Kewarra Beach Resort & Spa

“Relaxing!”

What a sweet spot. Lovely rainforest surrounds. Positives: quiet, relaxing and secluded. Lovely staff. Great pool. Lots of native animals. Beautiful beach walking Negatives: not a lot around food/drink wise. Need a car / driver. Bus unreliable. Ubers are ok. $20 for a continental breakfast a lit… lisää

What a sweet spot. Lovely rainforest surrounds. Positives: quiet, relaxing and secluded. Lovely staff. Great pool. Lots of native animals. Beautiful beach walking Negatives: not a lot around food/drink wise. Need a car / driver. Bus unreliable. Ubers are ok. $20 for a continental breakfast a little steep.

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“Very good family-friendly option, but some things in need of improvement”

This resort certainly has a lot going for it. First of all, its location is gorgeous. You are nestled away within a tranquil oasis of luscious tropical vegetation - all within a stone's throw of Smithfield's cinema/shopping centre, Cairns international airport, Cairns itself (not that close in hea… lisää

This resort certainly has a lot going for it. First of all, its location is gorgeous. You are nestled away within a tranquil oasis of luscious tropical vegetation - all within a stone's throw of Smithfield's cinema/shopping centre, Cairns international airport, Cairns itself (not that close in heavy traffic though), and Trinity Beach restaurants. The resort has its own access to lovely Kewarra Beach - not a 'private' beach as such, but this is hardly a negative, since the beach itself is quiet, and we loved chatting to locals and playing with their dogs. There is a stunning bit of rainforest ('remnant vegetation' really, since it's suburbia), with its own inlet, along this beach. What a treat. The accommodation itself was a little dated but elegant, and extremely well maintained. It had two bedrooms, which was great - somewhere for the kids to sleep while we [in theory] stayed up and watched a little TV. In practice, however, the TV was old and there was no Netflix. What's more is the lighting was pretty gross (fluorescent) in the sitting area. In practise, we just switched off and had a couple of early nights, because the TV and sitting area wasn't that functional or nice, but maybe that's a good thing right!? There is no kitchenette as such - more of a traditional motel set up, with kettle, little milks, coffee and tea making facilities, bar fridge. You could 'sort of' bring snacks for the kids, but you wouldn't want to make much more than a sandwich for them. One 'con', and I honestly do understand this is not their fault, but I will say it anyway - they are seriously short staffed. I knew it was unrealistic, but I had so hoped for a massage. Sure enough and as expected, the spa / massage person was completely booked, and not really returning calls. She did eventually leave us a message in reply, but it was only to say that she was fully booked. I knew it would be like that because everywhere in the far north is crying out for staff, but it was still a bit sad and disappointing. If you're wanting spa services, just book ahead at Smithfield shopping centre (do book ahead, as even Smithfield is short staffed ... I did not get a massage while I was there, but maybe you will!) The restaurant was much the same. You couldn't dine there for dinner when we stayed. There was going to be a lovely night out under the stars on the beach, but they cancelled it due to the prospect of rain. I felt sorry for the management. They basically had to call it on risking paying the staff thousands of dollars, versus the chance that noone would have come. We would still have gone but therein lies the dilemma for management I guess. Maybe another strategy would be to call up all the people who've booked and confirm that they will still come? I don't know what the answer is. I was so sad when it was cancelled though. My one actual complaint is that on the hotel / resort website and communication material, it does say that one of the two pools was heated. They even told us this to our face. Perhaps it is heated, but it must only be heated to one degree or two degrees above what it would otherwise be but for the heating. Simply put, BOTH pools were freezing. This actually annoyed me from a consumer perspective, because the entire reason we booked this place was because we are regular travelling to the far north, and we know perfectly well that most places don't heat their pools over the dry season. For southern travellers, this renders them basically useless, as we are of course seeking the heat. We might be soft, but I don't think so. I have swum many times in 10-11 degree water (CENTIGRADE / CELSIUS...with a wetsuit it's true, but it's def cold). It's more just that it's called a HOLIDAY for a reason, and that means water that's comfortable for humans. I've also taken care of my own pool and I'm acutely aware of what temperatures most people find comfortable. 18-19 degrees is not that temperature, sorry Queensland. It's true I didn't complain ... but after being told one of the pools was heated, I figured it was just going to cause drama to complain. And I do feel sorry for the north at the minute, they really do need staff. Also I would just add that the pools contained many sunken leaves ... I know, I know, it's a staffing thing, and I don't have all the answers, and it's tough up there. However, I do fear it becomes a vicious cycle ... the pools don't get maintained because no staff / high wages, and then suddenly people depart for Bali etc instead. But yes, it is a lovely spot. Eating with the birds on the beach was special. But for the love of goodness, heat and clean at least one of the pools.

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“Wedding”

A great spot for a beautiful wedding the day went off without a hitch. We had special diet/drink needs for a couple of guests and on a number of occasions tried to contact staff regarding same, our emails were never answered nor our calls returned, very un professional.