Awful, Awful Atmosphere. We've stayed in many of the holiday spots in Bellingen; we visit 5-6 times a year, with never a problem. This property however is cosmetically pretty, with no authenticity (and poorly ventilated). Firstly, the internet is appalling, and the IP is unverified so emails sent (when they ever rarely go through!) will often bounce. The phone coverage is also terrible, in and out of range; if you need to do any kind of business during your break, or want to watch streaming content etc at night, DO NOT stay here. Secondly, and most importantly, nobody there cares one tiny bit about you, they only want your payment. Get permission from the owners for something, and if an employee on the property doesn't like it, you will be ABUSED, yes actually abused, on the door step first thing in the morning! Our 7 day trip was ruined on day 3. We heard someone bashing on the door; we thought it was cleaners! My husband was walking around in his underwear when she barged in. One moment we were laughing, yelling, playing, having just woken up in the idyllic spot we'd stayed previously, the next we were treated like dogs, wanting to leave. The woman abused us for something we'd not only respectfully requested Permission for (!), but had also done 3 nights in a row last time we were there, with no problem. The worst part and second insult was that the owners had no interest in how offended we were, didn't bother to contact us or offer an apology at all. (FOUR DAYS later we were sent a text message, offering a glass of wine; we don't drink, and made that clear the first time we stayed...) Lovely Kellie the temp assistant tried to placate us with comments about the nice weather, but it doesn't quite make up for being treated rudely like a child by an employee, in a place we're *paying* to stay. We're in our 40s and running international multi-million dollar companies for Gods sake! Who does this screaming employee think she is?! Regardless, nobody should be treated that way when they pay for a *retreat from stress*... We will never, ever return, and advise others who care about manners and respect to never stay there either. All these lovely reviews are obviously from people who stayed briefly & didn't see the true colours behind the facade. We'd have said the same the first time we stayed, only 4 evenings... If you want to relax, try Promised Land retreat, Lilypad or Lombok. If you want to be watched all the time and then abused for things, by all means waste your money & time at Cottonwood. We really loved this place the first time we stayed, we even spelled out in the scrabble tiles 'we love you', intending to send a photo... however now we know the true colours behind it, we're sickened. You are nothing but dollar signs to these people. God forbid something more serious should happen! You'll be on your own... Very, very, extremely disappointed, offended and speechless at the lack of response. Good luck to all! read more