bhrubin

@MacMyDay thanks for that summary review...and for taking the bullet for us. Restaurant closing at 8:30 pm? 6 stars? Next you'll tell me their air con only cools to 72 F.

Pausanias

When I saw Macmyday's antipodean itinerary I was rather curious as to why he was going to Qualia. A couple of years ago I was on a cruise through Melanesia which disembarked at Cairns and because I always fancied seeing the Whitsunday Islands I trawled around for a possible hotel, alighting quite quickly on Qualia. As soon as I Google Earthed it I realised it was not somewhere worth going to - all those holiday apartments, grotty beaches and so on. And then I checked the website, learning that Qualia is Latin for 'a collection of deeper sensory experiences.' Count me out cobbers!

Looking forward to news about Safire Freycinet on Tazzy.

MacMyDay

Couldn't say how low it went, although it was annoyingly loud. Just as you think you've turned it into background noise, it stops and starts up again minutes later with the subtly of a drum intro.

I found out that Qualia used to be 30 rooms but they doubled it to 60 years back. That would definitely explain the overcrowding. Apparently occupancy is 90% anytime of the year, so they can get away with it.

Londonjetsetter

This makes sense. When I stayed years ago it was not at all crowded at peak season after Christmas. Overall we liked it, but found it lacked some polish.

Exec_Plat

OT, but one of my 'must haves' in a hotel is an AC unit that can run 'fan on' at 100% of the time. I will hack the thermostat, or one the unit and jumper it if needed!

When we stayed on Lizard we just had the doors open, nice breeze. (Being from hot California, we turn our AC down to 76 in the summer. and bhrubin, I know blows your mind.. )

I am surprised I never updated this thread with our Lizard experience....I'll need to see where I put that. Its been almost two years, crazy.

EfficientTraveller

We adored Lizard Island - it is a very unique experience. The island itself is beautiful but the best feature is the small powerboats included in the package which allow you to visit a number of private beaches all by yourself. The hotel will pack you a gorgeous picnic, load up your boat with deckchairs and an umbrella and you can head off to explore. For those who are a little less adventurous (or who don't fancy anchoring their boat and setting up their own chairs), the staff will take you to a beach, set everything up and return to pick you up at an appointed time. We are very "outdoorsy" but also love our luxury and the island was perfect for us - amazing outdoor activities (the hike to Cook's Look is spectacular as are the hikes and beaches on the lagoon side of the island) combined with very comfortable rooms and superb food. However, this isn't Maldives style luxury - there is no beach service and you are expected to bring the swim towel from your room with you to the beach so if this makes or breaks your holiday, this probably isn't the place for you. The food (and drink) is all included and was great quality - we found the portions very small (a feature we've seen in a lot of Australian luxury lodges) but they were happy to bring an extra main to share, extra potatoes etc so it wasn't an issue once we had realised that we needed to order more. We were there in October 2016 and the snorkelling / diving was good but there was considerable evidence of damage from the various cyclones that have hit the island. Unfortunatley, I understand the bleaching has got a lot worse over the last couple of summers. We went from Lizard Island down to Lord Howe (Capella Lodge) which has to be one of the most spectacular places to stay, I have ever been with wonderful (if chilly) snorkelling and diving.

Exec_Plat

Welp, I realized that I had written something up and never posted it. What a loser. So this is dated, now to years old. But I think it might be useful....

Here:


We were there at the end of March 2016.

This is now one year post the second cyclone.... Not having been there before, it is hard to see the cyclone damage- except in a few ways that will turn up later in this review.

Wow. What can I say? Lizard lived up to its hype. So a few editorial comments…. It is crazy expensive. You start running the numbers and it just gets silly. If you ask “is it worth it?’ it becomes an impossible question. But…then you stay, and you decide ‘yes, it is worth it.’ We booked 5 nights, it was the end of their low season. Weather turned out to be spectacular. A couple of thoughts on the overall layout of the property…. There are basically two room areas- the main beach, ‘Anchor Bay’ with multiple Anchor Bay Suites plus the main lodge, and then a hill area that overlooks the Sunset Bay Beach, where they have the Sunset Bay Villas (with and without plunge pools), and then the Pavilion and The Villa. While the Anchor Bay rooms are larger, and are right on the beach, they are RIGHT on the beach with some potential privacy issues. Everyone walks the main beach, all the boats and dinghies dock there, if you sit out on the deck, you are going to be looking at people walking the beach at about eye level from not too far away; you will also be watching the boats load and unload. Not a lot, but activity. If you sit inside, behind the glass doors, there is better privacy, but you are still watching an active beach and anchoring area. There are two large boats anchored here, unless they are fishing or diving, and a few dinghies. I was very glad we did not stay in these. I will, however, admit we did not sit IN one of these rooms, so this opinion is only based on our observations from the beach. The Sunset Villas are a real challenge to evaluate. Some are quite private- high up on the hill, the very best is #16, NON plunge pool) and #15 (with plunge pool). Private, limited issues with neighbors (in terms of privacy 16 is better than 15, but the plunge pool is a must have for me. (Note on plunge pool: Even with the ocean nearby, it is fantastic. We’d go snorkeling, take a dingy out, or just walk down to Sunset beach or Pebble beach and snorkel from there- but then come back to the plunge pool, drop in and rinse off all the salt. Towel off, grab a drink, and plop down on the deck. We never even went to the hotel pool….in fact it was the morning of our departure that I said “I need to go to the pool and snap a few pictures.” Some of the Sunset villas were NOT very private- uphill units had views into the neighboring down-hill unit. Specifically, #12 and #14, both of which are plunge pools, had this issue. I believe this is the most dramatic reminder of the cyclone damage- fairly mature trees and bushes between someone tightly spaced sunset villas were removed by the winds- and while they have replanted, you simply cannot create 15-20 foot ‘walls’ of plants in a year. They have installed some integrated privacy screens, but these were severely lacking if you were in unit 12 or 14.
We had the opportunity to stay a few days in The Villa. What an amazing experience… It has a private beach called Pebble beach that connects via a private stairway off the deck down to the beach. (Anyone could theoretically walk to it or boat to it, but there is no map.) The Villa has a kitchen area, outside dining/deck, two full bedrooms (ensuite), one with a tub (we couldn’t bring ourselves to waste the water) and a massive 10x25 ft pool (with infinity edge, heated and cooled). All this perched at the top of their property with incredible views off back decks: beach, trees, water. Nobody around, very very private.

As you look around the villa at all the windows, you recognize there are privacy screens located off the building in the gardens for all windows on the remaining 3 sides so that you are assured of privacy even with your windows open- your view will be 8 to 20 feet of landscaped plants before the fence. Think movie star privacy: they will even provide meals and chefs in the unit (for a fee) if you cannot mix with the ‘gen pop’ (who are spending only $2k a day). On checking into the Villa just after lunch there was a chilled bottle of sparkling and fruit delivered. Then, at 6PM another bottle with hot canapes delivered. And repeat the next evening. Sitting on a private deck; watching you own private sunset over the GBR, guzzling sparkling before rolling down the hill to a sublime dinner. Life was pretty sweet. What else? In both rooms, there were fully stocked refrigerators- want something different stocked, or more of one and less of another? Just ask. Sweets and savory snacks as well. The Villa added a wine cooler, stocked with a few bottles- with separate white and red sections with their own adjustable temperatures. So, let’s see: swim with giant turtles? Check. Sharks? Check. Giant claims? Check. Moray eels? Check. Corals and reef life that never ends? Check. Take a boat out with a 5 star picnic, cold drinks, champagne, soft drinks, etc, etc. Spend 4 hours exploring 3 snorkel beaches? Check. Dive the outer reef, swim (and pet) a Potato Cod and have an 8 foot reef shark swim under you? Check. Glass bottom Kayak? Check. Paddle Board? Check. Hike to Watsons Bay? Check. Hike to Blue Lagoon? Check. Hike to Cooks Lookout? Big Check. (This latter was a 5+ level hike, due to temperatures and steepness of the hike. The first 1/3 is very, very challenging- in speaking with staff the universal response is that everyone has a bit of a ‘gut check’ at that point when the universal thought is, ‘wow, is this going to continue like this??’ it does not, but it also doesn’t get super easy- Id grade it at 5 from there on. Also we left well before dawn, when temps were still in the 70s (F). The trip down in full sun was a bath.) What other activities did we miss? We did NOT go on the Research Station tour- the idea of listening to tourists oh and ah about science was not appealing, plus it seemed like there was a charge associated with this. We didn’t do any sailing, and did not charter a boat to do any fishing. We did not go to the Marlin Bar, at the far opposite end of the beach- seemed like a lively evening spot, but not our thing. Drinks at dinner, drinks on our deck at night; a bottle of red wine and laying on a bean bag chairs on the deck looking at the night stars was pretty good. Then roll into the plunge pool. Yeah. One note- there are some less swanky digs there, called garden a rooms. These are smaller, but have a nice view. Less privacy and isolation. They are just above and behind the main beach, near the marina where all the boats/snorkel/gear is dispensed. There are two buildings, one with 4 units and one with two. The ‘two unit’ building houses the “Beach View Suites’ which have two rooms, one living and one bedroom. The fourplex has the “Beach View Rooms”, the most economical lodging they have, with 4 of them in one building. All have OK views which will sight over the marine activities building and then across the main beach. I cannot say what the noise isolation between units is like. You can see the $$$ savings though.

Some detailed notes on room choices.

Both the Sunset Villas and the Anchor Bay Suites are duplexes- each have a shared wall with a neighbor. We did not hear our neighbor much, there was total visual isolation in this regard between the units in the duplex. The way they are set up you are enticed to view ‘away’ from the adjoining unit. (We did however have issues with neighboring units as mentioned above between 13 and 12; and 15 and 14.) There are 4 Anchor bay units that are smack dab in the middle of the resort- the main restaurant on one side; a beach and grass path in front; a driveway to the main activities area on the other side. Units 23-26. If you have limited mobility, these might be OK. Then you have Anchor Bay suites 27-40. All basically the same, more separation to the main lodge. 39&40 are well away, but be warned that the Marlin Bar can purportedly get a bit noisy if you are in these. Now to the other end- Sunset Bay Beach. The Pavillion is at the tip of the point between Sunset and Anchor bay. It is very nice, private, etc. It is also $3800 a night. Oddly, if I did this again, I would book this. It is “only’ 1500 more per night than the SSPP, and is a guaranteed total privacy/luxury/view… I know, crazy how your values change… The food. It is hard to speak to food without sounding blowhardy, or rattling off a list of your dining credentials. I’d like to think I have a refined palate when it comes to food. The food at Lizard is truly 5 star, whatever that means. The execution was perfect for every meal. Once or twice a taste was just ordinary, but virtually every bite and taste was perfectly executed, thoughtful, unique and engaging. Sure, it does not have the deep and complex ‘multi-day’ preparations of a Fat Duck or Nobu, but they have a really amazing Executive Chef in Mark Jensen and his very capable staff who execute his visions and directions. There were dishes and meals that we will still remember- yet I cannot recall what we ate at Sepia the week before. The wines offered as inclusive were well chosen, and very nice. We are, however, not wine snobs. I don’t need champagne, sparkling wine is perfectly OK. If you want to go deeper, these will cost you. But again the matching they had were very well done and quite respectable. And they had other choices on the ‘included’ list if you didn’t like their suggestions. (I will add that if you have dietary restrictions, they will customize a menu just for you- gluten free? Vegetarian? One night they mistakenly gave us two different menus, as my wife and I were discussing choices, and only after a few moments of confusion we realized they were different. The waiter apologized, I had been given the vegan menu meant for another guest. I had a glimpse at the level of detail they will go to accommodate, which was impressive.) I found their mixed drink policy to be mildly annoying. All ‘not included’. Their cost for a beer or a glass of wine is about the same as a simple mixed drink, they should rethink this policy for an ‘all inclusive’ resort. (They used to have this as I understand it, but changed it.) My recollection is mixed drinks are AUD16-20 per. I found the architecture and the building execution at both the Villa, the Lodge and the Sunset Villas to be remarkable- very well planned and exceedingly well executed. The textures of the finishes; the color palette; even down to the dimension and layout of tiles in the bathroom; of glass panels on the deck- so that supports and visual obstructions would occur in terms of design and view. Quite remarkable. As the famous architect Mies van der Rohe famously said, “God is in the details”. The work here was done by a very talented team, with their attention to detail and their efforts apparent at all stages of the project. Id also be remiss to not acknowledge the fine work and deft management by the General Manager, Joe. His attention to the finer details of a guest experience more than compensated for DNCs tone deafness. I recall him stopping by our table on day 3, just after lunch. My wife and I were in full ‘lizard mode’ as he arrived with a question on his tongue, but then caught our far off gazes, and he broke into a wide grin. My wife and I refocused and all started laughing…. “I was going to ask how you were doing, but I can see its all good”. Yes it was.


Footnote: As you may know, this property is managed/owned by Delaware North Corporation- a rather repugnant US company with questionable business practices that manifest themselves in surprising ways. They are the folks that trademarked the names of concessions in US parks, then sought to extort $$ from the US taxpayers to use them- forcing us to now use different names for iconic US park locations. Nice. They have shuffled staff and management of Lizard around, over the course of the year I had been working on bookings. Now calls in Australia go to a US operator. They have a centralized phone bank so that the same staff that books $200 properties handles $2000 properties- and their 'expertise' is limited to a website they look up stuff on. If you have detailed questions it is next to impossible to reach the property- I had to try 5 'cycles' of calls and emails to get the pre-stay help I needed - including dealing with some snotty people along the way. And in one very important way this failed. (Attempting to pre-blocking a more private room.) So DNC sucks. Even if they hadn’t stolen the Yosemite names. I do hear a rumor that now- after two massive insurance claims to refurb the island- that they may sell Lizard. Let’s hope the Baillies buy it.

newfrequent

I stayed at Quaila in early march in Pavilion with a private pool, I was quite worried going in after seeing MacMyDays review. However it really wasn't that bad, the room had a beautiful view, the pool was fine and well kept, the service wasn't too pompous.

The real issue is the rest of the island outside of Qualia, its sort of like a Butlins resort and is really quite depressing (they still have a DVD store and it has nothing in HD or 4K). The food across the whole island isn't great, but it is significantly worse once you leave Qualia the pizza at the harbour was genuinely inedible.

Pausanias

Seems that Howard Hughes wrote this review. Did you blindfold the fish?

Exec_Plat

lol

guilty.

(Had the fish sign extensive NDAs)

However in 2338 words, having 16 'privates' doesnt seen that excessive, eh? Its under 1%