Seaview Norfolk Island

The only redeeming qualities of the Seaview was the view to Phillip Island was amazing and good walking distance to village. And that is all! We were booked into the Seaview for 7 nights. We looked at changing to another place but were told we could not get our money back. So, we left 2 nights early. Cost us to change the tickets but were so disappointed. When we spoke to locals about the Seaview, they rolled their eyes. On arriving at Seaview, Paul was there. Not the friendliest person to meet the guests. We were not told about the pool available...found that on day 2. Asked at the bottle store if it was part of the complex and if available to guests. The pictures you see are not what you get. The restaurant/bar in the pictures is not there now. The bottle store has taken that over. The reception area is a mess. Looks more like a back packer. We went down to our room, like a dungeon! No ceiling fan or air con. Lace curtains don’t cover window. To sit outside you could take the outdoor chairs from the room out to the small path. Old picnic tables were available if you risked sitting on them. The outside of the building is in disrepair. The bathroom, what a joke! Hit your head on the wall when you sat on toilet, room was so small. Old dirty shower curtain, the old leg slapper. Leaky taps and don't mention the shower! no pressure at all and had to bend down to use it. Wi-Fi is available but not good. Hairdryer available but did not work on anything but hot. So would we recommend Seaview, NO. Very disappointed as we were going back to see the island after living there 40 years ago.

Norfolk Island is easy to walk around, you definitely don't need a car to get to anywhere, but it is nice to be central and on the outskirts of Burnt Pine, where pretty much all opportunities to buy food on Norfolk Island are. So you can quickly grab something before walking to the national park trails, Cocktail Falls, down to Kingston, snorkeling areas like Emily Bay or Bumboras Reserve. Important to note there is nowhere to buy food at Seaview, except chocolate and chips (crisps) from the bottleshop on site. Seaview Norfolk Island was an excellent place to stay. Very comfortable bed, I mean really comfortable. The shower was excellent (hot water, good amount of water comes out the nozzle and the pressure is good). A lot of space in there too, it's a decent size and it's a standalone shower stall ie it's not in a bath). Quality toilet paper, and I liked the little green shampoo they provided (there's also conditioner, liquid handwash soap, bars of soap and other stuff including insect killer spray - you do get the occasional flying bug attracted by the light enter your room). Seaview is also within the radius that Pinetree, Baunti and other tours pick up from. Has a great view from the common kitchen/dining area (hence the name of the place), has a guest laundromat if Norfolk is part of a longer journey and you need to do washing. It's got a pool on the property with a BBQ area next to it. There's a fridge in your room & TV by the way. There is the sound of roosters waking you up, but as someone who walked everywhere, feral chickens (since there are no snakes or other predators around on Norfolk), are around every place you might stay at. Sure bathroom taps and tiles (I quite liked the baby chick pattern on the tiles) are old, but they work well. That's all you need. Talking to other people, this is the case everywhere you stay anyway, so if no cracked tiles, freshly painted walls and so forth are a necessity for you, maybe Norfolk Island isn't your destination. there's plenty of power points to charge stuff in the room. Wi-Fi is slow but is free and works.

We are regular visitors to the island and always stay at Seaview in an ocean view apartment. The apartments are spacious, comfortable, warm in winter and cool in summer. The full size kitchen is excellent for preparing the wonderful produce available on the island and the deck is ideal for soaking up the view with a glass of wine. Yes, the furnishings were a little dated but given the supply issues Norfolk experiences it is understandable and easily overlooked. The view over green hills to the ocean and Phillip Island is beautiful. The property is within easy walking distance to shops and cafes and free WiFi and phone for local calls is provided.

Pluses such as free wifi, great views, clean bedding, tea making facilities, tv, guest laundry and even free roaming roosters crowing in the morning can be found in most if not all other hotels on Norfolk Island. What sets the Seaview rooms apart is their location in a building which is in gross disrepair with peeling paints, mouldy walls, and at least one badly chipped wash basin. The contrast is even greater when you look at the recent addition of a cellar with its fresh paint. Apparently one can upgrade to their cottages which are well hidden from the multilevel twin rooms. We paid a package deal for 8 days and several tours and a hire car plus all meals. However if I had known that I was going to holiday in a delapidated and staff-less “hotel” I would have looked for a better deal. Should anyone ask to recommend a place on the Island I can only say definitely NOT the Seaview Norfolk Island. The photographs speak for themselves.

Spacious airy studio apartment with huge covered deck / balcony which has fabulous view and shelters apartment from afternoon sun. Good location. Would have preferred the more modern cottage as the apartments are very tired and need renovating.

Our room was nowhere nearly as large as expected from viewing the website. While the staff did attend immediately to the bathroom door sticking and locking us in on several occasions, and to the water pump needing priming (we were left with no water for quite a while), the main disappointment was that the swimming pool was not serviceable and had not been for a year. The restaurant is now a bottle shop - only on-site food is breakfast for $18 per person for continental. Road into the property is not maintained.

We were booked into Seaview. We got there and the view is amazing and that is the best part. The accommodation was very disappointing. The room was not like what is on their web site. The room was small and had a pattern covers on the bed. No bedside lamps my husband had to put up with the main light on when I wanted to read and he sleep. The bathroom was very old tiles with a shower curtain. No one serviced the room and we had to go and get clean towels from the laundry. We got given clean towels only two days. A bit of a let down.

The positives- the room clean and the bed was comfortable. The view over green hills to the ocean and Phillip Island was beautiful. Within easy walking distance to shops and cafes. Free WiFi and phone for local calls provided. Hire car organised and waiting for us. The negatives- the pool was closed, unusable with green water. The outdoor BBQ was filthy. Basic accommodation in standard queen room. The studios and cottages options may be better.

The reception was rarely manned. Our room was quite nice & bathroom recently renovated. However the pool was green & not available for use. There was no outdoor area that was suitable to sit as our balcony was always in shade & was cold & very breezy. However the property was very convenient to shops & restaurants.