Melsibels

Why won't LE offer refunds for travel that can't be taken due to COVID? It is not a CHANGE OF MIND! – After a great booking experience with Alison from LE late in 2019 for a wonderful family holiday to Queensland we were looking forward to this September, I've been dumbstruck by…

their lack of understanding and compassion with the current COVID travel restrictions.

As we are currently within the Melbourne lockdown zone, we are unable to travel outside of Victoria, let alone to Queensland to take advantage of our holiday package. Even if Queensland DID allow Victorians to travel within their borders in the next 6-12 months (which is unlikely), there are also the restrictions for the resort that may exclude us.

After requesting that LE allow us to cancel our accommodation and instead offer us a full LE credit to use on any LE domestic package (hopefully we'll be able to leave Melbourne by the end of the year!), instead LE have stuck to their original Terms and Conditions and won't allow us to cancel at all, only to change our travel dates. I am very hesitant to change and extend the travel dates of our current package as there is literally no guarantee of any travel allowed for us Melbournians in the foreseeable future and we cannot afford to surrender the costs we've already committed.

I know that given the extended cancellation notice period I am requesting, and the COVID-19 travel ban circumstances, that the resort is willing and able to cancel our reservation with no penalty (especially given that they are offering other packages through Luxury Escapes recently and the time period of our current reservation is over the school holiday period and re-sellable).

Luxury Escapes are stubbornly refusing to budge and will only allow a change of date. Their inflexibility to offer a refund (or even an LE credit) is bordering on discrimination as we are not provided with a refund for a service and package that Luxury Escapes cannot provide to us based on our residence in Victoria. It is unjust and unfair, and as such, discrimination as we are not offered the services that are offered to other residents in Australia (those residing in Queensland).

I do not recommend using a company that has such little regard for their customers or their individual circumstances. Only hoping that we'll all suffer stress and give up leaving the "refundable" cash with them.

Very handy and useful kitchen machine – We bought this New Wave 5-in-1 multi cooker over a year ago. We have used it many times, in the pressure cooker, slow cooker and soup modes primarily. It is certainly a very handy…

machine to have around and I do make many meals in it. I love the mushroom risotto recipe that comes in the instruction/cook booklet with the machine. I bought it online with a deal that included a free stainless steel 6L bowl insert which I use as well. The only negative I have is that on the pressure cook mode it occasionally gets "stuck" and you have to stick a pen or a slim object into the pressure valve to make sure it is tight so that it gets to pressure. Like I said, only happened once or twice. The instructions aren't brilliant (you can tell it wasn't well translated into English from an asian language), but it is pretty user friendly anyway, in my opinion. Browns food well, slow cooker is great, pressure cooker works wonders and I love chucking a bunch of vegies and meat into it and making a soup with one or two buttons. Overall it was well worth the money. Easy to use, multi-function, fast to heat up, convenient cooking! Pressure cook function sometimes malfunctions, but is fixable and only occasionally (maybe If I don't set exhaust setting correctly?)

Great toy to keep baby entertained! – I bought this toy second hand for about $50 and what a great investment! My baby was about 4 months old when we first used it and she was very active and ready for something other…

than lying on her play mat and she wanted to stand all the time. Well, she just lit up when we put her in this toy for the first time! She was spinning in the seat and trying to get at all the toys! She was probably still a bit small for some of the toys as they were out of her reach, so I just put some rattles and other toys in the section between the seat and the activity centre toys and she played just as happily with those until she could actually reach the other toys.

She loved being able to stand and look at me while I got dinner made or cleaned up around her.

I could even pick it up and carry it outside when I was doing some gardening or just wanted to her to be outside on nice days but not on the grass and she could just sit in it and look around.

It is perfect for keeping babies entertained for a short while as you're busy and doing other things.

The only negatives so far is that it is really hard to bounce and even at 8 months she has a hard time actually bouncing it. As I bought it second-hand the doorbell never worked, but I don't know if it ever did as that seems to be a common problem. I have also tried a friends' Fisher Price Jumperoo and they are MUCH easier to bounce and with all the toys and noises it makes it is a much more "fun" toy, but it is also about $100 more expensive second hand and at about $250 brand new there was no way we were going to invest in that for a few months. My daughter is almost ready for something else now at 8 months old as she's ready to start walking, so it was good I got it second-hand! But for $50 I couldn't have asked for a better toy for that age! Easy for baby to spin, lots of toys to keep baby entertained, great to pop baby into while you are busy Hard for baby to "bounce", no noises or other stimulation

Best of all the baby carriers - and I've tried most of them! – I just love the Manduca Carrier, it is my go-to carrier. I own two other carriers - a Baby Bjorn Synergy and an ErgoBaby Performance, and I also own a sling and this is BY FAR the…

best of the bunch for me. My husband and I originally used the Baby Bjorn when my daughter was small as she fit like a little peanut into it and it was comfortable and airy to wear (she was a summer baby), but by about 4 months old she was just too heavy to go into it, so I started to use the ErgoBaby, but it was just too long in the torso for me, although it was much easier to carry her around for long periods of time. My husband uses the ErgoBaby all the time still as it is perfect for him (he's much taller than me). He thinks it is SUPER comfortable to wear. So I was after something similar to the ErgoBaby, but one that would fit me better. A friend recommended the Manduca to me and said she'd been using it for her newborn (another difference between the Ergo and the Manduca, as you can't use the Ergo without the insert for a newborn) and loved it!

So I bought mine (from Mothers Direct - the ABA store) for about $50 less than a new ErgoBaby costs and I am SO glad I did. I literally use it every day. I walk EVERYWHERE and love that I can carry my now 8 month old on the front (where she immediately goes into "nap-position" and is asleep within minutes) or on my back for longer walks. She is comfortable, can see around and often falls asleep. I am comfortable for hours of walking too! I have even breastfed on the move (and discreetly) by adjusting the straps down and my top up and the hood over, and baby gets a feed while I have use of both my arms and can move about!!! Amazing!!!

Best features:

Baby can be worn on the front, back or side (although I haven't tried that)

Has a newborn insert built-in, so no need to buy an extra insert like the ErgoBaby carrier

Has an inbuilt hood so baby is covered from the sun

Weight is distributed around the waist, not the shoulders, so it is extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time

Fully and easily adjustable - my hubby and I can switch wearing it within a few seconds of pulling a couple of straps

I can put my baby on myself - back or front as its easy to hoist the baby on and she is safely secured with the durable buckles

Comes in about 6 different colours too

The ONLY negative (and it is minor), is that the ErgoBaby has a small pocket on the front which was handy to stick a bunch of keys and your purse or a small camera in, and the Manduca doesn't have this. Other than that I cannot recommend it enough!!! I use it ALL the time and it is SOOOO easy and comfy to use! Comfortable, easy to use -- so many I have listed above! Minor: no pocket

Super easy to use! – I bought my Medela Freestyle online brand new. It is expensive (the only con I have), but it was recommended to me by a midwife and by my sister-in-law who uses the Medela Pump in…

Style and wishes she'd upgraded and bought the Freestyle. Super convenient as it is a quick double-breast pump that allows you to pump hands-free. It is easy to use and easy to clean and another great feature which the Freestyle has over other double-pumps is that it has a rechargeable battery, instead of using regular batteries you just plug it in and charge it for a few hours and that will last me a couple of weeks of pumping for 20-30 minutes every day. Convenient to use, double-pump, hands-free, rechargeable battery, easy to clean Expensive!