Sarahs Scenic Stay is a spacious 130 m2 Queenstown apartment with mountain and lake outlooks from Fernhill, two balconies with outdoor seating and a practical four-bedroom layout that comfortably sleeps 8 people. Positioned above Lokal Kitchen & Bar, Chur Fish and Chips and On the Spot Fernhill Grocery, the apartment gives guests everyday convenience directly below, while central Queenstown is approximately 5 minutes by car. With self check-in, self check-out, flexible super king bedding, pet-friendly stays for one crate-trained dog and easy access to Skyline Queenstown Gondola, Wynyard Crescent Bike Park and Coronet Peak Ski Field, this is a well-positioned base for a Queenstown stay.

Please note that there is no onsite parking.

You may drive up the driveway and stop near the stairs briefly to unload your luggage, but your vehicle must be moved immediately afterwards.

There is plenty of street parking available nearby.

Please do not park in the restaurant car parks or the corner store car parks, as these are private parking areas and the businesses will contact us if guest vehicles are parked there.

For security, the exterior of the building is monitored by security cameras.

Check-out is by 10:00 am.

Thank you for choosing Sarahs Scenic Stay. We hope you’ve had a relaxing and enjoyable stay. Before you leave, please take a moment to follow the checkout guidelines below. These steps help us prepare the house properly for incoming guests.

🌊 Kitchen & Dishes

Before departing, please place all plates, glasses, cutlery, utensils, and trays into the dishwasher and turn it on. All items must be returned to their original cupboards once clean.

⛰️ Rubbish & Recycling

Please take out all rubbish before leaving and use the recycling bins where possible. If the outside bins are full, notify us immediately so we can assist. Any excess rubbish must be taken with you.

➖ Unreasonable rubbish left on site may result in additional charges.

⛰️ House Setup & Belongings

➖ Return all furniture, décor, plants, and items to their original locations (including between floors)

➖ Pack away all kids’ games neatly in their original storage areas

➖ Ensure TVs, sound systems, and devices are plugged in and working

➖ Return bedside tables, cables, and USB chargers to their original positions

⛰️ Pets

➖ If you brought a pet, please ensure all pet mess has been cleaned thoroughly.

⛰️ Linen & Cleaning

➖ Used towels may be left on the bathroom floors. There is no need to strip the beds.

⛰️ Damage & Maintenance

If there is any damage or maintenance issue noticed during your stay, please notify us immediately so we can organise repairs. We rely heavily on guest communication.

➖ Any damage not reported will remain the responsibility of the guest.

⛰️ Additional Charges

Any of the above tasks not completed may result in additional cleaning, maintenance, or servicing charges as outlined in the house rules.

⛰️ Final Property Check

Before exiting the property, please ensure all windows and blinds are closed, doors are locked, alarms are reactivated, and keys are returned to their correct places.

🏠 IMPORTANT – Odour & Air Quality Policy

Any lingering or offensive odours left in the property will result in a $500 odour removal fee. This includes cooking smells, Strong Aromatic & Spiced Food Cooking, fish or seafood odours, smoke, body odour, or any other smell that requires additional cleaning or professional remediation.

Please respect the property. Odours do not disappear at checkout and can significantly affect the comfort and experience of future guests.

🏠 Strong Aromatic & Spiced Food Cooking
Cooking Guidelines for Your Comfort and Future Guests

We understand that preparing meals is part of feeling at home during your stay. However, to maintain a clean, neutral environment for all guests, strong aromatic or heavily spiced food cooking is not permitted inside the property.

This includes, but is not limited to:
➖ Strong spices, oils, or aromatic ingredients
➖ Cooking fish or seafood
➖ Storing raw or uncovered fish or seafood
➖ Leaving raw fish, seafood, or fish juices in fridges, freezers, sinks, bins, or drains
➖ All seafood must be fully sealed, airtight, and leak-proof at all times

🏠 Why This Is Important

Certain odours — especially from spices, oils, seafood, smoke, or human body odour — can penetrate:
➖ Soft furnishings
➖ Bedding and mattresses
➖ Curtains and carpets
➖ Wardrobes and cupboards
➖ Fridges, freezers, and ventilation systems

When a guest enters a property and detects lingering smells, it immediately impacts their perception of cleanliness and comfort, often leading to complaints, refunds, or cancellations.

🏠 Ventilation & Cleanliness Requirements

To minimise lingering odours, guests must:
➖ Open windows while cooking
➖ Use kitchen exhaust fans at all times
➖ Dispose of food waste correctly and promptly
➖ Clean spills immediately, especially oils, spices, and seafood residue
➖ Use bathroom ventilation fans during and after showers

Failure to follow these requirements may result in additional charges.

🏠 Smoking & Odour-Causing Activities

Smoking or vaping of any kind is strictly prohibited inside the property, including:
➖ Bedrooms, bathrooms, and living areas
➖ Balconies, windows, and doorways

This also includes:
➖ Cannabis
➖ Incense
➖ Candles
➖ Shisha or similar products

🏠 Personal Hygiene & Body Odour Policy

Guests are expected to maintain reasonable personal hygiene standards during their stay.

Excessive body odour or hygiene-related smells that:
➖ Transfer to bedding, mattresses, couches, or soft furnishings
➖ Require additional laundering, deodorisation, or professional treatment
➖ Remain present after checkout

will be treated as an odour remediation issue and may result in the $500 odour removal fee.

This policy is not personal in nature and applies only where odours require professional intervention beyond standard cleaning.

🏠 Odour Remediation & Cleaning Fee

If odours remain after checkout and require additional cleaning, deodorising, ozone treatment, or professional remediation, a $500 odour removal fee will be applied.

This fee covers:
➖ Additional labour and extended cleaning time
➖ Professional odour treatment
➖ Treatment of soft furnishings and mattresses
➖ Fridge, freezer, and ventilation system cleaning
➖ Property management time

🏠 Impact on Future Bookings

If odours, smoking, or contamination delay, cancel, or negatively affect the next booking, guests will also be liable for any resulting loss of income, refunds, discounts, or emergency remediation costs incurred.

🏠 Acknowledgement

By booking and staying at this property, guests acknowledge and agree to comply with this policy and understand that odour-related issues extend beyond standard cleaning.

🏠 Property Cleanliness & Maintenance

Sarahs Scenic Stay | Mountain Lake Views is prepared before each stay so guests can arrive to a clean, comfortable and well-presented home.

🏠 Reporting Issues
➖Please report any cleaning concerns, maintenance issues or property damage as soon as they are noticed.
➖If something is not right on arrival, please let us know promptly so we have the opportunity to address it.
➖Photos may be requested to help us understand and resolve the issue.
➖Reasonable access may be required for cleaning, maintenance or repairs during the stay.

🏠 Guest Responsibility
➖Guests are responsible for keeping the home in a reasonable and respectful condition during their stay.
➖Please use the furniture, appliances, Smart TVs, kitchen items, washer dryer and fittings with care.
➖Any damage, missing items or accidental breakages must be reported as soon as possible.
➖Guests may be responsible for repair, replacement or additional cleaning costs caused during their stay.

🏠 Peak & High-Turnover Periods
➖During peak periods and same-day changeovers, cleaning and maintenance teams work to tight preparation windows.
➖Please check out on time so the home can be properly prepared for the next guests.
➖Please leave the property tidy, with dishes cleaned or stacked neatly, rubbish placed in the correct bins and personal items removed.
➖Excess rubbish, heavy mess or avoidable delays may affect the next guest’s arrival and may result in additional cleaning requirements.

How the Review System Works

Reviews are incredibly important to independently operated holiday homes. They affect how often a property appears in searches, whether future guests feel confident booking it, and—in some cases—whether the property can continue being listed on the platform.

What the Star Ratings Really Mean

The way booking platforms interpret ratings can be very different from how guests naturally use them:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We enjoyed our stay and would happily recommend the property.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ There were significant problems that need to be improved.

⭐⭐⭐ The property fell well below expectations. Ratings at this level can seriously affect the listing.

Even when a guest considers four stars to be a “good” rating, booking platforms generally treat anything below five stars as an indication that something majorly went wrong.

Please Give Us the Opportunity to Help

We understand that no property—and no stay—will always be absolutely perfect. Unexpected things can happen. What matters is how quickly and fairly they are handled.

If something isn’t right during your stay, please message us straight away. We would genuinely appreciate the opportunity to fix it while you are still at the property and help ensure you have a five-star experience.

Please don’t wait until after checkout to mention an issue we may have been able to resolve for you during your stay.

Please Support the Property

If you enjoyed your stay, felt that the property was accurately represented, and were happy with how we looked after you, we would be incredibly grateful if you supported the property by leaving a five-star review.

Your review helps the property remain visible, supports the people who care for and operate it, and allows us to continue welcoming future guests.

If there is something you believe we could improve, we absolutely want to hear it. We simply ask that you share it with us privately so we can understand it and take appropriate action.

Reviews Work Both Ways

Just as your review affects the property, the host’s review can affect your ability to book other properties in the future.

An unfavourable guest review may make a future host reconsider accepting a booking. Similarly, a host who notices that a guest regularly leaves highly critical reviews may take that history into account when deciding whether they feel comfortable hosting them.

The ratings and words we leave about each other carry weight, so we encourage reviews that are honest, fair and considerate of the complete experience—including how any unexpected issues were handled.

Benefits for Valued Returning Guests

We love welcoming back guests who look after our properties, communicate respectfully and support the homes they stay in.

Valued returning guests may receive:

• Better direct-booking prices on future stays

• Access to our broader network of holiday homes across Australia

• Discounts at other participating properties within our network

• Priority consideration when returning to a property they previously enjoyed

Your support genuinely makes a difference, and we would love the opportunity to host you again.

Payment Handling for BDC, STAYZ, VRBO, GOOGLE, and Direct Bookings

When guests book through platforms like Direct Bookings, Google, Booking.com, and VRBO/Stayz, we use Stripe for secure payment processing. Stripe charges a 2.9%plus 30cents fee for collecting payments.

• For completed stays, we absorb this fee as part of the booking process.

• In the event of a cancellation, regardless of the cancellation policy, Stripe does not return the 2.9% processing fee plus 30cents. This fee will be deducted from the refunded amount.

• We do not accept cash or direct bank transfers for any bookings. All payments must be made through our secure online platform to ensure transparency and safety.

We encourage guests to review the booking terms carefully to avoid any unexpected fees in case of cancellations.

For full house bookings, we are dog-friendly. We understand nobody likes to leave their extra family at home. On a full house booking, we allow pets, and this is only upon approval through us. If you have made a full house booking, please let us know if you intend to bring pets. Also, please read the following rules on pets.

• We need to know the breed, age, and type of pet.

• There is no Pet Fee at Skyes Beach House - They are part of your family and are welcome.

• There is a strict no pets on any beds and furniture policy at the property. Any damage or extra cleaning will result in further charges.

• We have a pooper scooper and a tray out the back. Please clean up all pooh droppings before leaving the property. Please place it in a bag and then in the bin.

• Pets must not cause danger, damage, nuisance, noise, health hazard or soil inside the house.

• Pets cannot be left alone in the house.

• You are responsible for any mess or damage your pet leaves behind, or injury to another person.

• If you arrive at the property with a pet without prior permission, you will be asked to leave without any refund or reimbursement.

• You must clean up all dog pooh from the backyard before leaving. Failure to clean up after your dog will incur a $250 Fee.

Important Information: Consider Travel Insurance for Your Stay

A Friendly Reminder from Your Host

As your friendly host, I wanted to take a moment to remind you of the benefits of having travel insurance for your stay. It’s always a good idea to consider travel insurance to ensure peace of mind during your trip. We need to make this clear that our cancellation policies are strict and we are doing our best to make you aware to get travel insurance.

Why Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance is a valuable safety net and provides coverage in several important areas:

• Medical Emergencies: Travel insurance can help cover medical expenses if you encounter a health issue while travelling.

• Trip Cancellations: If you need to cancel your trip due to unforeseen circumstances, travel insurance can help recoup some of your costs.

• Personal Belongings: Should your personal belongings be lost, stolen, or damaged, travel insurance can offer compensation.

• Legal Liability: Travel insurance can provide coverage in the event of legal issues that arise during your stay.

• Property Damage: If an accident occurs and you inadvertently damage the property or items within it, travel insurance can cover these costs—provided you’ve taken good care of the property and acted responsibly.

Do not rely on platform insurances like AIRBNB, BDC Or Stayz as they are not insurance companies.

Why It’s Important

Travel insurance offers the same level of protection whether you’re staying in a traditional hotel or a holiday rental like an Airbnb. It provides an extra layer of security, allowing you to enjoy your stay with confidence.

Final Thoughts

While travel insurance is not mandatory, it is highly recommended for your overall peace of mind. It ensures that you’re protected against unexpected events and helps make your stay as stress-free as possible.

Thank you for considering travel insurance for your trip. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out.