Genesis Apartments 26 Markwell Avenue, Surfers Paradise, Queensland 4217

"Where do I start? Power sockets in the master didn’t work, 2 of the three sliding doors to get to the deck didn’t open, there wasn’t a key for the fence to get to the pool. Information booklet said most rooms had Foxtel, I guess we were one of the lucky ones to not have have it. Also stated most rooms had fans, nope didn’t get those either. The hot water didn’t even last 2 minutes, for a 3 bedroom appointment, advertised to sleep 6 people, you’d think the hot water would last enough for a family have to have their showers. Leaving you were directed to strip the beds?? Have stayed in a good number of appartments, hotels and even motels, never ever have I been asked to strip the beds. The apartment was very outdated and extremely overpriced for it’s condition."

"We booked the 2 Bedroom Ocean View Apartment based on what appeared to be tidy, modern apartments made of easy-to-clean glass and tiles. What we received were cracked stone, worn and stained carpets and blinds, and a kitchen I'd last seen in my elderly grandmother's second-hand caravan. It would have been annoying if it was just ugly, but the number of sharp edges on the broken settings was actively dangerous. Worse was the mould infecting just about every corner of the place, including inside the fridge, the black mould through one of the shower curtains (the other being missing entirely), and the bizarre brown and red splotches running through what little bedding we were provided. However spectacularly colourful these splotches were, the most alarming were those on the walls and sheets of the master bedroom; though on the smaller side, the rusty red colour of blood was alarming in any quantity. One bedroom was missing a blind, which I'm sure would have woken me at the crack of 5:30am each day with the precisely zero sun protection it provided. This was still better than the Queen bed, which was so thin we could see the springs straining against the mattress material. Given just one of the three sliding doors leading to the balcony was able to close at all, this would have meant the weather in both its daily heat and nightly cold gusts would have been flowing through to keep us nice and uncomfortable, let alone whatever bugs might wander in and out to snack on our clothes, food and bodies. When we raised our concerns (initially, we asked if we'd been put in the wrong room, so different was what we received to what we got), we were told quickly that nothing could be done. No other rooms, no cleaning, no repairs. We said we couldn't take the room; explained how unsafe we felt, pleaded, and eventually waited while the manager was called. We waited a long time; close to an hour in the lobby, tired and distraught. We asked if there was any news; yes, there had been, almost an hour previously, to say 'no.' We had just been left ignored. The manager eventually showed, and said he'd call the owner. We were not allowed to speak to the owner to plead our case, nor have our messages passed on. The tiniest concession after all this? The manager told us he would send someone up to repair the blind, but no effort or recognition was given for any of our other concerns. Our objections that having a room repaired around us when we were still paying full price for it fell on deaf ears also. We said, very clearly, we did not want to spend the night in our room supervising repairs or with the door open to the public hall as a tradesman tried to fix the mess. Nonetheless, we were ignored again and one was sent up. (To his credit: a very nice and understanding repairman who showed us more empathy in 30 seconds than we had received in the whole day up to that point). To the surprise of no sane person reading this, we returned our keys and left the very same night we arrived, seeking accommodation elsewhere. We paid $1,641 for seven days and nights and were able to use none of them due to fears for our safety and health. We have received none of this back, despite phone calls and emails seeking compensation. I wish I didn't need to write this review, but I just can't stand the idea of other people falling prey to this."

"The cleanliness of the room is the main issue I have with genesis. The rooms felt disgusting, with extra pillows and blankets smelling dull and feeling like nothing was cleaned. My pillow literally, I am not even joking, literally smelt like someone wiped their behind on it. I thought I was hallucinating when I asked my friends to smell it and they were immediately concerned. The towels that were given also felt dirty and unclean and no extra towels were provided. The cutlery and food ware (bowls, plates, pans, etc), were disgusting and felt very unclean. The ironing board was broken on arrival and disgusting. The roof was also dirty and the ceiling was peeling. This place lacks general cleanliness that should be present when you stay somewhere. It just didn’t feel like a safe or clean place to stay, which is not what you want on your holiday. To be honest I would prefer to stay at that shack across the road and that looks like a health risk."

"SCAM! Absolutely TERRIBLE accommodation. Nothing like the photos advertised. Nothing about this place was clean or hygienic. We walked in & the floors were slippery & dirty. The doors would not close properly enough to lock. The windows wouldn't close. One of the rooms didn't have a light switch. There was a lightbulb, but the switch to turn on the light bulb didn't exist. The lights in another bedroom just didn't work. The en suite didn't have a door. You could see right into the bathroom. Says that there is aircon & fans. There was only one aircon & it smelt mouldy & barely works. All the fans had at least 5cm of dust caked onto the blades. The kitchen was disgusting. There were bugs in the dishwasher pods that were provided to us. The back of the couch was falling off. Doors were falling off the cupboards. We struggled to even enter the room because the door stopper was broken & was preventing us from opening the door. When we reported all of this the apartment manager they did not seem to care at all. They did nothing to offer to make the situation better. This place is not inhabitable."

"We were very disappointed with the standard of our unit. We booked and paid for a superior unit. We did not get it. There were dirty dishes in the dishwasher, the carpet was dirty and stained, rubbish under the bed, only one lamp in whole unit, only one tv. The glass patio doors were unclean . We were told 3 times they would be cleaned. We purchased cleaning products and cleaned them ourselves. We booked 4 units last year and 2 this year. The standard has declined dramatically. Management does not seem to care. The location is close to beach. Pools and surrounding areas were satisfactory."