I picked this accommodation because last year we stayed at the hotel next door and loved the look of the pool and self contained beach. I thought the 'self contained' aspect would be a bonus, but it's been very disappointing. It's like moving into a new place. Most hardware is supplied but its all the little things that are left out. No pegs to hang your washing (though there is an 'airer'). 1 satchel of washing powder (though you can buy more from reception). Reception is only open until 8pm. 1 satchel of dishwashing liquid and only a chux to clean with. No scrubbing brush etc... so if you are to cook, I'm not sure how you're supposed to clean? There is a dishwasher but no liquid. The blurb they hand you on arrival pretty much threatens that unless you leave the room very clean, you will be fined.

Not having a car, I had to walk to the nearest supermarket and buy all the necessities, then struggled with my 3yr old in a trolley with all the stuff.... to get it back to the hotel. And I hate trolley littering!!

We didn't have a DVD player in our room. The internet was only accessible via at Cat5 cable, which I happened to bring along. But it was only 5ft long, so I was tied to the wall socket. No wireless. It was also very expensive! $50 for 1 week with only a 2,000 MB download limit.

We didn't pay the extra for the 'beach view' so we were stuck looking at a building across the road on the 5th floor. And on the far side of the building, it was a long walk to the lifts and garbage chute.

The pool and the man made beach were by far the best things about this place. You can even swim late at night. If you were staying for 2 or 3 weeks it might be good value. You need to buy everything including soap, pegs, washing powders and liquids, scrubbing brushes, garbage bags and a long internet cable.

The hotel is comfortable, but I'd only rate it as 'OK'. I think I'd maybe stay here again, but not without a car and being prepared for all the shopping needed.

Approximate cost: $package deal

I originally went looking for an alternative to treatments I've had at 'hair free' clinics because I thought they might be expensive. I found the above recommendation on WOMOW and gave LC a call. Their prices were a bit cheaper. The first thing I thought about LC treatments were they are less painful. At HF they apply a very cold gel before treatment. At LC they 'mark you up' with a highlighter pen, and I kind of felt like a 'piece of meat'. The LC laser is less painful and maybe a bit quicker, but the noise of the laser is quite loud and extremely monotonous. I had both my back and legs done. When the treatment was over, my back didn't feel too bad but maybe that was because my legs hurt like hell. It felt like I was red raw. When she left me to apply the lotion to my legs myself, I was shocked to look down at my legs to see lots of bleeding area's where they'd cut me with the initial shaving process. I'd used a clipper to cut back my hair short, but it had to be shaved clean. She told me they normally charge $29 for this, so maybe that's why they did a 'slap up' job? Now the laser treatment was over all the skin on my legs was bright pink!! Except for all the orange lines left by the highlighter pen. I could hardly move. When I applied their lotion it seemed to hurt even more! The lotion was supposed to remove the pen marks but my skin hurt so bad, I couldn't rub hard enough, or thoroughly to remove it. As I left the clinic to cross the road, I felt like I had gone 2 mins on a bronco bull, I could hardly walk back to the car. I had to go home for a shower to clean off the texta and blood, then re-apply more of their lotion. The burning sensation didn't go away and the lotion seemed to inflame my skin. I looked at the label to see it contains alchohol... WTF? I had to go to work and put this pain out of my mind... It's the next morning now, and my legs STILL hurt like hell!!! I've had 2 treatments at Hair Free and both times I didn't have this result.... I won't be going back to LC and totally condemn them. I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, because that's how bad my legs feel!!!

Approximate cost: $700