The positives:
The house is clean/minimalistic in style, the decorations are all of good quality (Scandi feel everywhere) and the location is very quiet and safe.
The walk to Easts beach is along a quiet road and would take 20 mins. The walk into Kiama proper however is definitely a good 45 mins at a decent walking pace...the Stayz website says 900m to cafes and shops but that is a little misleading as 900m only takes you to a small strip with a cafe and a general store as opposed to Kiama itself.
Ocean views from the upper back deck and its peaceful.
The kitchen itself is well stocked with utensils and a good quality cooktop.
Beds were comfortable and lighting for reading in bed etc was good.
The negatives:
No wifi connection in the house which is only evident on their actual website and not the Stayz website (which we booked thru). I understand that is a first world problem but I cannot remember a holiday rental at this price point not having wifi for guests.
The TV/BluRay system is of decent quality but many of the free to air channels were not connected properly so we were literally left with the basic channels, and with no foxtel/wifi/netlix the 'electronic' entertainment was at a minimum. Acceptable if you specifically want a 'digital detox' break though.
The outdoor grill is a charcoal BBQ that had no firelighters. Even a cheap gas BBQ would be an improvement.
The Fridge was completely up the spout. The top half didnt keep anything cold and the lower compartments for fruit/veg froze all our fresh stuff, to the point where we had to throw much of it out. We put our meat in there to keep it cold and it kept it frozen for our entire stay. This is soon to be rectified we understand, but it was already known to the property manager to be an issue before we arrived which is annoying.
The radio/DAB/music system had no radio connection at all, and so out dated newer iphones cant sit in the fixed cradle or fit the cable that is provided in order to play music.
There were zero wastebins in the lower part of the house. In fact the only bin was in the kitchen from what we could see. Easily rectified though
To the owners credit, they rectified the broken sun umbrella for the outdoor table within 24 hours, they refunded us some money for the fridge issues and the inability to use their music system so our complaints are not with the owner, the house just needs a major overhaul appliance wise to make it worth the price that is asked for it.