1770 Sovereign Lodge Retreat

We arrived late which we had advised. There was no light outside and the heating was not on - pitch dark and freezing cold. The light in the small bedroom and the corridor was not working. The office was closed, no one answered the phone nor the mails I sent. The fan at the toilet was as noisy as a helicopter, as was the aircon/heating.

The location is spectacular and super convenient to the sheltered river beach and pub. Unfortunately that is about all that is going for Sovereign Lodge. We were a family group booking the entire premises for 5 night stay at a cost of over $7500. The property was not properly cleaned with dusty floors and furniture and our particular room “JAVA” on the upper level smelled and had to be aired out. Amenities are extremely limited. No wardrobe space in the room. A cheap K-Mart style clothe trolley was provided to give some limited hanging space. All of the cupboards in the living area were padlocked shut and labeled ‘Private’ leaving us zero storage space and effectively ‘camping out’ in our space. This was the universal experience throughout the premises. Every bit of built in storage locked shut and labeled private except for the main kitchen area. The fridge in ‘Java’ was old and rust-stained. In the main kitchen the freezer of the French-door fridge was not working at all. No laundry facilities are provided whatsoever and not even provision for hanging up wet beach clothes & towels. The mattresses were universally terrible and well past their use by date. The instructions that guest had to ***** their own beds (but not the mattress protectors or bed spreads… red-flag), and also sweep the floors or face a cleaning fee, is a bad joke. In the end we had a great time, but this was in spite of the accomodation standard, not because of it. Make no mistake, this is 2-Star accommodation at a premium price. The 4 star rating is similarly a bad joke. Interesting that the owners have shut-down their website. No escaping these Google & Trip advisor reviews though.

Odd place. We enjoyed it

Great customer service. Friendly staff. Great location in close proximity to the beach and pub. Comfy beds and relaxing vibe! We enjoyed our stay. We had a visit from a couple of green tree frogs and an echidna whilst we were there too so that was pretty cool :) Unrelated to the accommodation - if you intend going to the pub in 1770 (even on the weekend) make a booking! When we went, the kitchen had closed at 7pm. The town seems to go to sleep when the sun goes down ;)

This accommodation was a little disappointing. If you are expecting a view. You won't get it from this room. We were in lombock ground level. Decor was very dated and felt very dark. Not clean and bright like the photos. Floors where slate and very wet when we arrived I had to use a rag to dry the whole floor as it was very slippery. No mop in the unit to use. The only power point in the kitchen was up high for the microwave. Which made it very hard to use the kettle, cord was very stretched to reach. Only other place was on the floor near the TV. The bedroom area was very tight not enough room for suitcases we had to have them on the floor in the tv area. However the bed was very comfortable and the unit was in a very central location walking distance to pub and marina.

The "ocean view" room is on the ground floor and has no view. The parking situation is not great either, as you may end up blocking other guests' cars or be blocked in yourself so I ended up parking on the street. Additionally, the luxury room has a musty smell. To avoid a $75 cleaning fee, make sure to ***** your bed and dispose of your rubbish in the bin behind the property. It's also important to clean the floors. There are two sockets next to the TV, none in the kitchen, and milk in the fridge from last year.