I will be checking out tomorrow from Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas, Australia after a five-day stay as a part of my holiday tour in Australia.

I was particularly excited about this property hearing all good
(outdared) reviews. Also, I was thrilled to know that it was recently voted
as the best resort in Australia according to the Australian magazine
"Luxury Travel".

I was very disappointed when I got into the room. I was upgraded to
the best room and indeed it was the best room this property could offer.
Unfortunately the term "best" here doesn't match Starwood's reputation
and class even for a Sheraton!
From the first glance I realized that luxury doesn't exist. Fine
enough, after all it's a Sheraton not a Luxury Collection or even Westin.
Spending ah houre in the room, I concluded that the room can't be refered
to as functional. The shower pressure is too weak and the
hot/cold-water mixer works in a funny way. The A/C seems worn out and can't coop
with the afternoon heat. Strikingly enough this room, being recently
renovated, is supposed to be in the best shape compared to some other
rooms.

I would barely classify this property as "ok". To be fare, Port Douglas
is facinating and this Sheraton is purly a waste of space. The
property used to be part of The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) but it was
dropped two years ago. I say to LHW good move and to Starwood drop it or
fully refurbish it.

I could have been more disappointed if I was paying for the stay. I
got this aginst points (10k per night) and I may check out and move to
the nearby Radisson and pay for a decent room.

I need to point out here that the above facts apply to the hotel rooms
not the villas which I haven't seen.

In short, I don't recommend this property at all even on Starwood
points. People here are extremely nice and helpful but you can also find
them at decent and 'functional' hotels/resorts.