Koala Shores Port Stephens Holiday Park

The Koala House worked really well for our family of seven over Christmas week, including our service dog. The kids and dog had a great backyard to run around in, and the entertaining area was great too. The pool and spa were very clean and clearly well looked after. Everyone commented on how comfortable the beds were. The staff were so helpful, especially Jo, who did everything she could for us. What a great employee for Aspen. If you need a six-bedroom house, three bedrooms with ensuites, for a family get-together, you won’t go wrong here. We had a wonderful stay. I give it 110 out of 100! Thank you, Aspen.

We’d definitely come back for another holiday. Our motorhome site was right on the waterfront, with a great view, and the stay felt really relaxing. The pool and facilities were good, though there weren’t many BBQs around the park, so there’d be a long wait when it was busy. We enjoyed walking the foreshore track, and Tanilba Bay was beautiful, just down the street.

The best part here is the nature. Wild ducks come visiting, the birdlife is great, and we saw kookaburras, rainbow lorikeets and wild rabbits. We haven’t seen koalas yet. I even went to feed the chickens some cooked rice. A great place for nature lovers. Our cabin had a few problems. There was a chocolate wrapper under the lounge from previous holidaymakers, and dirt on top of the range hood, which didn’t look like part of a regular clean. The fridge was missing two shelves and the vegetable crisper, the bedroom TV only got a few stations, and the kids’ beds were so hard my son slept on the lounge. The washing machine stopped working on day two. Staff offered to do our washing and supplied fresh linen, and said a replacement would arrive the next day. The pool was unavailable. The receptionist gave the kids free paddleboard hire to make up for it and explained the work was three weeks behind because of the weather. I mentioned the same thing had happened when we came six years ago. We wanted to give the place another chance, so this was disappointing. We only get holidays once a year and can’t choose when. I think guests should be told when a main feature like the pool is unavailable, since families choose places for the activities they offer. The staff were lovely and friendly.

The lock on our cabin door failed on the second-last night and left us locked out. My husband spent ages trying to fix it himself. Maintenance didn’t know how to repair it and watched while he removed the lock. A part was needed, then they left us without a working lock for the remaining two nights. We called the emergency line several times and were told someone would come back, but nobody did. If my husband hadn’t been a tradesman, this could have been much more serious. The cabins were also very poorly cleaned. Dust and crumbs were everywhere, even under the couches, and there was food stuck to cutlery, pots and utensils. Be ready to clean the bathrooms and floors yourself and bring your own kitchenware. The internet was terrible too. Neither 5G nor the park Wi-Fi worked properly, so don’t count on getting work done online. We’d booked eight months ahead for a five-bedroom cabin, Cabin 23, while travelling with friends. On arrival we were given Cabin 22 instead, which only had four beds. That night we were told nothing could be done, so we slept on couches that weren’t sofa beds and were asked to return to reception in the morning. Staff first tried to move us into a cabin belonging to someone else in our group, which was completely inappropriate. Only after we pushed back did they say Cabin 23’s guests were checking out and we could move into the right cabin. This was our second stay at Koala Shores. We’d first come four years ago, when the cabins were already in pretty poor condition, and were hesitant to return. We gave it another go because we were with friends. Dealing with all of this over a long weekend with three young children was incredibly stressful and completely unacceptable. If we could give zero stars, we would. We don’t recommend staying here and won’t return.