Name: Apartments Downtown
Address: 52 Alexander Street, Burnie, Burnie, Burnie, 7320, Australia
Rating: 7

Air conditioning

Smoke-free property

Heating

Gift shop

Garden

General

Bridal suite

Non-smoking rooms

Family room

Rooms

Laundry

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

English

Multi-language staff

Languages Spoken

Barbecue grill(s)

Barbeque

Recreation

Parking

Fax and copy machine

Business

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the apartment

Burnie Arts & Function Centre

Boat Harbour Beach

Montello Gully

Burnie Park

Little Penguin Observation Centre

Burnie Wynyard Airport

Devonport Airport

Apartments Downtown

Burnie

I stayed at these apartments in Dec 2019 through Airbnb. I wrote a review and noted the issues of which there were many and the managers did not respond and conveniently deleted the review.

I decided to put it here for future reference. 

If you are after budget accommodation and think of downtown apartments in NY movies from the early 80’s in an Art Deco building that is well past its glory days and you are after all the seediness that comes with it then your welcome to stay here. 

However, the photos posted by management do not show the state of disrepair this apartment block is in. Here is the list of major issues. 

- the window sashes are rotted out
- the curtains were most likely installed in the early 90’s and never washed. I dared not touch them
- there was dust and grime clinging to the curtains
- the 3 bdrm apt my partner and I stayed in had a bed that was not screwed together and was dangerous
- the 1980’s Italian queen sized bed had a duvet cover with stains all over it. I slept on a towel on the bed thinking I might get scabies
- there were large holes in the lounge room ceiling from water damage and the paint was cracked and peeling
- the place stunk of damp and mildew 
- we feared for our safety and leaving the car parked there
- there is no soundproofing and you can hear the permanent tenants arguing in their apartments next door and the city noise 

Honestly I was disgusted and felt like I spent the night in a Government commission apartment. 

This place should not be allowed to operate until they renovate the rooms to a clean standard and fix up the building defects. 

There was nice rounded walls and Art Deco detail, but the whole building needs serious work.

Disgusting condition, drab and full of loud permanent tenants

I stayed at the Apartments Down Town and was immediately disappointed with my choice. The street appeal was non existent with the Art Deco apartments looking grubby and run down from the street. The awnings on the exterior were covered in a thick black film. The stairs to the apartment had broken white goods and building materials stored under them. The apartment had a very strong deodoriser outside the door to mask the mustiness of the area. The kitchenette was extremely dated. The fridge wasn’t even turned on for our visit. Almost every curtain was broken as was several window latches which didn’t give a great deal of sense of security. An electric blanket was left on in one of the rooms. The flyscreen in one room had a large circular hole in it, which I can only imagine was where someone had gained access to the room via a window with a broken latch. The room had a musty smell which was not surprising given that the apartment block is screaming for an upgrade. The toilet seat was broken as was the toilet room door latch. The modern flat screen tv (all of about 19 inches) was pretty dated. There was no light bulb in the kitchen. There is no air conditioning and the gas heater looked like it had had an accident as the moulding around it was warped out of place. A random dirty stained pillow was left behind a seat in the living area.

The beds were comfy, the gym was across the road and shops were a block away which made up for some of the other stuff.

A poor first impression

Worst experience ever. This place looks nothing like photos, must have been taken twenty years ago. Rooms are dingy and smelly, curtains are brittle with dirt. No one was there to greet us when we arrived. Thanks to someone walking around we found office where key had been left then we couldn't find room. This place should be taken off your website. We actually went downtown to look for somewhere else to stay but all were booked out. The garden which looks nice on website is overgrown messy weeds etc. The building has mould all over walls. Our impression of the whole place that it looked and felt like a halfway house for bikies. The room was freezing and we had to retire early as the only warm part was the beds which thank goodness did have electric blankets. We vacated very early next morning. Glad to get out of there.
Also bathroom was old, rusty bath, tiny washbasin with tap that dripped. Tea, coffee and sugar were in plastic containers not sachets, almost like an after thought

Old and dirty

The bed was comfortable, the water was hot, and the location was excellent. This is the place for you if you like stained doonas, rubbish that isn't collected for days unless you ask, once white lace curtains that are now charcoal grey, vinyl floors that are sticky, carpets that aren't cleaned, a highway that curves around the building with log and other trucks exercising their air-brakes through the day and night, ancient heating systems, paint peeling off walls, rusting stove top plate circles, minimal kitchen ware such as no salad bowl, filthy blinds, wind whistling under doors and through rattling windows, gloomy lighting, failed light bulbs not replaced, old stained tea towels, wall hung pictures with drinks thrown across them, an assortment of mostly non Art-Deco furniture and fittings that are various vintages and in some cases give the appearance of coming from a second hand shop, and a tiny television screen.  If you stay one night you probably won't notice much and be comfortable enough, but the longer you stay the more depressing details you will see. Without a doubt the Art-Deco shape of the external building and the interior ceilings are marvellous, so if you want to experience a piece of Burnie's architectural history then stay. However -  the apartments advertise free wifi - unfortunately this is not available in all rooms as they say. I had to be moved to an apartment where it did work so please make sure you double check that you don't get an apartment at a distance from the reception area if wifi is something you need and expect.

Not suitable for a long stay if you like the light and have time to see where you are staying

The 2 bed apartment I had to myself was very big & comfortable & with my food and drink supplies in, it felt like a proper home (I gave up a night in Melbourne to stay here 1 more night. 
Within 10–15 minutes walk you have the lovely beach, huge park, Target, k-mart, supermarket, bottle shop & places to eat & drink. I hired a car for 4 (out of 8) days & heading east there were little towns and more lovely beaches about every 2-3 miles and inland a fantastic Woolworths supermarket and tourist attractions. Only tiny downsides were the size of the TV & so many channels being unavailable & the lack of internet (which I understand may be remedied this year). Last thing was having to go around a couple of times to relock all the windows in the evening. Overall a lovely comfortable stay 

Apartments Downtown

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