Thala Beach Nature Reserve

This is an interesting resort. Definitely up market, and tucked away in what I learned on a 6.30am guided nature walk was a woodland, although it seemed like rainforest. The natural setting is lovely and the owners and a dedicated gardening staff have worked hard to wild and maintain the environment. Wallabies, butterlies and birds all around. I found our stay a little long, at a week, as the resort is quite isolated (AUD64 return trip to Port Douglas). And as others have commented, the pool, which is a beautiful set of interconnecting smaller pools, has nowhere to sit in the sun and it was stinger season so no swimming (which I think crocodiles make impossible year-round anyway). We had breakfast included. The food was very pricey (although it not out of line at all with Australian restaurants in general). The menu is set and at the end of the week I would have liked some variety, however the food itself was absolutely excellent. I recommend you fall out of bed for a 6.30am nature walk, and any other activities they have. We were here at a hot and humid time, and as noted above, a week was a little long and I in future i would stay 4 nights and then a couple more in Port Douglas itself. Their insect non-deet alternative is excellent, by the way. And no bugs in the (wonderfully air conditioned) units which was quite the feat! I didn't mind the every-second-day service (they didn't top up the bar which I would have liked), as I find it wasteful.

Stopped at this beautiful location for lunch. The view over and through the tree canopy to the ocean is spectacular! Bird viewing was amazing. We were a little early for lunch, yet the staff graciously seated us at an outside table in the open air space. Our lunch was beautifully served and contained the freshest of ingredients and flavors! I highly recommend stopping for a meal!

Quite weird that the sandpiper suite is over $5000 for 3 nights and does not include breakfast. Their reasoning is they serve a la carte breakfast. Please!!!!! Why would you not average out the cost of person having a la care and set that into the price. It put my clients off and have decided to spend their money elsewhere. It’s something the company needs to think about.

If you like to be in a remote and foresty area this is for you. They are all individual cabins and well separated so you get the woody feeling. During the night you can hear the birds everywhere. They have a nice pool with lovely waterfall. (the pool is not heated so be aware). A few hiking trails. The restaurant is beautiful and all the food is delicious. It is open to the sea so great views. Nice wine list as well. But be aware you are in the middle of nowhere so you can't walk to a corner store or other restaurants. If you have a car they would be about a 20-min drive. You are stuck with the hotel food, which luckily is great.

Couldn’t give five starts because no internet in rooms and fairly poor even at the lodge- this is important to almost everyone now, get it fixed!

Wow what a beautiful place. We stayed here for our last 3 nights of a 5 week holiday in Australia and what a lovely surprise it was. The resort is built on a hill overlooking the sea and they have really made the most of the spectacular views from the restaurant. At breakfast you can sit and watch the birds in the trees from your table whilst enjoying excellent food. There are pools to swim and relax in and a private beach with hammocks and loungers to relax in. We had a jungle bungalow which was perfect and all of these are detached and raised from the forest floor. The staff were all really friendly and they collect you with your luggage from the car park to take you to your chosen holiday home. 3 days was not enough and we wished we could have stayed longer but we shall have to return. One thing to be aware of for the less able bodied is that there are a lot of steps to climb up to the main reception and eating/bar area as the location is a hill. But you can request a golf buggy to collect and return you to your room. All in all a perfect and idyllic spot.