Hamilton Island Resort Whitsundays
Readers Reviews
The White Family
August 2006
Being able to fly in to Hamilton direct is a plus, and the transfer to the resort area on the other side of the island was easy and well handled, with bags delivered to our room. Be aware that if your flight gets in early you may have to hang around for a few hours before being able to get in the room. Make them aware you have arrived and they will try to speed things up. However you can just walk around or have a coffee and begin relaxing.
There is lots to do for all ages on Hamilton, walks etc, you can find on the website. The free watersports work well as advertised and are good, but there is in fact very little coral and fishlife to view snorkelling directly off Catseye Beach. The reef was ruined during Resort construction, and is only just now beginning to regenerate. If you are really keen to do lots of coral snorkelling go to another island. Otherwise it is enough.
Food was top-class. We had meal vouchers included but these are not accepted everywhere on the island, however this was not a drawback we found. Our favourites were Toucans for breakfast (you have to fight off the Cockatoos and Rosellas but that was fun) and the Manta Ray Cafe and Toucans for dinner. We did try the Steakhouse also and found that good. Popeye's and the H.I. Bakery on the marina side of the island are good for takeaway.
Everyone seems to get a golf cart there and for the prices they charge, we could not see doing that. We walked for the exercise after over-eating all the good food.
The weather was a bit cold and blustery but it was August and the resort people said it was a rare cold snap. Luck of the draw. The water can be quite cool at this time of year though so a shortie wetsuit or rashies are a wise inclusion.
The resort doesn't really rage after dark except at the disco bar by the marina, so I'd recommend Hamilton for older couples and families.
Leah Fox
April 2005
My husband and I travelled with our two children (5 and 7) to Hamilton Island last April. We flew from Mount Gambier to Melbourne, stayed the night in Melbourne Hilton and flew on Jetstar to Hamilton Island the next morning. We had originally had flights all on the same day but Jetstar changed their departing time to 9am instead of 10.30am in late February which meant we couldn't make that flight. After a few phone calls we had to change our flights from Mount Gambier to the day before and at a cost of $250 to us. So much for being organised! The Hilton at Melbourne airport is very lovely and very assessable but we had a bad nights sleep due to being in the same room as our kids. We are not used to that.
The flight was quick and we arrived in Hamilton Island to sunny skies and wind. The weather the rest of the week was not at its best but you cant predict the weather. It rained quite a bit but when the sun came out it was very warm. It was still warm enough for the girls and us to swim. We stayed in the One bedroom apartments which was ideal for us. At night the girls went to bed in our king sized bed and we just moved them into the lounge when we were ready to go to sleep. The room was clean, had great views and was serviced daily.
Hamilton island is quite large and everyone zips around the island on a buggy. They are very expensive to hire ($700 for the week) so we just hired it on 3 occasions for a lesser fee. (about $50 for 3 hours) The kids loved the buggies though and it did beat walking up the steep hill to the harbour.
We had breakfast included in our accommodation and it was a fantastic feast every morning. After stuffing ourselves the first morning we were quite retrained from then on. We made our own lunch in the apartment and went out for a meal at night. The kids ate for free (with paying adults) in certain places and we found this deal great.
We went on three day trips. The first one was to Whitehaven beach. This the best beach ever and a must to see. When we arrived the sun came out and it perfect! The whitest and softest sand you will ever see. The Fantasea crew are very professional and even take photos of you and your family to buy later. We got one photo of our girls on the beach which was lovely. Worth every bit of money this day trip.
The next trip was with Fantasea again to Reefworld. My husband was smart enough to take sea-sickness tablets and was fine on the way. I didn't think I got sea-sick, but I was wrong. I managed to not vomit but I was that close. The sea was very rough and there was a few people vomiting into paper bags. The crew were great and helped a lot. Solution - take those tablets before as its too late when you start feeling sick. I sucked on ice ( which helped) and stared at the horizon and when that disappeared I stared at clouds. My youngest was also a little bit queasy. When we arrived ( it was a long 90 min trip) Reefworld is like a pontoon and I still was a little bit queasy from the slight rocking. But it is a very organised place. Lots to see and do. My husband went snorkelling and I didn't want to but the crew persuaded me. Let me say that as soon as I got into the water I felt a million dollars. The seasickness totally disappeared. As a first timer it was relatively easy and the highlight of the whole trip. There was a submarine to go on if you didn't want to get wet and a great underwater viewing platform. Our family choose to take the helicopter trip back (very expensive but oh so worth it) at a cost of $900 to us. There was no way I was going back on the boat. The helicopter ride was fantastic. The helicopter was a flash 10- leather seated $5 million dollar one and we felt like zillionaires in it. We flew over the reefs and saw the famous heart-shaped reef, Whitehaven beach, and other islands.
The last day trip was to Daydream island. We organised this trip whilst we were there. This resort looked lovely but I think Hamilton island has more to do and more choices of restaurants. The resort pool looked great though!
Overall, our family had a lovely time and are currently planning a family holiday to Fiji.
Alex Hills
May 2004
My husband and I holidayed in May with our then
10month old daughter. We loved it !!. We stayed in a 2 bedroom self contained
apartment which was fantastic. It had a high chair, cot and buggy as well. The
pools were lovely and it was great being able to prepare our own breakfasts each
morning rather than having to go out if we didnšt want to. Great tip - The IGA
supermarket at proserpine will deliver a full grocery shop to the island for you
at nominal charge (and the groceries were sydney prices) . Just call them and
they will fax you a form, complete and fax back and they deliver perisable and
non perisable - so when we arrived on the island we had our weetbix, dips,
cheese and biscuits, salad, steaks and drinks etc already stacked in the fridge
and pantry which was so easy - and a lot more economical. (they also delivered
wipes and my huggies nappies - which saved heaps of room in the luggage !!!)
After a morning by the pool we would come back for a quick lunch and then but
our daughter to bed for her midday sleep. There is a great number of different
places to eat out on the island ranging from takeaway fish and chips or pizza to
fancy restaurants. We arranged a babysitter for 3 nights and after we put our
daughter to bed , she would arrive and we went out for the night - it was
fantastic !!. Having a apartment was great as the babysitter could watch tv or
read etc and didnšt wake up Lauren - as if you have a hotel room only they have
to sit there in the dark. The girls at the clownfish club were extremely
friendly and very professional we left Lauren twice and she really didnšt seem
to mind. Once while we went for a lovely lunch and once for a bushwalk.. Overall
it was very relaxing, having some time to ourselves made us happy and relaxed
and Lauren also had a ball. We would highly recommend the island to all
families. Also having a direct flight from Sydney with only 1/2 check in time
and no customs etc was very easy with a young baby !!
The Mackintosh family
January 2003
My family have just returned from a 7 night holiday to
Hamilton Island. We stayed at the 4 star Reef View Hotel (the only hotel on the
island). It was great, huge rooms with 2 queen size beds. There were 4 of us,
our children are 2 and 5 and they had a great time spending their days either in
one of the pools or in the kids club.
Hamilton Island is a great spot to stay as there is plenty to
see and do and it has 10 restaurants, numerous bars, one supermarket and even a
fauna park. The island is great to get around on either by foot, or the local
mode of transport is golf buggy, which are pretty cheap to hire and easy to
drive. There is even a free shuttle bus which stops off at various
spots on the island.
There is plenty of choice of the type of food in the
restaurants, ranging from bbq's to full on 5 star banquets. The kids stay, eat
and play for free, which is great as neither of my kids are big eaters, so if
they wanted to try something new but didn't eat it, then it didn't really
matter.
The kids club was great, there is the creche for 0 - 4 years,
and the clown fish club for 4 - 12yrs. My kids had a ball, and all the staff are
fully qualified and will even babysit your child in the hotel room or in the
self contained apartments.
We had a great time, although it wasn't as cheap as we had
hoped. We went peak season 28th dec 2002 - 4th jan 2003 and the accommodation
alone cost us $5,000. If you want a great get away from it all holiday, where the
kids are entertained, then Hamilton Island is for you. I would definately go
back and so would the kids.
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