Dog Friendly Accommodation -Swan Valley, W.A.
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đ©â𩰠I hadnât even heard of Hovea until I saw a list of Perth Airbnbs with breathtaking swimming pools. The Hovea listing looked unreal - the pool was absolutely amazing, it was on a huge secluded property, the studio itself looked awesome, and best of all it was dog friendly, so we could bring Boomer along! So we booked two nights as our Christmas present to each other and looked forward to it the whole month of January.
Boomer and I set off before Aaron as he was playing cricket, so we hung out for a few hours and got some pictures before he arrived around the studio. The studio is a rammed earth style building with floor to ceiling windows and an enclosed patio. The bedroom area is upstairs and open plan, with a big comfy bed and an air conditioning unit that cools the entire place very well. Downstairs is quite cozy (the table is up against the back of the TV) but plenty roomy enough for 2 people. I wouldn't recommend it for bringing kids (thereâs absolutely no privacy upstairs and some pretty dangerous stairs, the pool is not entirely fenced in) and I definitely would NOT recommend it for dogs, but more on that laterâŠ
Once Aaron arrived we headed straight out and went for a walk around the property, heading - of course - straight to the pool! It was actually a couple of minutes walk uphill on uneven stone steps, but worth the walk. The pool itself is absolutely beautiful, with big natural boulders all around it and a little water feature. We checked out the tennis court quickly but then had to get ready to head out to dinner, so we headed back.
Weâd booked dinner at the Sandalford Bar and Restaurant and were so excited for a fancy meal! We got all dressed up and dropped Boomer off at the dog sitter that weâd organised through the Airbnb owner, then made our way there, a 20 minute drive away. We ordered our entrees and mains, everything on all the other tables looked and smelled delicious! The service was great, the place was beautiful, we were off to such a great start! Our entrees arrived and the drinks - my mocktail looked AMAZING!
Just after our entrees arrived, I got a text from the dog sitter (35 minutes after we dropped Boomer off) - âwelfare check 8:05, Boomer is gone. How high can he jump? Looking for him now.â Turns out that rather than looking after Boomer indoors (as I assumed would be the case for a âpet sitterâ) he had been put in a âsecure dog areaâ outside and left completely alone. We were 20 minutes drive away so debated whether we go back and help look or wait to see if they found him quickly, as our mains were being cooked. I kept checking in while both the owner and pet sitter were texting me with updates of how they could hear him wandering around and were tracking him.
After a very anxious wait for our mains, we got them to go and as we were heading up to pay - more than an hour after they had lost him - they replied that theyâd managed to get him back into the studio and he was safe. Itâs just lucky that he didnât fall into one of the bodies of water on the property or meet a kangaroo in the dark. We were absolutely livid. Not only could our dog have died due to their negligence, but our dinner was ruined and it put a dampener on the whole day. We also didnât once receive an apology from either the owner or the dog sitter. And our fancy dinners were definitely not nearly as nice sitting at the tiny table in the studio as they wouldâve been half an hour earlier at the restaurant. We were going to revisit the next night but they werenât open.
The next day, we decided not to let it ruin our time there and stuck to our plan of getting up early to go for a hike around the property. It was getting up to 42 degrees so we set off nice and early to beat the heat, with Boomer in tow. We headed up past the pool, uphill towards the top of the property. It was actually very steep and with a lot of loose gravel, so we moved fairly slowly, especially coming down as we were slipping a bit. I felt it in my butt cheeks and legs for the next couple of days, so it was a good trek! View wise, there wasnât a lot to see as the trees were all quite high, but it was a nice foresty sort of walk.
We headed back down the hill and checked out the tennis court (Aaron hit the ball over the fence into the forest immediately haha), then had a shower and jumped in the car to visit a few dog friendly wineries in the Swan Valley.
đš Up first was Windy Creek Estate, which I had visited before and thoroughly enjoyed their selection of fortified wines. Today was no different! I also discovered a delicious dry rosĂ© with the help of ladies behind the counter. These ladies were lovely and very knowledgeable about the wines, plying me with cheese and crackers as I sampled their entire list - over a dozen wines! - and they were absolutely smitten with Boomer! How could they not be? I ended up purchasing a couple of bottles of that rosĂ© and replenished my stock of their Ximenez (fortified).
Next stop was Olive Farm Wines, which was listed on a dog friendly wineries page. However, since they closed the cheese section, they no longer are, but the great staff there found a way to accommodate us since it was a quiet day. I set about tasting 8 wines from their list which they decant from an automated wine pouring machine that keeps the wine fresh by limiting the oxygen contact. Their selection was fantastic and I particularly enjoyed their Cabernet Franc. So much so that I left with a bottle.
We headed down the road to Ugly Duckling Wines, which is a fantastic venue boasting lovely grounds, live music on weekends (the duo that was playing at the time were doing great jazzy covers), a vintage tractor you can get photos on and they stock a selection of local beers and cheeses (I was heartbroken to find out that they no longer have the amazing olives that they used to sell). When in the Swan Valley, I often try to stop here to grab a bottle of their outstanding Chardonnay and this was no exception. We had one more stop to make (and Candice was getting fed up since she doesnât drink) so we headed off.
Final stop was Lancaster Wines, a place with picturesque grounds and a rustic-looking shed serving as their wine bar, setting a great atmosphere for an afternoon. You can never go wrong stopping here as their staple wines are all high quality and their seasonal varietals offer something new every visit. I grabbed a bottle of their Sticky Shiraz (which Candice proceeded to smash on the floor) and a Cabernet Merlot, which thankfully survived Candiceâs wrath. We also picked up three cheeses - a garlic and chilli cheddar, an ash blonde, and a cheese called a Tilsit, which I had never had before but will definitely get again. With this, it was time to make our way back to the pool.
Once we got back to the studio, we broke out the charcuterie board and arranged our loot poolside so we could enjoy the last couple of hours of our stay wining and dining before heading home the next morning. Boomer is not keen on swimming, but he IS keen on charcuterie boards so we had his full attention. The cheeses went well with some cold meats, fruits, crackers, bread, and a crisp white wine.
Before I was too deep in my cups, Candice egged me on, easily convincing me to do a peg leg into the pool from one of the boulders. After my intensely masculine display of athleticism, we made our way back to the studio and spent the night watching a movie cuddled up together on the couch.
On rising the next morning we started to pack our bags when Boomer heard a rustling outside. Candice took the camera to investigate and found two grey kangaroos only metres from our doorstep. She braved the open space in order to try and get some close up footage but was worried about having her guts ripped out so I took over. Once the excitement was done, we had some breakfast and jumped in the car to head home.
đ©â𩰠Youâd think that would be the end of the blog, but unfortunately the trip ended on a very negative note. Obviously after almost losing our dog for good, we werenât exactly keen on giving a 5 star review on Airbnb. I left what I thought was a very fair review, starting off by staying the positives - beautiful appointed, amazing pool, thoughtful inclusions like free beer and wine - and then finishing with the negatives, mentioning our experiences with the dog sitting and a few other pieces such us a very unsafe loose fence covered in exposed nails on both sides, that was supposedly a âsecure dog areaâ and that their (thankfully small) dogs were aggressive towards us and had to be herded away from Boomer, who luckily was on a leash, and the owner could be seen inside the house and did nothing to assist us.
Before my review was released, the owner of the property left both private and public positive feedback saying that we left the place clean and tidy and were welcome back any time. After they had seen my review, they left a very long negative response to my review, which included my surname (Airbnb specifically states that Hosts must not post any personal information in public areas of the site) and stated that I was âknown to other Airbnb hostsâ as requesting âspecial treatmentâ as a travel blogger and then when they donât âpander to my grandiosityâ I leave âgreatly exaggerated reviewsâ, and that we left dog poo all over the grounds. All absolutely false and utter nonsense. I was gobsmacked when I read it. They were clearly just attempting to undermine my less-than-glowing review. After scrolling through their reviews, I could see that they had done similar things in response to another negative review, even going so far as to attempt to name the guestâs business and suburb.
I took screenshots of everything and reported it to Airbnb, eventually getting the response to my review removed, and I insisted that Airbnb also send the owner a written warning. It appeared that the owner had tried to keep our $300 security deposit as well, which sneakily was not mentioned anywhere in the listing until after they had confirmed the booking. I asked Airbnb to chase that up too and it was (hastily) refunded. They told Airbnb that their policy is to release the deposit 5 days after check out - we received the email saying it had been released 7 days after check outâŠonly after Airbnb contacted them about their response to my review, funnily enough.
Itâs unfortunate that the weekend had to end on such a nasty note because itâs a genuinely beautiful spot and I wouldâve recommended it - although with a warning to keep a close eye on your dog and not use the pet sitting. But after their response to my review, I wouldnât recommend it to anyone given their extremely unprofessional behaviour. Iâm hoping that after the warning from Airbnb they wonât try to discredit any reviews that arenât 100% glowing praise and will accept the feedback in a courteous manner and just do better in future. I would hate for someone else to not be as lucky as we were to have Boomer come back after he escaped. Hereâs hoping our next trip - at this stage itâs our 3 week long caravan trip in July up north! - ends on a much more positive note.
Love you, bye! đ
EDIT: A week after I wrote this blog the owner of the Airbnb commented on both the Odd Couple Travel Instagram page AND my PERSONAL Facebook profile when I posted an image taken at their property! Theyâd clearly STALKED my full name and been watching to see if I posted about their property. So incredibly creepy. I reported this to Airbnb but still havenât heard back from them 4 days later.