Thunderroad

My wife and I are planning a two-week trip to Australia, probably in January 2005, and are thinking of about a week at the Hyatt Coolum resort substantially because we have Hyatt points to burn. (We've never been to Australia before, so sorry that my questions are pretty basic.) We'd welcome any thoughts and advice on that Hyatt, including what the beach is like, how warm the water is, and whether there are any stingers (box jellyfish) that far south on the coast. The rooms look nice on the website, but any thoughts on what they are like also would be appreciated. We realize that a 300-unit resort may not be a model of absolute tranquility, but we are looking for a fairly quiet place (or at least a place where the rooms are quiet and it is possible to get away from the noise) and wonder whether the Hyatt Coolum fits that bill.

Also, any opinions and advice re the Hyatts in Sydney and Melbourne? I am a Platinum member, for what that's worth. Thanks.

tinkybelle

There are a lot of posts on these subjects.
Do a search under hyatt and you will come up with lots of answers or go to
www.hotelreview.de.vu

[This message has been edited by tinkybelle (edited Dec 17, 2003).]

YVR Cockroach

The Coolum rooms (some of them at least anyway) are arranged in quads (4 rooms, 2 up 2 down) IIRC. Quietness depends if you get billeted among families and/or near noisy areas. We got one away from such facing the golf course driving range which was.

You get stingers all the way down to Victoria so don't be surprised it they are some. When we were there April/May 2001, the water was quite rough. Or rather, the surf was vigourous. 2' or more at the beach. There are several pools however.

I think January is peak vacation season so you may not have the place to yourself.

Smart Monkey

I stayed there in October, for one night only.

If you get a chance eat at the fish resturant on site.

Other tip is visit the Wine shop on site. Good selection of wines. No corkage is paid if used in any of the resturants.

Muerz

Reviews of almost all Hyatt properties "down under" are available at the Hyatt Review Website at http://www.hotelreview.de.vu

I stayed at the Coolum property some years ago and my complete review of it is available over there. Better go for the Sanctuary Cove if you only stay at one part of Queensland.

Muerz

------------------
Visit the Hyatt Review Website at http://www.hotelreview.de.vu

peter42

We prefer Sanctuary Cove over Coolumn too.

Jamester

Thunderroad,
I did a short review/comments on the Hyatt Coolum from my stay in October. You're more than welcome to review it, along with other review of the hotel at: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum60/HTML/001916.html

In my opinion, the Sanctuary Cove Hyatt was a lot quieter, but of course it all depends on the time of the year you're in OZ. Remember that January is summer time for them and a lot of kids are out of school. Be warned however, the Sanctuary Cove is not close to the Ground Zero of the Gold Coast (aka Surfers Paradise); we're talking a 40-45 minute bus ride from the Hyatt (they do have scheduled paid service) so you're far from action. It's good if you both are older and need tranquility but if you're a younger couple looking for some night life and great pubs, you might find it annoying. (especially since the last bus leaves Surfers Paradise for the Hyatt around 5:30pm and cab ride cost an arm and a leg.)

You may email me personally if you have specific questions since you're a fellow East Bayer. BTW I didn't encounter any stingers in the water. This was on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast beaches.

Hope this helps!
Jamester

gorilla

I stayed at Coolum this April for a few nights and have to say that I was less than impressed. It had a rather jaded ambience, it is quite a way to get to the beach, and that beach is only a short stretch if I recall correctly. If you are going to Queensland, why not consideer going all the way up to Cairns? The Sheraton (sorry, not a Hyatt...!) Marina Mirage in Port Douglas is absolutely stunning. It's located roughly 70 miles north of Cairns, and the road there is one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the world. And there is so much to explore: The reef, the rainforest, splendid long white beaches.

But if you prefer to stay around Brisbane, do stick to the Sunshine Coast (indeed possibly at Sanctuary Cove) and try to avoid the highrisy Gold Coast at all costs.

As regards Sydney: The Park Hyatt is one of the best hotels in the city.

Enjoy your trip!

AshleyF

Unless you HAVE to be here in Jan it is probably better to postpone the trip . It is holiday time her and Coolum will be crawling with families.
I think a previous poster said it best when they said it was 'tired'. Having said that it compares favourably with U.S Hyatts e.g the one in Honolulu .

tinkybelle

Well I certainly didnt know that.
Where did you find that out?
I do find that Coolum has absolutely no
useful information in the rooms.
I have noticed that quite a bit.

QF WP

Having just treated Mrs QF WP to a night away at the Hyatt Regency Coolum (Sun, 25 Jan as the following day was Australia Day - a public holiday), I thought I'd give my thoughts on the Resort.

I used to be a lifesaver at the nearby (2 miles) Coolum Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, but had never stayed at the Resort. I agree it looks jaded, but it has been there 15+ years and salt air doesn't help anything age gracefully.

The attached Golf Course is picturesque and has been the site for the Australian PGA Championships 2000-2003 (IIRC).

Yes, it is a 20 min walk to the Beach Club, but why walk when there is a free mini-bus shuttling between the Resort and Beach Club? From the Beach Club, the actual beach is a 200 metre walk. There is a lifeguard on Duty and definitely swim between the red and yellow flags.

I'd booked at the Hyatt web site the day before and snagged an AX346 code at $215, including Continental breakfast for 2, in a Studio Suite King Bed, non-smoking, low floor, late check-out. I would have booked the FFN if I expected to stay at another before Feb 29. I'm a very infrequent Gold Passport member, just the base level.

We checked in at midday and Glenn (Front Office Reception) advised me that our room wasn't ready, but as I'd put my mobile (cell) number on the Registration, he said he'd ring me when it was. That wasn't a problem, as we wanted to head to the beach anyway. Sure enough, we got a call while we were on the beach.

Our bags were stored at the Bell Desk until we came back from the beach - no problems. The staff attitude was excellent, nothing was too much trouble. They shuttle you to your rooms upon arrival and for departure, ring up and get them to pick you up. We arrived back to check into Room (Suite?) 125, just a standard room backing onto a lake and near where breakfast is served (Bruschetta's) for the suites in the area.

I concur with the post about the Wine Shop, because even though it was pricey, it was cheaper than a $15 corkage per bottle if you BYO. We bought a sparkling red for pre-dinner drinking and a Lindemans Merlot (IIRC) - total cost $49. Dinner cost us $51 - two main meals (huge Italian dishes that we couldn't finish, a Squid Ink Linguini with Scallops and can't remember off hand the other) and a dessert (passionfruit cake).

I did take whatever I was allowed from the Guest Folio in the room to be able to assist others - I have a 2003/04 Leisure Guide (titled "Make the most of your stay at Hyatt Regency Coolum") and the Holidays Activities Program that sets out all Restaurants & Bars, etc. I'd be happy to scan and put on my FT SnapFish site so everybody can view them.

Now that I've earned some Hyatt points - 1,000 for online booking bonus + stay points, even better - my account remains active.

There is plenty to do in the surrounding area (and suggested in the book). It is a little bit out of the way (2 miles from a thriving metropolis of Coolum, which was a sleepy pass through town 15 years ago when I first arrived to join the SLSC), but that's generally what a Resort is meant to be. Hey, it's closer to things than Sanctuary Cove is to things on the Gold Coast...but I agree that Sanctuary Cove is a better Resort.

[This message has been edited by QF WP (edited Jan 29, 2004).]

Sydfly

We just came back from our stay at the Coolum property around the middle of January. I basically haven't got much to add to the recent report.

We had a similar room overlooking the driving range on the top floor. In the beginning we didn't know whether this location would be good but I would actually request it again as there is no other building in front of you and you can watch the native wildlife from your balcony enjoying the clouds at sunset. Each night a group of kangaroos visited the driving range and as we had visitors from Europe with us they certainly enjoyed the sight.

The beach is actually a few kms long but as mentioned above it is quite rough. It is a patrolled beach for hotel guests which was great and there were only a few pepople at the beach at any time. The water temperature in January was 25.8C although they claimed it to be just 23C on the black board at the beach club. It's warm enough to go surfing, but the water is not calm enough to really enjoy a lazy swim. There were no stingers in the water in January, but that might depend on the currents and the weather as well.

We read all the reports about this property before we booked it and were ready to face the crowds with kids as our stay was during the school holidays. To our surprise the noise level was much less than we expected. If you stay away from the pool areas you hardly get to see any crowds and we almost felt as if the resort was half empty although during our stay the hotel was actually overbooked! I guess there is so much to do from golfing to sightseeing and beach surfing that there is no particular hot spot at the resort apart from the restaurants.

That being said, we avoided the hotel restaurants and headed to Noosa (you need a rental car to get there as the shuttle bus does not operate at night). There is plenty of nightlife and restaurants in Noosa and even Coolum has some nice places to eat and a few take-aways.

Even though we were there during high season our breakfast lounge was closed as previously reported. They told me that they probably won't reopen it as most people tend to go to Bruschettas for breakfast as it is just around the corner. You will get a continental breakfast which offers everything from cheese and cold cuts to croissants and muesli. You can upgrade that to a hot breakfast for $15 per person which I found quite steep for a resort.

The rooms are large and a bit dated although the bathrooms must have been recently renovated and looked quite nice. We spoted some big spiders in our room as well, but expected that in advance.

One last word about transportation. We flew into Brisbane and picked up a rental car to get to the Hyatt. The drive takes about 90 minutes and you should plan a stop to see the Glass House Mountains on the way up there. It's a nice drive to a lookout overlooking the pineapple plantations and, of course, the bizarre Glass House Mountains.

Smart Monkey

The very helpful person in the wine shop, I think his name was James. Had a good meal at the Fish resturant on-site.

Sorry about the delay, don't often look in on the Hyatt forum

pushback

The Park Hyatt in Melb is great. Two blocks from the start of "downtown", a block from the streetcars. Be sure to take one out to St. Kilda on the weekend to visit Luna Park (amusement park) and all the flea market. I brought back 20 Aborigine boomerangs for the kids in my daughter's class for about $100 USD. It's also walking distance from South Bank albeit a decent walk) where they have some excellent restaurants. You can see the Melb pics I took here:

http://www.ebzb.com/gallery/fred

(They even mention my pictures on the Williamstown web site. Williamstown is right across the bridge from Melb).

By the way, if you like calamari, many restaurants there make saut�ed calamari that is fantastic (instead of the fried stuff most restaurants in the states make) and they will give it to you as a heaping entree for about $5.