We stayed in the Factory Penthouse for three weeks over Christmas and New Year. It’s a lovely apartment. It is in a great location, easily accessible to the CBD by tram – although we often walked – and near to both Smith Street and Brunswick Street. A highlight is the balcony which proved to be the ideal spot to see the spectacular New Year fireworks. In one of the bedrooms the air con did not work which proved an issue when the temperature hit 36C on Christmas Day.
The downside was that we booked it through Luxico who provided a very poor service. Problems started when nobody from the company was there at check-in as promised. Fortunately, the cleaners were there to give us access. However, delays with the cleaning meant we had to wait in a nearby café for 3 hours while this was finished. We needed to get the cleaners back because cleaning had not been done properly. A Christmas tree we had ordered and paid for was missing. There were other problems (e.g. locksmith had to be called out to fix a problem with the front door). These things happen but the way Luxico dealt with them was lamentable. It was difficult to get a response and there seemed to be a lack of care. To cap it all, it took much chasing to get our bond returned and the cost of the missing Christmas tree refunded. No hint of an apology has been offered for this poor service. Overall, very, very disappointing. We have stayed happily in many apartments/cottages but this by far the worst experience we have had with an agent. We will definitely be back in Melbourne and would stay again at the Factory Penthouse. However, we will be giving Luxico a very wide berth.