Review of Thala Beach Nature Reserve 4*

My wife and I stayed at Thala Beach Nature Reserve at the recommendation of our travel agent. After checking in, we found ourselves disappointed in many ways and realized Thala was not the kind of experience we were looking. There were many reasons we were not happy with our decision to stay there and we assumed that other guest staying there would share the same misgivings, however after speaking to some of the other guest we found that while some of them were as disappointment as we were, there were others who were completely happy. So, although Thala was not the right experience for us, it may be just fine for others. The reason for my review is not to criticize the resort or the staff (who were very nice) but to provide information I wish I had prior to making our reservation. I'm not sure if Thala claims to be a resort or not but it certainly does not seem like one. It seems more like nice campground. As the website mentions, Thala is located on a private headland between Cairns and Port Douglas. The headland is basically small mountain surrounded by the ocean. At the top of the mountain is the main lodge and scattered down the mountain, until you reach the ocean, are the guest cabins. The location is approximately 50 minutes from Cairns and about 15 minutes to Port Douglas. More than likely you will be either spending your time on the property (and there is not a lot to do on the property) or in Port Douglas. If you did not drive and you do not have a rental car, you will need to rely on the independent shuttle service that can take you to Port Douglas for $20 round trip, per person. Looking at the website you will see that the headland property has some amazing views, however once you tour the property you will find that the owners have stopped doing the necessary landscaping to maintain open views of the surrounding mountains and ocean. Our cabin balcony was completely overgrown with trees which made it impossible to see anything. Furthermore, and kind of ridiculous, is that there are designated "look-out" areas on the property which really could have some amazing views, however since they also lack landscaping, the trees have grown and completely blocked any clear visibility. Walking up and down the mountain from your cabin to the main lodge is quite a chore. It is very steep and will take a lot of effort. If Thala was a resort I imagine they would offer their guest complementary pick-up service to bring you to-and-from the main lodge but that was never offered to us. I would recommend to anyone planning a trip there to book a cabin as close to the main lodge as possible. The cabins are very dated. Not only are they dated in décor, but they also lack Wi-Fi, so if you need a Wi-Fi signal you will need to hike up to the main lodge. The guest room safes are not digital, like in most modern resorts, rather they use a key, which you will need to get from the main desk. The lack of Wi-FI was a big deal to us, however the old safe was not, however both are an indication that the owners are not interested in modernizing the property If you are looking for pool-side or beach-side service, Thala is not your resort. In fact, unless you are in the restaurant or at the bar you really won’t receive any service at all and that is probably because of the skeleton crew they staff the property with which consist of about 4 or 5 people (or so it seemed). Also, as far as I know, there are no laundry facilities or service available at Thala. If you need to do laundry while staying there you will need to take it to a laundromat in Port Douglas.