Sarah F.
Yelp
First, let me say that this hotel is beautiful and does have amazing views, spacious rooms and a very kind accommodating manager.
Those are the reasons why I did not rate this hotel any lower than what I've given it. My family and I stayed at Waters Edge for 10 days. During that time, we experienced several issues, some of which in the end, we decided to just live with.
The first night- the room smelled of cigarette smoke and located at the edge of the resort so bombarded with street noise making it intolerable for a decent nights' rest (we have a 2-year-old who was kept awake from the street noise and due to medical issues had trouble breathing with the residual smoke). The next morning, we asked to be relocated and the manager kindly accepted our request.
The following night the AC unit in our master bedroom beeped in 30 second to minute long intervals. No amount of turning it on and off or playing with the remote for two hours or researching the manual online made a difference. There were also about a hundred or so ants emitting from the unit, swarming over the ceiling into the closet and ending in the shower. We decided to spend the night in the second room with our son. Unfortunately, any parent can tell you that even despite your efforts to be silent, your child WILL wake and NEVER go back to sleep. Guess what happened. Due to the lack of sleep and irritability that following morning we decided to forgo our original planned tour outing. My husband went again downstairs and requested either the AC unit be fixed, or we could find another room. The manager was again, extremely accommodating and let us view several rooms prior to another change. We viewed three rooms and including the two we had previously stayed in, ALL five had ants.
This is a tropical area, so bugs and insects are to be expected. The level at which the ants have taken residence is very concerning. The solution to this issue is the staff will spay with a standard bug spray from over the counter, ventilate the room and vacuum. This does not solve the problem as the ants are back after 6-8 hours of spraying and ventilating.
We decided based on the room size to stick with our second room as the AC unit had been fixed. One of the staff members left a spay can in the closet so instead of calling them every 6 hours, both my husband and I sprayed and cleaned up every 6 hours. Not what I want to be doing on my vacation. On day three we were finally able to book a cruise to the Whitsunday Islands and try to begin our vacation. It was a lovely cruise and did help in setting the tone for the rest of our stay.
A few more side notes to consider before booking your stay here:
1) The breakfast is simple: toast, cereal, yogurt and fruit. They offer specialized coffee i.e cappuccino but for the same or higher price than if you were to go to a coffee shop.
2) You are expected to pay for a cleaning service and towels.
3) The internet could not be trusted, and we were out of communication primarily for the remainder of our stay in QLD. Though I don't generally mind being "unplugged" and some even prefer it; I would appreciate the option in case of issues or necessity.
Now, if you only plan on staying a day or two or it's just you and a friend this may just be amazing for you. It is surrounded by nightlife and does have a "singles" or 20 somethings vibe to it. The manager does also provide excellent recommendations for restaurants and shopping.
This all to be said, both my husband and I are very disappointed in what we felt was false advertising. This is NOT a 3 or 4 star resort. Having to pay for amenities, bug infested rooms, minimal internet and minimal breakfast with high coffee prices was unexpected and very disappointing. When we checked out the manager was very gracious about our check and I believe did the best within his reach of the policies per this establishment. The policies and level of cleanliness of this hotel do not make this a 3 or 4 star resort. Had we known, we wouldn't have booked it.