qualia

We like staying in nice places, and every time I go looking Qualia pops up. It's very hard to find a vacancy during holiday season, so in the end we decided we'd just pop up for a few days and see what's what. First the good - the rooms are exceptional. The service is exceptional. They have plenty of Michelin trained staff coming through for 90 days because it counts as a remote area and there's some sort of visa benefit by being there. Although these people pass through quickly, they are of such high quality that the service is very slick indeed. Also good - flying straight into Hamilton Island makes Qualia very very accessible. 2hrs from Sydney and you're there. Yay ! So, what's not to like? Well, Hamilton Island. We've been there four times, most recently about 20 years ago. Hamo has the vibe of a Westfield shopping centre crossed with a budget theme park. It's all just a bit tacky. Once you're back through the gates at Qualia things improve of course, but there's just not that much to do at Qualia so we ended up being out and about quite a lot. The other thing to note about Qualia is that not much is included other than breakfast. It's at a similar price point to Lizard Island, but at Lizard you get all meals *and* all drinks. Qualia you'll be constantly putting your hand in your pocket and paying top dollar. I don't object to paying money for things -- if I wanted to save money I'd stay home, but I feel Qualia is mispriced for the lack of inclusions and the, frankly, frothing bogans just outside the gates. So, that said, the positives are still positive and it's hard to think of many other properties of that quality which are so accessible from Sydney or Melbourne.

Great room size Not modern but still good Soft drinks included but $16 a beer from room fridge At the nightly rate is this necessary?? Also wine $100 a bottle robert oatley finnestre chard From room $50 at marina bottle shop Come on Beach is unreal Hardly anyone here Pool is beautiful, but really too warm Not sure what they can do about this, but I’m just saying it would be nice to be a bit refreshing Almost impossible to get down into the sea because of all the stones and no sand You basically need shoes to go on the beach Gym is good Breakfast was included and was nice They used to have a buffet where you could take some fresh fruits They no longer do that but just put some pre-prepared fruit on the table

This resort exceeded all our expectations. Seamless guest experience from the time we arrived at the airport until the day we left. The staff were professional, friendly and attentive. The villa was stunning, and the two restaurants offered an outstanding culinary experience with sensational views. Thank you, Qualia we will be back!

Sadly all is not what it seems at this resort. It's certainly not the Four Seasons. The resort is suffering from a very high turnover of staff. Students come to the resort for their 3 month visa extension and leave the island to go back to Sydney which is part of the Government program. Because of this, the service is very inconsistent with a continuous churn of newly trained staff with very little, if any customer service experience. Sadly this transmits down to the guests staying at the resort. To summaries our experience during our stay, great location, great property, very clean, helpful front desk, rooms are very comfortable with great views, very poor service from the food and beverage teams.

Went to the Long Pavilion for dinner. Can you believe that after being offered water at the beginning of the night with no charge mentioned, we then got a charge of $65.00 for 10 people. While the food was ok, the fact that they charged ridiculous tainted the meal. Cost was Outrageous