Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas - Who Do I Believe?

I'm going to be in the Cairns / Port Douglas area in late October to see the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. I currently have a good rate via SPG Cash + Points for the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas (4000 points + $60 US per night, which translates to around $180 a night while the cash money rate for the place is around $300/nt. My guidebooks all say that this is a very upscale, deluxe resort - as nice as any place in the area. But the Tripadvisor reviews are consistently bad - basically they consistently say that the place is suffering from severe neglect and is just not anywhere close to what a top notch resort should actually be. Anyone been there recently who can give me the straight scoop on this place? I've got lots of time, so I can certainly make other arrangements in either Cairns or Port Douglas if this place really is as over-rated as the Tripadvisor reviews imply. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I've never seen so great a discrepancy between the whole range of guide books like Frommers and Fodors etc, and the Tripadvisor reviews.

This thread may be of assistance:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/953349-sheraton-mirage-port-douglas-queensland-australia-master-thread.html

My wife and I stayed there the last week of March. We didn't spend a whole lot of time on the actual resort, but the common areas (pools, etc.) were nice. The problem we had issues with was the room itself. The room feels a bit outdated which I could live with, but the musty smell in the room would make me think again about staying there if I visit the area again. We did find a little lizard in our room too, but being in the tropics it is something that can happen. :)

I've found small geckos in my room in several upscale resorts in the tropics in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and in Asia. They are all over the place in those locales. It's not a problem - and is actually considered a sign of good luck in those areas.

It would take a lot worse than that for me to be particularly upset. Incidentally, those little lizards help to keep the insects in check.

Yeah, I wasn't upset about the Lizard at all, just disapointed with the musty smell and outdated room. If you do decide to keep your reservations I would urge you to pack lots of air fresheners. My wife and I went to town and bought a few to scatter about the room which helped make the smell tolerable.

I stayed there a few years ago and friends stayed there in January. I wouldn't consider it a top-notch deluxe resort, but I was happy enough with it. It is certainly a little run down in the rooms compared to what one might otherwise expect, but we weren't really looking to do much besides sleep there.

We didn't have a musty smell that BaldBishop mentioned, but that could certainly vary across the various rooms.

Well, this place simply wouldn't be allowed to be mentioned in the Luxury Forum anymore :) As others have mentioned the property has had its days and is in need for renovation. Their restaurants shall still be fine. I would opt for Sea Temple or Peppers Balé instead...

Was run-down and smelled musty when I last stayed there in 2003, I can only imagine how bad it must be now.

I'd agree, it doesn't really feel like luxury as you'd expect from a Sheraton. Dated and musty - I'd rather stay either at Sea Temple or somewhere closer to town where you can just wander across to beach/into town. We actually tried the Mantra last time. very different proposition to Mirage but was great. Clean and quite new, great long pools down both sides, spa baths on balcony and lots of space (self-catering option). only a minute to walk into town, which was handy for us with an 8 month old, trying to fit as much in around her naps. Just a thought..

I stayed at the Peppers Beach Club last time I was there. Gone right off the Mirage. I really liked the beach club - big paul, large rooms, spa on the balcony, short walk to town, and reasonably priced. There is better accommodation in Port Douglas, but not for the price

I stayed there for a few nights two weeks ago. Its ok, but certainly not what I would consider luxury! It is the biggest place in the area, lush greens, onsite golfing if you play, but it is its own compound. The restaurants looked nice, but I did not try them - the specialty seems to be Indian and seafood. While the buffet seemed enticing (I was given a 25% off F&B card), I was more interested in the restaurants in the town.

The room was nice and spacious, as was the bedroom with the whirlpool tub, but it was dated. The pools are nice and encircle the compound, but for the most part the pools nearest the beach were the best ones. I should note, the insects were at a minimum here, vs the other place i stayed, where I was eaten alive by sandflies and mosquitoes. Not sure if the vegetation was different.

The big attraction of SPD is 4 Mile Beach, which is as serene as it gets.

Having said that 4K + $$ is not a bad option. One problem -- I used C+P for one night and the total was actually 4K + $93AUD, when it fact it should be $69AUD.

If you want to get to the town, Port Douglas, there is a shuttle that picks up every 30 min. The cost is $4 o/w or $7 RT. An alternate is to walk along the beach (about 2 miles/ 3km) to your left and up the stairs to the edge of town.

You can believe the reports on Trip Advisor and here in the SPG forum. It was a luxury resort and has the facilities of one. But the neglect has made it a pretty ordinary experience overall.

I stayed there for a week in September 2007. The pool, grounds, public areas, facilities and food were good. The room was dated (80's decor) and not up to Starwood scratch. The distance to town was a bit annoying although there was a shuttle bus so the inconvenience was not huge.

That said, I am about to go to Port Douglas again in August and have decided against staying at the Mirage. We've opted to stay in a self catering apartment in town.

We just came back from spending a week at the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas. There is a bit of truth in all the posts, and a large portion of exageration in many of them.

The hotel rooms are definitely dated and the entire hotel could use a remodel to bring up to current decor. The rooms are straight out of the mid 80's but are in good condition and nicely maintained. That being said, the rooms are nice and spacious with very comfortable beds, a separate sitting area with a little 2 seat dining table area. We never felt cramped or squeezed for space in our room, although the bathrooms are on the smaller side. We did not detect any musty smells in our room and both my wife and I are very sensitive to smells. We were originally given a room that had in a previous life been a smoking room and did have a lingering smoke/cleaning products smell. Nothing that would irritate a smoker, but we asked to be moved. Hotel common areas are very nice and you never felt as if you were in a crowded resort hotel.

The grounds are very nice. Very lush and the pools are super spacious. Except for the smaller pool with the swim up bar, all the pools are saltwater and have areas of sandy entry. My kids had a great time at the pools as unlike the ocean they are crystal clear, not too deep, no currents or stingers to be worried about and still had sand that they could dig in and make sand castles. Beautiful palm trees everywhere and you never felt crowded or had to fight for a lounge chair or umbrella (and this was during a time when the hotel was at 100% occupancy due to the school break). Some of the pools needed to have thier bottoms refinished, but nothing that would have made a difference.

The restaurants are nice. The main restaurant was a zoo for breakfast (buffet that was included on many room packages) and IMHO entirely not worth the $$. We drove into town for breakfast or just ate pastries and yogurt in our room before setting off on sighseeing jaunts to Cape Trib or the Daintree. The Lagoon restuarant had a nightly seafood buffet where the hot sections changes on a nightly basis (monday is Austrailian Grill, Tuesday is Queensland specialties, friday is Indian, etc.). At AU$82/pp, not really worth it, unless you like seafood and have a big appetite. There is plenty of variety, the desserts were delicious and the seafood was plentiful. The Yappies were tasty and I picked all the big ones. I love seafood and have a big appetite. You can burn 7,500 SPG points for the Lagoon Dinner for 2 plus a bottle of wine. Not too bad of an instant award and the Mrs. and I indulged twice.

As a SPG Platinum, Afternoon High Tea from 3-5 p.m. out on the patio next to the Lagoon Restaurant is complimentary. Delicious finger sandwhiches, various mini pastries and sweets and the best scones I have ever had, often still warm from the oven served with clotted cream and jams/jellies/marmalades. We partook in Afternoon High Tea every afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed the break in the day before freshening up at the room and heading into town for a stroll and/or dinner.

We were provided two bottles of water every night with our turndown service which was greatly appreciated considering the AU$8/bottle charge for water in the minibar. We went to Coles in town and brought back water/snacks for the pool and/or exploring the area.

Location and access to the beach was fantastic. The beach was spacious and an easy 10-15 minute walk into Port Douglas. The ocean water was marginally warmer than the pools at the hotel. My kids loved playing on the beach and swimming in the gentle waves.

The shuttle into town is AU$4 each way and leaves every thirty minutes. Since we had a car and parking was easy to come by, we just drove

The hotel could use some after hours entertainment. There is no bar or other night time public gathering space to speak of (which IMHO is a huge ommission from a revenue point of view at this hotel). But since parking is free and Port Douglas is only a few minutes away by car, you can easily drive into town for drinks or for some shopping/strolling.

WIFI is butt expensive at AU$24 a day and only available in the lobby areas. In room is still just wired access. If this was provided free to SPG Platinums, that would be a fantastic benefit.

Unlike neuron's experience, my California blood must have been sweet tasting as I was eaten alive by sand fleas and mossies, but hey, you're in the tropics and it was no worse than I have experienced at other beach resorts.

Is the Mirage a 5 star resort? No way. Is it the worst thing in the SPG family of hotels and a utter disaster like many on Trip Advisor proclaim? Hardly. Except for the hotel rooms (but come on, there is so much to see and do nearby that you shouldn't be spending much waking time in your room anyway), I would compare it favorably to the Sheraton Poipu or the Sheraton Maui or the Sheraton Fiji. With a bit of renovation to the hotel common areas and a room makeover (new bedroom furniture and flat screen tv's would be the easy changes), this hotel would easily be a SPG Category 4.5. As it is, a very decent Category 3.5 that could do better. Is it worth the SPG 10k a night, well that depends on what you are looking for. If you intend to spend all your time on the resort and are looking for pampering and luxury, then not worth it. If you are looking for a base for exploring the area but still enjoy the amenities of very decent resort, then 40K SPG for 5 nights are justifiably spent. For C+P, entirely worth it.

We'd probably return.

YMMV

Onedog

Thanks, very much, onedog. Great to read your review.

We'll be staying at the Sheraton Mirage on points (5 nights for 40K points) in late August. Glad to know about the Lagoon Dinner for points... we'll look into that. My husband doesn't drink so maybe we can trade the bottle of wine for something else like dessert?

I love the comparison of this hotel to the Sheraton Poipu and the Sheraton Maui. That tells me exactly what to expect. We're stopping off in Fiji on the way over and staying 1 night at the Sheraton Fiji (after a few nights on one of the outer islands) so I'm glad to hear we'll have a similar experience there.

On your other post I like the comparison of the Daintree / Cape Trib area to that of rural Hawaii and the route to the Blue Mountains to the 101 N. of Santa Barbara... that is a big help too (although I have to figure out which is the "scentic route" to the Blue Mtns.).

Oh, and your comparison of a trip to Featherdale Park to a trip from Manhattan Beach to Van Nuys had me laughing out loud!!

Carole

Thanks, very much, onedog. Great to read your review.

We'll be staying at the Sheraton Mirage on points (5 nights for 40K points) in late August. Glad to know about the Lagoon Dinner for points... we'll look into that. My husband doesn't drink so maybe we can trade the bottle of wine for something else like dessert?

Desert is included with the Lagoon dinner instant award. They have a great desert assortment as part of the buffet with all sort of baked goods/pastries, ice cream, assorted cheese, dried fruits, and a hot desert item (bread pudding, etc.). My wife and I aren't really drinkers either, but we ordered the bottle of sparkling wine the first night and the bottle of white wine the second. Since wine is usually an additional AU$22, you can always just share the bottle with the table sitting next to you. I am sure they will appreciate it. Ask to be seated at one of the tables down on the lower level of the restaurant that are set by themselves near the lagoon windows. Very nice as these tables are surrounded by windows on three sides.

I love the comparison of this hotel to the Sheraton Poipu and the Sheraton Maui. That tells me exactly what to expect. We're stopping off in Fiji on the way over and staying 1 night at the Sheraton Fiji (after a few nights on one of the outer islands) so I'm glad to hear we'll have a similar experience there.

The Sheraton Maui (Kaanapali Beach) is so much more busy of a location than the Sheraton Mirage. Unlike at the Sheraton Maui where there are so many people, take a morning or evening walk along 4 Mile Beach and you will at times be all by your self.

We've stayed at the Sheraton Villas Fiji on two occasions and really enjoyed our time there. The Fijian people are super nice and are very welcoming. The rooms are the Sheraton Fiji were much older and tired than those at the Sheraton Mirage, but the ocean view rooms at the Sheraton Fiji have views that are just fantastic. None of the rooms at the Sheraton Mirage have ocean view rooms as the entire 4 Mile Beach is a national beach reserve and so there are trees all along the beach that separate the hotels from the beach and block all views of the ocean. At the Sheraton Mirage we had a garden view room (as opposed to a pool view room) and we really enjoyed our stay.

On your other post I like the comparison of the Daintree / Cape Trib area to that of rural Hawaii and the route to the Blue Mountains to the 101 N. of Santa Barbara... that is a big help too (although I have to figure out which is the "scentic route" to the Blue Mtns.).

Oh, and your comparison of a trip to Featherdale Park to a trip from Manhattan Beach to Van Nuys had me laughing out loud!!

Carole

The trip to the Blue Mountains was through lots of farming areas with apple orchards and wineries and what I would call "gentleman farmer" areas. Far enough away from the Sydney area to be considered rural, but close enough for folks to have easy access to Sydney without too much of a journey.

We enjoyed our visit to Featherdale Park. There are animals all over and you are walking and interacting with Kangaroos and Wallabies to your heart's content. A couple of the Wallabies had joeys in their pouches and the joey would stick its head out to see what was going on.

Enjoy,

Onedog

Thanks onedog, that was extremely useful - especially as I am well familiar with the Sheraton Poipu and the Sheraton Maui, and that gives me an excellent frame of reference. At this point, I'm strongly leaning toward keeping my reservation on the Cash+Points deal.

Thanks onedog, that was extremely useful - especially as I am well familiar with the Sheraton Poipu and the Sheraton Maui, and that gives me an excellent frame of reference. At this point, I'm strongly leaning toward keeping my reservation on the Cash+Points deal.

When driving from Port Douglas to the Daintree/Cape Trib you will be driving through sugar cane fields and banana tree plantations. Look up and over the sugar cane fields towards the jagged mountains, blink your eyes and you will swear that you have been transported to Hawaii.

Onedog

These pictures were taken one year ago of the Mirage. Overall I liked the property and the staff was extremely nice. Hope this helps.

http://picasaweb.google.com/DCATravelPhotos/SheratonMiragePortDouglas#
(http://picasaweb.google.com/DCATravelPhotos/SheratonMiragePortDouglas#)

Thanks DCATravel, it certainly LOOKS to be more than acceptable.

I'm typing this from room 5119 in the Sheraton Mirage and can report that it isn't neary as bad as some people make out, but it is looking a little tired around the edges.

First impressions were very positie and check in was great with the ah=gent being most helpful in explaining things and providing stats recognition (SPG Gold) which got us an upgrade to a lagoon view room with jacuzzi bath.

The room is perfectly fine, plenty of space, nice bed, balcony with promised view of lagoon. Some of the fitting and fixtures do look a little worn, but I can live with that.

We've spent most of our time outside the resort so can't comment hugely on the other facilities, but can say that the location is fantastic with 4 mile beach at the back of the property.

I came on an SPG cash + points rate and it is excellent value for what I paid. Not sure if I would have the same opinion of teh value if I'd paid $300+ per night, but I am extremely pleased with the hotel.

Glad you like it, good example of how YMMV to the nth degree - I thought it was a .... of a place. Hencefroth, disregard anything I have to say about hotels.