Hyatt Regency Coolum
Wife and I stayed 4 nights early September. We are Diamond and stayed on points.
The property and our experience have BIG positives and some BIg negatives. After our stay and some reflection, I believe this is a great place for some people to stay and a bit nagging for others. It is well worth your while to ponder your interests and plans before going to this Hyatt. If after some research, you are still "good to go" then you will probably find this the place is fantastic.
It is important to note that the property is not a hotel, not even close. It is a golf and activities resort. Buildings are one to six units. All I saw was two story. The grounds are huge. People staying there are of at least two classes. One class is guests that pay by the night, and the other is some type of ownership/time share (OTS). The latter have what most of us Diamonds would call Regency Club. The former are treated to breakfast each day regardless of status or membership in Goldpassport.
First what we did not like (not necessarily all bad).
You park a long ways away from your unit, unless you are in the OTS group, who seem allowed to drive on the paths ment for walking, biking and carts. Drivered trams are provided for transportation. "Tram" stops are scattered through the property. They maintain a regular schedule of about every 15 minutes, except when they don't and that can be 35 minutes (one of our waits). Trams were most unpredictable in the am and pm. During the mid day they were very available. Valet parking was provided for A$20 for our full stay. Service was mixed. Bikes rent for A$15 a day.
The breakfast lounges are spread around the property to minimize the walk one needs to make. Unfortunately, our was shutdown...while I could not get a reason why, it seems to have been to save money. The breakfast was fine. The ambience was horrible. 3 of every 4 couples attending breakfast had one to three children under 5. The noise, smell, little hands on the food displays, and mess on the floor was not acceptable at a McDonalds. The help tried to keep things clean, but did little to reduce the other problems. We were told that it is worse when school is out then the bit older children come. There are very few times of the year adults would be comfortable to dine with same in comfort.
The property is quite remote. Except for the tram to Noosa, you will need a car if you intend to see some of the attractions of the area. The Australia Zoo, the Big Pineapple, Bli Bli Castle, Forest Glen Sanctuary and Underwater World are a material distances, as are alternate eateries.
The unit we stayed was an upgrade (Presidents Villa, one of many), but was no where near the best available room for ungrade. We knew before we left that this would be the case. There is one category lower, Studio Suite and two larger that you will never see the inside of unless you talk about buying into the place. Our unit was upstairs. It had two bedrooms, a sitting room, breakfast area and small kitcheon (limited). We had two balconys. One with furniture overlooking the 18th tee and one without with a particial view of the 17th green. The faucet was mismatch with the sink, making it impossible to do most anything without splashing all over. Big good, but went with it anyway!!!
The tram will take you to an area on the property with several eateries (The Village Square), including a take away and pizza. There also is a dining room in the main building (we found this place to be a better that average one) although they messed up our reservation. We had pizza twice, once room service and once we brought it back on the tram. I do not suggest the latter (too much time elapses).
This Hyatt has its own beach (Beach Club). You take the tram to a private area. This area has bathrooms, a pool, sitting areas, sports courts and a path down to the beach. The beach has lots of sand, a lifeguard station and what appears to be some junk chairs. Note this is NOT summer. This whole area was quite pleasant in the late evening and during the day. It was too cold for most of the people with tots to go. None of the pools seem cared for or heated (again this was not summer..but)
The property is, in fact, a fabulous place to stay IF, lots of children around is not a problem. The cost there is high enough that most of those staying utilize those large rooms. If you tavel with children, you can pack 6 into the place we stayed and get them fed at breakfast, steal lots of food (this was going on big time) for later and amortize the cost some.
The golf play looked fun (I have not played in years). The beach would be great in the summer. Ducks, swans, roos and other critters could be seen around the property.
The Hyatt hosts and sells various treks around the property and the area. There were also lots of pools which are likely kept up in Summer. There is a tennis center (we did not visit it.
Spa, shopping, fishing, archery, canoeing, etc round out the activities they provide. OH, yes and they have Camp Hyatt. Pizza night at the movies and other child oriented activities.
A real family resort. Not what we were looking for, but we enjoy most aspects of our stay but would not go back.