My husband and I booked to stay at Peartree Pavilions at 3 Werry Road in Point Lonsdale for one night in March, 2013. The temperature was in the early thirties on the day we arrived and as we checked in to ‘pavilion room 2' on the upper level, the owner explained that the room was "very hot", but that she had turned on the ceiling fan and that it should cool down. We stayed in the room for 20 minutes and both had cold showers to try and combat the unbearable temperature, which we estimated to be over 35 degrees Celsius. We both began to feel unwell from the heat so we left the property. We returned a few hours later to check if the temperature of the room had decreased, but unfortunately a single ceiling fan simply did not live up to promises on the website of ‘in summer cooled by fans and fabulous louvre windows'. We approached the owner and politely explained that even though the property did not advertise air conditioning, it was reasonable to expect an adequate form of cooling to be provided, so that the property was safe and fit for use. Despite being polite and helpful during the booking process, the owner became extremely irate and suggested that my husband "take his gear off and sit on the adjoining veranda" to cool down. We were shocked and told the owner that this was not a reasonable option and that we would like to request a refund. After trying to reason with the owner for over half an hour, she agreed that the temperature of the room was unreasonable but refused to offer a refund based on the premise that she ‘had no money'. We agreed that I would send owner an email the following day, so we left and made alternative accommodation arrangements. The following day I emailed the owner and she was extremely unprofessional and bad-mannered in her correspondence. I reported the incident to Stayz.com (who we booked the accommodation though), but unfortunately they were unable to assist us in pursuing our refund, as our payment was made directly to the owner at the time of booking due to issues with the Stayz online invoicing system. I have since lodged a formal complaint with Consumer Affairs Victoria and have recently been directed to pursue the claim with VCAT, which I certainly will do. Please be wary before booking with this provider, especially if you are considering staying in the summer season.

Approximate cost: $200