dabbagmm

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.

obscure2k

I visited Port Douglas a few years ago on a small cruise ship. It was a jumping-off point for the Quicksilver to the Barrier Reef. My recollection of Port Douglas, was that it was a sweet, small town; one not especially given to luxury hotels. Perhaps, some of us have to lower expectations when we go to small towns and redefine "luxury."I am not being critical. Just an observation that all destinations and Starwoods are not necessarily equal. I would not expect the same level of service or accommodations in Port Douglas, that I would expect in VCE.(for example)

gleff

I absolutely adore Port Douglas but haven't stayed at the Sheraton. Reports are of excellent Platinum recognition.

I highly recommend the Thala Beach Lodge (though I haven't been to the property in about 4 years and some recent reviews at tripadvisor mention rooms have gotten a bit tired).

l etoile

I loved Surya at Port Douglas. I did walk through the Sheraton and was not impressed.

http://www.suryaportdouglas.com.au/about.html

schriste

I stayed at the SMPD about 4 years ago and was also disappointed. It has some nice aspects, but reminded me too much of a nicely landscaped office complex. I checked out early and moved to the Thala Lodge. Like the previous poster I too enjoyed my stay there. It is not luxurious, but it had a good retreat feel about the place. Good food too (but that was 4 years ago).

dabbagmm

obscure2k: I totally agree with you but what impression would you get of a resort that has been voted by Luxury Travel magazine as the Best Resort in Australia?! The Sheraton Mirage was also included in Conde Nast gold list last year.

Here is just another follow up on this property.
I just checked out this morning and I was suprised to know that the comments I posted less than 24 hrs ago have reached the front desk!
Mr. Jackson Emblin, assistant front dest manager, told me that he read my comments on FlyerTalk and he was sorry about the experience I had. He acknowledged that problems do occure and he told me that the hotel WILL undergo renovation. He even offered to refund half of the Starwood points I used for my stay. Very welcome and nice touch, although I wasn't expecting that at all. That by itself confirmed my impression over this property: staff/managment (softwear) is very professional and extreemly polite but the building (hardwear) is falling apart.

To sum this all up: The hotel is not in its best shape but that shouldn't deter people from staying there. If you happened to be unfortunate and end up in bad room, make sure you bring it to the manager's attention and the matter will be resolved promptly. BUT DON'T COME HERE BASED ON WHAT MAGAZINES HAVE ADVERTISED.

To Mr. Emblin/Starwood: I would suggest that you bring down the Reward Category down to Cat 3 untill the resort is renovated. There are many alternatives in the area at better value. Starwood loyal guests shouldn't be getting lower value deal just because they chose to continue to be loyal to Starwood. Thank you.

gleff

How did they identify you from your post? The only person staying who had redeemed points with your specific checkout date??

number_6

I've noticed that several of the Starwood properties in Australia have excellent management -- Westin in Sydney, for example, but also the Melbourne Westin and the W. Far better than average and better than Starwoods in the rest of the world. Thus your experience with the hotel noting the problem proactively and offering a solution doesn't surprise me (just try that at any London hotel!). The proactivism shows considerable effort and earns these hotels proportionate loyalty on my part. Unfortunately it doesn't help with the hardware problem for those few hotels that are worn out and needing more than cosmetic refurbishment.

dabbagmm

I couldn't agree more with you. I've tried Westin Melbourne and now I'm staying at Westin Sydney. Both have outstanding managment and they treat Platinums very good. As with Starwoods in London... ahhh..they are at the bottom of my list when it comes to Platinum recognetion or even customers relations matters.
I would highly recommend the Westins in Australia... the only are of improvment I noticed is the concierge knowledge and experience. Overall I would give them 9.5/10!

Sydfly

I was given the information that both Mirage properties in Australia (Gold Coast and Port Douglas) will not remain with *wood and are being sold this year. *wood has already lost four properties last year in AU/NZ, so it's getting hard to remain loyal if they continue to sell all their properties.

I agree with you that the Sheraton Port Douglas is really not a luxury hotel. The rooms in the tropical decor simply look cheap to me. Stayed there once and never returned, and for 10k points it's definitely overpriced.

number_6

Interesting ... FYI the Westin Melbourne lost an excellent concierge (lured away to work at a hotel in Europe), and several others have left in the past 2 years. Maybe inevitable to have that kind of turnover, but the fact that you notice might convince their management of the importance of finding good replacements to staff this key position. Often it is the concierge that makes the difference between an excellent and a great hotel (and I don't mean their ability to recommend a restaurant for dinner).

chad75

They have already been sold and the new owners have renewed management contracts with Sheraton.

777 global mile hound

I couldn't agree more with your accessment I recently wrote a letter to the management of the Westin in Sydney thanking them for letting me be a guest in their property all these years.
They always create value for me as a guest and make me proud to earn and be a SPG Platinum member.
I would like to see this management team along with the Westin Grand Vancouver management team train other hotel managers about fostering strong lifetime relationships with customers.
Its the best form of advertising in the world.
And while I am at it let me give recognition to the fine hard working and helpful folks at the Sheraton on the Park who also always do a first class job.

The fact is that the Australian properties usually do amongst the most responsible job of any Starwood properties.
Bravo to the Down Under properties making Starwood proud.

ldsant

I'm heading off for a 4 day/3 night trip to Port Douglas and used points to book a "deluxe lagoon room". Reading these posts I'm wondering if anybody has visited this property lately and can provide an update? Also, do they have a spa?

Finally, many folks mentioned "smaller operators" for the snorkeling experience - any suggestions/names? Thanks!

Calcifer

I went a few years ago, so I'm not 100% sure, but I think we went with HABA. We made the decision based on who included wetsuits and optical snorkel masks as part of their package, rather than charging extra, and were very happy with the company. I spent most of the trip out to the Reef getting sick, and they were super nice to me--nothing like seeing a latex-gloved hand reaching out for your used bag and handing you a clean one when you've got your head between your knees! Fortunately, the medicine kicked in after that, and I was able to enjoy the snorkeling.