Question re Peppers Bale Resort in Port Douglas QLD
 

Hello. I'm going to be down in Oz for two weeks of business and have a weekend to relax.

In the past, I've gone to the Peppers resort, Bale section, in Kingscliff. I quite like this property, at least the Bale section of it.

This time of year it's getting a little too cold there for me. I was looking at going to up the Peppers Bale Resort up in Port Douglas.

Does anyone have any feedback or experience on this property in Port Douglas?

It looks like it's not right on the beach, but is a 500 meter walk. (that's fine for me) They also claim to have asian-styled rooms. The photos look very nice on the web...but since it is fairly new, the resort is just open land on google earth, so it's tough to tell exactly all the details.

Any help/thoughts very welcome!

(by way of background, I'm looking for a high-end couple of day break in warm weather, on/near the beach)

I had dinner at their Italian restaurant two or three times last February while staying at one of Sea Temple's PD Beach Villas. Stylewise Balé is the best to my liking, very modern Balinese style. The resort seemed deserted when I went for dinner there (very low season), few restaurant guests and nobody visible on the rest of the property. But as access to the villas is gated little of the public places can be visited by non-resident guests. Property is not on or very near to the beach unlike Sea Temple. The walk should be doable but takes you over the main road and through some (tropical) residential area. Alternative is to take the car to get close to the beach in an instant.

Judging by its architecture, atmosphere (very boutique, calm) and interior design, I consider The Balé PD the most luxurious and stylish resort property in or near Port Douglas and would be my next choice on a future trip to the area.

A worthwhile visit
 

I was very pleased with my visit to this property.

I arrived into CNS and was picked up by a driver sent by the hotel. It took a little less than one hour to make it up to the property.

The front desk isn't open 24 hours, but I called in advance (when arranging transportation), and they stayed open for me.

The 'rooms' are a little bit of a walk from the central building (reception, restaurant/bar, pool, small spa).

The rooms were very nice; and very akin to what you'd expect in southeast Asia. They are made up of two or three stand alone buildings, all connected by a covered walkways. The living/dining room has glass walls, and can be completed opened on three sides. The master suite is a stand alone building, and has a very nice bath suite, consistent with many high end properties in Australia. My room had a third building, which contained two additional bedrooms. These were locked and unused, as I had just reserved the main bedroom.

I stayed in room #5, which faced the 'rainforest.' The outside area was completely private. The rainforest wasn't so thick as to completely hide the traffic noise from the road on the other side, but it was very pleasant and completely private. The private pool was a very comfortable temperature.

Many of the rooms face a central garden, and are, as such, the outdoor portions of the room are not private. If you want a private exterior, make sure to request a rainforest room.

The central garden is quite large, 250-300metres long and about 100 metres wide. For golfers, it was quite nice, in that it had a legitimate par-3 golf hole in the middle. I don't recall the exact distance, but it had several tees ranging from 120 to [180] metres in length. It's only one hole, but it was a nice way to get a little golf in, or a little practice before a round.

I played golf several times at Sea Temple, which was a 10 minute walk up the street. I took a taxi one way one time at the hotel's urging, but, it seemed easier just to walk between the properties, which is what I did all other times. This was a nice enough course, tropical conditions, and in good shape. There were several crocodiles on the course - beware. I took free relief if my ball was close to the water. They have a reduced rate if you play multiple days.

The restaurant at Bale, Sassi, was very good; I ate there for breakfast (included in room rate) and dinner. The dinner menu had an Italian theme.

I'd never been to this part of Australia before. Much of the topography was consistent with parts of southeast Asia, and certainly, this hotel was clearly designed with that region in mind. While Australian service is a notch below high-end Asian service, the staff at this hotel went out of their way to build a personal relationship with me (and all guests) and provided a level of service that I don't typically find in Australia.

I would definitely return again.

Nice report there NYBanker, thanks for the feedback.

I'm always very interested to hear in non .au citizens experiences within .au - cheers for sharing your thoughts. ^

NYBanker, good to hear that you enjoyed your stay. Thanks for reporting back !

This is regrettable - the property appears to have been closed. Not sure if it has opened under a different flag. It seemed many of the units were individually owned...not sure how this all plays out.



Port Douglas Resorts Pty Ltd, owner of the management letting rights at Bale Resort in Port Douglas, have advised they are closing the property effective immediately (March 9, 2011).

Mantra Group, who owns the Bale trademark, has no financial interest or control within Port Douglas Resorts Pty Ltd. All staff are employed by Port Douglas Resorts Pty Ltd. The decision regarding the future of the property will be made by the property’s Body Corporate.
Mantra Group’s Director of Operations Mark Hodge said his team is currently relocating guests to other properties within the portfolio.
“We are contacting all guests with forward bookings and presenting a number of options to them about their preferred options for their holiday plans.”

Not sure if any of the villas have reopened, but basically it was a victim of a boom property market and high maintenance costs.
Villas were sold on the premise of being rented out for $1000 a night. Now that was never going to happen. At the end they were renting for $200 a night, which apparently did not cover costs. Port Douglas has been doing it tough, with far fewer tourists and considerable declines in property values.

That's unfortunate I had a great stay there a few years back. The unit owners must be in deep trouble.

Do you think even the 'owners' don't have access to their units at this point?

This place wasn't inexpensive...but it was really comfortable. I liked my brief stay there quite a bit.

Just got the news. Very sad as I considered it to be the best resort accommodation in the area.

Former Peppers Balé Port Douglas now Niramaya Villas & Spa
 

Great news, the Peppers Balé has been back on the market for quite a while now it seems. It's now run under new management and name of Niramaya Villas & Spa (no on-site restaurant anymore): http://www.niramaya.com.au/Default.aspx

Seems that some of the villas are being marketed under different names through other rental agencies as well.

I am thinking about going there in Oct./Nov.

Great to read this news. I just looked at the website that you posted. The property looks largely unchanged - except as to price - which seems to be down by more than half since I visited.

While I don't know the local market super well, for the quality of the facilities that I recall, this seems like a value.

I do note they have a three night minimum.

Let us know how your stay goes!