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Couran Cove Resort Reviews
resortroomsphoto gallerytravel reviews (13)
Thank you for your reviews of Couran Cove Island Resort for the benefit of fellow travellers. Included here are some of your responses and we update regularly.

Couran Cove Resort 
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Couran Cove Resort 
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• "Hi Gayle, It has been a wonderful holiday. All was perfect. Couran Cove Resort's people were extremely kind with us.

Lizard Island was perfect. The only issue was just at the beginning. We did not find anyone to pick us up at Cairns airport and we had to catch a taxi to reach the charter flight. Same thing on the way back, but this time the plane's pilot decided to drive us with his own car.

Lizard is the perfect holiday place. Again, with your professionalism we have had a very nice holiday." Alfredo V., Italy (13 Jan 06)

• "Dear Tina, We had a wonderful vacation at Couran Cove Island Resort on South Stradbroke Island in Queensland, Australia. We loved our 2 bedroom Lodge on the Lagoon and our kids LOVED riding bicycles all over the island. I would highly recommend this vacation for anyone with children as long as they are 12 years old or younger (I think teenagers would be a little bored here).

We took advantage of everything possible and we spent one day at Wet N Wild, one day at DreamWorld, a deep sea fishing day trip arranged by the resort and jet skiing.

We had a great stay in Sydney as well. The Star City Hotel & Casino was in a great location in Darling Harbour so we could just walk over to the restaurants or the IMAX theater (or Starbucks since we are caffeine addicts). I wasn't very impressed with the buffet breakfast or the rooms, but I was trying to keep in a reasonable budget for a family of 5 people. Sydney Harbour cruise 
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Our favorite part of Sydney was the private lunch boat ride since we got to see all of Sydney including the high end real estate and we even went to a quiet cove for a little swim.

Tina, I am so glad I used GlobeNet Travel for this vacation! I was scared to use an online travel agent, but living in Korea as an American, I was getting no help from my Korean travel agent.

Working with an Aussie for an Australian vacation was the best idea I made! Thanks for all the last minute tour additions to our trip. Tina, we really had a stress-free, problem-free vacation, thanks to you." Bob & Theresa K. & kids, "Americans living in South Korea as expats" (11 Jan 06)

• "Dear Elisabete, Melinda and I had a fantastic time over at Couran Cove. Relaxing on our balcony overlooking the lagoon, getting woken up by the birds at 5.30am in the morning, the Day Spa facilities were nice and tranquil, both Mel and I had an 50min Swedish massage, taking the cruises up the Broadwater and overland in the Seaplane.

We both had enjoyed ourselves immensely, not looking forward to going back to work though. But all good things must come to an end, we'd definately would visit Couran Cove again. Thank-you for taking care of planning and organising our Honeymoon for us." Mr and Mrs Jeremy B., Melbourne, Australia (3 Nov 05)

• "Dear Sali  Thank you so much for organising our holiday on the Gold Coast. We hada fantastic time, particularly at Couran Cove!! We all found something that we really loved doing." David & Gillian Y., Sydney, Australia (3 Oct 05)

• "Hi Kylie, Thank you so much for the hassle free holiday booking that you arranged to Couran Cove island Resort, it was great. The new Hope Harbour terminal was very easy and hassle free as well, they even helped Darren with his jetski, and we weren't charged any excess (which surprised me). The island was great but it did rain for 2 days, it was relaxing but a little too quiet on the island need more night life and dancing - but a good holiday destination if you had children." Nadine N., Brisbane, Australia (3 Feb 05)

• "Hi Zoe, Thank you for your assistance with our booking, it was both efficient and friendly and I couldn't think of anyway that it could have been further improve. We did have a good time at Couran Cove. We really liked how the resort was set-up and the different activities and facilities that were available. We loved the kids pool, our son got lots of use out of it (actually so did we!).

Loved the 2 bedroom lagoon suites, very modern and well positioned. Thought that the resort train could have run a little more regularly, especially being a school holiday period. We were very disappointed with one aspect of the resort, and that was the disappointing service we received. Not all the time... We did come across a few (maybe 3) staff who were exceptionally helpful, professional and friendly which helped make our stay more pleasant." Haidee G., Sydney, Australia (1 Feb 05)

• "Hi Tina We had a wonderful time and only wish that it wasn't all over! After a long flight from Edinburgh, we arrived to pouring rain in Brisbane and were feeling a little downhearted until we were met by our driver for our trip down to Kingfisher Bay and on to Couran Cove. The children were thrilled - it wasn't a boring old taxi but a limo! Couran Cove was just the place to chill and catch up on our jetlag - we surfed, ate, kayaked through the mangroves and took a night walk with one of the rangers. Just lovely. The Crowne Plaza at Surfers was a big hit too with a lovely room and great views. Car hire worked fine with a very smart car. All in all - everthying was great and thank you for the perfect organisation. We have promised ourselves another trip in a couple of years' time so will be in touch again. Thanks again and Happy New Year from chilly Edinburgh!" Nikki S., Edinburgh, UK ( 11 Jan 05)

• "Hello Zoe, Happy new year! All went well at Couran Cove Resort. The holiday was great. A top spot especially for the kids. Thank you for your excellent service. No photos as yet. Best Regards" Ian C. and Family, Brisbane, Australia (4 Jan 05)

• "Dear Zoe, Thank you so much for all your assistance. Both myself and Jeff and Janet and her daughter and granddaughter had wonderful holidays. Daydream Island is fabulous. We took part in a myriad of activities both on land and water and came back feeling very relaxed.

The staff at Daydream were extremely friendly, enthusiastic and helpful with planning our many activities, the food was excellent, the massage staff at the spa complex were first class (we are regular users of massage services at home and were very impressed with the both the set up of the rejuvenation centre and the staff skills) and we loved it so much we are planning to go back again as soon as the budget allows.

Janet found Couran Cove to be perfect for families, and loved the fact it was easy to get around and very well set up for children - her daughter was particularly interested in the way it was set up as an environmentally friendly resort, as it was very relevant to her engineering studies at university.

The only thing we would change would be the journey by coach from the airport to Shute Harbour to catch the ferry. Next time we will catch a cab from the airport, as the coach stops at all the hotels on the way dropping guests off making for a long laborious journey - we would rather pay a little extra for the cab and get to the island sooner. thanks once again for all your help kind regards" Adele A., Moreland, Victoria (12 Jul 04)

• "Hi Zoe Thanks for your thoughts. The holiday was great. The Couran Cove Island Resort is definitely a good place to take the kids - the beach, the pool, kayaking on the lagoon, bike riding, fishing in a tinny or off the pontoons, chasing wallabies, mini golf, playground and that's before going to kid's club.

We only ended up utilizing kid's club for two evening sessions - that gave us a peaceful dinner for two in the restaurant each time. We were very happy with the quality of the accommodation (Marine Suite ) though I wouldn't recommend staying in any of the non-marine accommodation as they are not air conditioned and are quite a way out if you are walking.

The food at the resort was outstanding - though a bit expensive when it came to lunches and snacks. We managed to average $200 per day for food - 2 adults and 2 kids (that includes cooking our own bacon and eggs on toast each morning using supplies from the general store and all drinks, snacks, lunches and dinners). I would have liked cheaper lunch options eg sandwiches to supplement the a la carte menus at each of the food outlets.

My recommendation here would be, if the opportunity is there, do a grocery shop on the mainland before heading over. Take stuff to cook all your breakfasts yourself and for snacks and alcohol for afternoons/evenings. This can potentially save you from a steep food bill at the end. The only real complaint we had about the resort was the housekeeping. They were "hopeless". 2 days out of 7 we received the correct number of bath towels and 0 days for beach towels - despite numerous phone calls. They never once went onto our balcony and tidied up and the vacuuming was "quick".

For your information, everything went quite smoothly with the trip - transfers etc. - though in hindsight, the flight/bus connections were too far apart. We had to wait for 1 ˝ hours on the way there and 2 hours on the way home - Coolangatta Airport is not the most interesting place to be, especially with an active 3 yr old. Alternatives may be adjusting flights or utilizing a taxi (which may be cheaper than Brunels).

My ratings are as follows...
Brunels: ***** very courteous and on time
Check in/out & ferry: ***** smooth transition of baggage and on time
Marine Suite: ***** very comfortably furnished, liked the TV and A/C in main bed as well as living room. 2 sofa beds in living room ideal for kids
Food quality: ***** great variety and always cooked to perfection
Service from staff: ** resort cleanliness needed work (wallaby poo on pool lounges at midday still), café service slow, housekeeping as above
Variety of facilities: ***** great mix for all ages
Value for money: Accomm- ****; Food- ***; Overall - ****

Would I go back?? I am not sure. Getting there and back is a bit long with kids given the different transport required and I guess once you have been there then going back wouldn't be as good. Do I regret going there?? Not at all!! Would I recommend it to others?? Yes Hope this assists you with enquiries from others and feel free to email me with specials that you may do. Kind regards" David P., Sydney, Australia (21 Jan 04)

• "Hi Zoe, We arrived home today at about 5:30pm Dec 30th after 17 hours of flying via Auckland and L.A. After the lovely heat of Queensland we arrived to -2% and buckets of snow to the delight of the kids. We had a great trip. We spent our first day in Australia touring Sydney, mostly the harbours, aquarium, and Botanical Gardens.

Couran Cove was wonderful. We did rent bicycles and made use of the entire resort. We were able to see lots of wallabies and large lizards. It did take us a few days to get to know the island.

We then spent 5 nights up at Dave's brother's unit in Coolum. Again mostly swimming and body surfing. We all took a surfing lesson at Noosa on Dec 23 which was great fun. Then back to Brisbane for our last 3 nights. Managed to spend the 27th at Steve Irwin's Zoo and were lucky to be there when Steve was there to do a crocadile show.

Thanks Zoe with your help in organizing our first week. We really appreciated your efforts. You have a wonderful Country and we plan on returning. Regards" Barb & Dave S., USA (31 Dec 03)

• "Hi Tosh, Thanks so much for putting this itinerary together... you've successfully managed to sell us Couran Cove as the location. To be honest I am delighted to have found a travel agent as helpful as you (it was difficult) ... really do appreciate your efforts very much. Regards," S.J., Sydney, Australia (8 Oct 02)

• "Hi Tosh, Thank you for all your work. We really enjoyed out stay. The Couran Cove Island Resort was great for the children and the staff were excellent. Well recommended," G.D. HongKong (21 Aug 02)
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