InterContinental Hayman Island Resort

The resort as a whole is very beautiful. An island that is green and has ideal conditions to be a perfect vacation destination, for a couple or a family. Years ago this hotel was one and only. Obviously, back then a lot of money was invested to make it luxurious, and since then maybe nothing has been touched.. The beach villas inside still look luxurious, but they have many problems because obviously time has passed and they are worn out. They look slightly faded. The cleaning teams are some young people who have absolutely no idea how to clean. They come for about 10 minutes, make the bed, and that is the cleaning of the house. When you call them and tell them there is a problem with the cleaning, they come and clean for 3 hours, but after they leave there are again things that are not cleaned. Simply because it has not been cleaned at all. And there is no way to clean properly in 3 or 4 hours something that hasn’t been cleaned for, let’s say, 5 years. When you lift the mattresses, underneath there is trash, dust everywhere, in the wardrobe on the top shelves is full with dust. There are also other problems in the resort, for example when you call the operator they do not answer the phone immediately . You have to hold the line for 3, 4, 5 minutes so that someone finally answers. What I read in the reviews, that the food takes a long time, I personally did not notice. We did not wait long for food, it came at a normal speed. breakfast is wonderful. There is a lot of choice,it is amazing .However, in the restaurants I cannot say there is a big choice. For example, there are no salads at all, no soups to eat, not enough vegetarian dishes. So regarding food, room, service, the menu is also very limited. I cannot say there is something that is inedible, but the choice is very poor. Another thing that impressed me is that the staff on the entire island are only some young people, which is extremely strange to me. In other resorts we have traveled to, everywhere Asians clean or do massages. Here everyone looks Australian. They are some kids around 20 years old with no experience in my opinion . For example, one guy who looked like a DJ was a cleaner, which is very strange. And that is probably why the cleaning is the way it is, because they have hired random people. Probably The HR of the resort is some party guy who wants to have only young people. But in my opinion they need to bring 10–15 Asians who will take care of the green areas, mow them, clean them, clean the houses properly. The supervisors should know what they are doing. Our supervisor was very polite, but she cleaned our house herself after we complained. However, the entire bathroom after that was full of hair from her own head, which makes me think that the level of cleanliness here is like this because the people who control it are average at all. The resort could be a wonderful place if there was someone who managed it properly and monitored all these things. What else was not okay? We saw a cockroach in our room, which was very depressing, and it was very big. Also, the island is full of birds and parrots, and everywhere there is their poop. The beach is not cleaned at all. Everything is left abandoned. It is January now, it is raining, the weather is terrible, there is no sun at all. The sunbeds and mattresses are not covered anywhere. We have a mattress by the pool that is not covered at all, and the rain pours on it all day and all night. I don’t even know if this mattress will be usable afterwards, because it is completely soaked with water. Nobody comes to cover it. . Another thing I didn’t like was the spa center. The massage therapists are again some young girls who do not look like massage therapists at all. One of them looked more like a model. The massages first 3 days was perfect,very good and relaxing.last two days not so good , but all spa rooms have extremely strong air conditioning. You enter and it feels like a fridge. You lie on the bed, they give you a massage, and the air conditioner blows directly onto your back and head, and you are freezing. At the same time, you are getting a massage. When you ask them to turn off the air conditioning, they tell you it is impossible because there is no option to turn it off from the control panel. That was very uncomfortable. There are also some other very irritating things. For example, in the beach villa the windows and doors are not properly sealed, and you constantly hear horrible noises. It’s super stressful — when the wind blows outside, you can hear the palm trees, their leaves shaking, and it sounds like a kind of howling or whistling noise, which is quite disturbing. Another thing that is extremely stressful is that in this villa — which is honestly a complete nonsense and I don’t understand why it was designed this way — every 30 minutes the lights automatically turn off and the curtains start closing by themselves. This is also very stressful. Just when you’ve finally relaxed a bit, suddenly there’s a loud noise and the curtains start coming down. You’re constantly on edge. Instead of feeling relaxed, you’re non-stop stressed and startled by something happening unexpectedly. My husband went on a snorkeling tour, which was also nothing special. The price is 250 dollars per person. From the photos he showed me, I am amazed how this place can be considered the barrier reef and advertised as one of the best snorkeling destinations. We have been to many other places where the corals are much more colorful, there are far more fish, and the water is not murky. Here the water is murky and you can’t see anything. While in the Maldives, where we have been, the water is crystal clear everywhere, with many turtles, fish, and all kinds of marine life. Here there is nothing. I am not impressed at all. In addition, our minibar was not restocked from the moment we arrived, and we were also not provided with clean glasses. Overall, there was no organization at all. Another extremely annoying thing is that you put the privacy sign on the door so that no one comes in, and they start calling you on the phone constantly and bothering you with some stupid questions. For five days they did not think to restock our minibar, but exactly when we put the privacy sign on the door, they decided to call us eight times to ask when they could come to restock the minibar. They are simply absurd and have no common sense. The truth is that we usually travel only to truly top-tier, very expensive hotels and destinations. Over time, our taste has become quite refined, so we tend to notice and be bothered even by small details. If someone comes here who hasn’t traveled that much or isn’t a luxury traveler, I think they would find this place like a paradise and would really enjoy it, especially because of the nature. Overall, everything looks quite nice if you don’t have very high expectations. But we genuinely travel a lot and only go to the very best places, which is why our standards are so high. That said, the place itself is not bad at all, and the people here are really trying. I can’t deny that — they made an effort with absolutely everything we asked for. It’s just the level of the island. I can’t say that people who are used to visiting the absolute top luxury destinations would love it. But for more mid-range travelers, I think it would be a very enjoyable experience. Despite of everything,I am grateful to the staff for all their efforts and work.

This is the worst holiday of my life. First the night light in the room continuously came on all night and had to be fixed, then the fire alarm went off at 5:30am and we nearly fell out of bed, and finally I poured a glass of water in the dark from the supplied water and thought it tasted weird so put it back into the fridge. When I looked at the container this morning in the daylight, there was a used cigarette butt in the water container that I drank from. I am shocked, horrified and traumatised. All I wanted was one week of peace and relaxation!

Great time on Hayman Island! 🏝️ If you’re looking to get your hair done whilst there I really recommend Tory Allen - he’s fabulous at cut and colour!

Overall a wonderful stay at Hayman Island Intercontinental! I stayed here for 5 nights in early Dec with my 1 year old daughter as our first holiday together, my mum also joined us. We had a wonderful time. The transfer from the airport to the hotel was mostly seamless (only issue was the ladies who were holding the board to find us disappeared after the initial contact while we found our bags so were running around looking for them) the boat is great. Aircon, champagne and a snack. We had two different rooms, one king classic and one courtyard retreat. Both great in different ways , all the lights and curtains etc are automated so if this annoys you something to consider. Was fine for us. Important to note as it’s not made clear at check in: Do not leave your balcony door open for fresh air when you leave the room. The cockatoos are ruthless here and we came back to find our room trashed and the birds had gone into the mini bar and broken glasses etc. I saw the funny side but most wouldn’t. If you have kids: two pools one is more kid friendly and has a nice splashy shallow area. The other has a great bar with snacks. Restaurants were good. We only did the amici and bam bam. Both yummy with good service. Pizza very good! Breakfast was delicious. If you don’t like birds don’t sit outside - again ruthless haha. My feedback would be for the management to look at having someone regularly go through and mop the outside breakfast area as bird poo on chairs and floor. It’s expensive as others have said but to be expected and we were not surprised. Would definitely return!

This was a stay with incredible highs and some genuinely baffling lows. Hayman Island has the bones of a great resort — the natural beauty, the room product, and a standout restaurant — but the service execution is inconsistent enough that I can only give it three stars. Arrival & Check-In The trip starts well with a pickup from The Sweet Spot in Airlie Beach (grab one of their cinnamon rolls!) and a pleasant transfer to the island. But once the buggy drops you at reception, you’re left to fend for yourself. Check-in took 30 minutes, with only one staff member on the desk for most of it. No welcome drink, no check-ins on guests waiting, nothing. Confusion around a breakfast “voucher” (both staff quoting the same mysterious $35 amount) didn’t help. Despite submitting my details ahead of time, the hotel did not have my IHG Platinum Elite / Ambassador information, and I had to add it at check-in. No one proactively explained our Amex F&B credit — I had to ask. Pool Experience This was the moment I realised the service issues weren’t isolated. Arriving at the pool: • No greeting • No water offered • No towels at all at 11:40am Multiple calls later, I received one towel, not two. Still no restock 30 minutes later. When I rang again, a staff member actually said: “Are you going to do it yourself?” (Even if she thought I was staff, that’s… not reassuring.) Eventually the pool attendant appeared with towels and apologised. The Room At 2pm our upgraded Pool Suite was ready — and it’s excellent. Perfect for my teenage son, spacious, shaded cabana, and a great layout. This is where the resort shines: the hard product is genuinely 5-star. However, small things chipped away at the experience: No USA adaptor available despite being listed online No turndown service unless you specifically request it. And no one tells you that during check-in It all adds up to a pattern of guests having to chase information rather than being taken care of. Food & Beverage Room service pizza at 3pm took over an hour. Staff were apologetic and comped it, but again — avoidable. Amici was average: decent pizza, but the lasagna was tiny, service slow, and staff lacked urgency. Bam Bam, however, is phenomenal. Easily the standout of the entire resort. They cooked my son’s freshly caught fish three different ways — sashimi, Korean rice with noodles, and traditional fish & chips — all perfectly executed. The chef even came out to explain each dish. If I returned, I’d eat here every night. Fishing & Activities This was supposed to be a highlight — but the booking process was chaotic. The $350 half-day trip was fully booked, and the next available wasn’t until after our checkout. Only after pushing did they schedule an overflow trip, which also sold out. It proves there’s far more demand than supply, yet the resort runs only one tiny boat. The trip itself was enjoyable (my son caught a shark), but: • The cheaper Airlie Beach trip we did beforehand was better • No shade on the boat • Seating very limited Hayman should be owning fishing as a signature experience, not treating it like an afterthought. General Service & Maintenance There’s an unmistakable sense that no one is truly running the show. Staff are largely pleasant but untrained, reactive rather than proactive, and missing those 5-star fundamentals. Examples: • Wake-up call never arrived • Website amenities don’t match reality • Duty manager apologised for staff behaviour but blamed a misunderstanding • Maintenance issues around property (broken toilets, bathrooms with long lines) • Infinity pool closed the one day I wanted to use it On the positive side, after my initial review, management did reach out, found the USA adaptor (so it does exist), and offered a generous $250 credit. I appreciate the effort — but inconsistent service shouldn’t rely on guests escalating problems. The Verdict — Why Three Stars? Because there truly is potential here. - Bam Bam is exceptional. - The fishing trip, while imperfect, gave my son a highlight memory. - The rooms and setting are undeniably beautiful. But a luxury resort at this price point needs coherent, consistent service — not a series of guest-led problem-solving exercises. If management invests in training, staffing, and basic operational discipline, Hayman could be an easy 5-star experience. For now, it’s a 3-star stay wrapped in a 5-star location.