opened, eleven years ago, Olive's Cottage has had a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 for accommodation quality from Star Ratings Australia. As well it has ATAP registration by Tasmanian and Australian Tourism for the professionalism and integrity of our business operations. These two accreditation processes require properties to meet very exacting standards and in the case of Star Ratings the standards are especially high in regard to bedding and furniture comfort. Your feedback on the pricing is helpful and we have now made single night bookings 'on application'. However, we are wondering if your recent stays at other Tassie properties were for more than one night. We do advise prospective guests, as we did in our response email to you, that Olive's Cottage is less economical on a single night basis. You will appreciate that the change-over costs for small establishments are substantial and for that reason many properties have a two-night minimum stay. We do hope you and your party did appreciate the welcoming basket hamper of breakfast provisions, the complimentary bottle of Tamar Valley wine, the Nespresso machine, the cheese and fruit and the stock of spices, olive oils and ot

Thanks Victor. We're pleased Olive's Cottage was the perfect spot for you both to explore the Tamar Valley and the nearby wine regions. And it seems you thought the views were truly amazing - many guests comment that the photos on the Internet don't do the views and location justice. Happy to have you back anytime! Robin and Rhonda (Owners)