Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Sheraton Noosa vs. Hyatt Coolum for beach holiday

The Sheraton is (+) close to Noosa town & (-) costs A$450 a night or 10K *points (or 5x 8K) for my dates (April 6--10 = Easter Weekend), while the Hyatt is (-?) ?? km away from Noosa but (+) costs only A$216 a night or 8K Hyatt points. Hyatt has a shuttle to Noosa in daytime.

Which is better for its beaches, its pools, & for nightlife?
How far is each north or south of Maroochydore/ Sunshine Coast airport? Bus/ taxi fare? Or shall I rent a car?

I will be Hyatt Platinum (demoted from Diamond now, which they might still respect) & Starwood Peon (gold now, which won't matter to them.)

Brendan,

Having stayed in both places, the Noosa Sheraton is definitely the go. It is a much nicer hotel. The Coolum Hyatt opened in about 1988, and in the late eighties and early nineties was the ultimate in luxury. However it is now old and not totally reburbished. It is no longer an "in" place for Australians to go on their holidays.

Having said that, it is very close to Moorchydore airport (about 10 minutes drive), and has access to a beautiful ocean beach which usually doesn't have too many people on it. The Hyatt has a Beach Club which is a short drive/ walk from the accommodation. Coolum is a nice relaxed place where a lot of people go to retire, but apart from the resort there is not a great deal there.

The Sheraton Noosa is a much more compact city style hotel, set on Hastings Street, which is the tourist mecca of the Noosa area. Hastings Street has a lot of restaurants, shops and other nightlife, etc and many tours of the surrounding area will go from there. The hotel itself also has a great bar/ restaurant. There is also a National Park in Little Cove, about 10 minutes walk from Hastings Street, so you can have the best of both worlds!

There is a nice, sheltered beach at Hastings Street, but it can be quite crowded. There has also been a problem with smelly seaweed there in the past few years, but this may no longer be the case.

If you stay in Coolum, you will need a car for those days when you want to go outside the resort. There is a bus to Noosa, but it is a lot of messing around. If you stay in Noosa, there is a bus or taxi from Moorooydore to Noosa (about half an hours drive). You will need to hire a 4 WD for the day if you decide to go over to Fraser Island, which a lot of people do, or else take a tour.

But I would suggest the Noosa Sheraton, bearing in mind that the rates would spike in Noosa over the Easter weekend.

Cheers, QF Lad.

The Sheraton is most likely better for the things you mentioned but do you golf? The Hyatt Coolum has a World Class golf course, the Australian Open has been held there many times. If you are even a casual golfer you might want to consider it, it's that damn good... And bring extra balls, don't ask how I know;)

I don't golf, but I do play beach volleyball & love to swim/ body surf in 1--1.5 meter waves. An ideal beach vacation for me includes the alternation of an hour of one & an hour of the other.
Are there any less expensive hotels on/very near the beach in Noosa which I should consider? BTW, I went to Surfers' Paradise on my 2004 vacation to Oz, where I was so frustrated by the current moving me outside the lifeguards' flags every 3 minutes. I finally went with the flow until a lifeguard came in his vehicle to reprimand me 800m or so down the coast :eek: !

I will also be in WA (Karratha to Perth) for the last 2 weeks of March. Is the lifeguarding more reasonable there? Over here on the USA Atlantic coast, we have lifeguards in chairs & on beach vehicles but no flag restrictions :) .

...I will also be in WA (Karratha to Perth) for the last 2 weeks of March. Is the lifeguarding more reasonable there? Over here on the USA Atlantic coast, we have lifeguards in chairs & on beach vehicles but no flag restrictions :) .The ocean is a lot gentler in the US than in Australia (for various reasons); a lot of those flag restrictions have been learned the hard way (people died). Last time I checked Australia had 2 orders of magnitude higher death rate from ocean accidents than the US ... which probably accounts for the well developed lifeguard services there.

Brendon,

Other alternative hotels in the area are the Sebel Noosa, which is would be my preference to the Sheraton as it is newer and also virtually next door to the Sheraton. Other alternatives are Netanya Noosa and Seahaven, both of which are on Hastings Street but are older properties. If you have transport you can go to Alexander Headland which is the surf beach and which is about a 5-10 minute drive from Hastings Street.

The high room rates are being driven by the Easter break which is also the beginning of the 2 week school holiday period. Therefore no matter where you stay in Noosa you are unlikely to find many bargains. To gain maximum value, you would be better off visiting Noosa in the week before Easter and visiting a major city during Easter when the hotel rates drop due to the drying up of business travel.

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with a lifesaver on your visit to Oz in 2004. There can be bad rips/ currents at some surf beaches. Unfortunately it is the rips which are literally the killers when it comes to drownings at surf beaches in Australia.

Cheers, QF Lad.

Good news! I will be in Noosa starting March 12--14 or 15, not at Easter.
I will spend my last 2 days of Oz in Sydney, leaving April 6 (Good Friday.)

Has anybody else noticed how hideous the corridor carpets are in the Sheraton Noosa? They really ruined my last stay. :D

They're a horrific nautical print that look like they were designed by a cartoonist channeling Donatella Versace. :td:

I think they might be 1990s original, along with the bathrooms. Don't get me started on the pink bathrooms...