Birch Resort Port Douglas

The pool was lovely, with new lounges and umbrellas, and the room itself was spacious. The bed was comfortable and had a brand new blanket, though it felt like a slat might be broken, so I slept on the other side. The two pillows for the king twin bed were very flat and not enough, even folded in half. The bathroom still had toothpaste on the sink, tiles, and mirror, and the countertop hadn’t been cleaned. There were fingernails, clumps of hair, and dust balls in the main room too. There were safety concerns. The connecting doors between rooms 6 and 7 didn’t lock. The smoke alarm was hanging open without a battery. I saw a September review mentioning the same thing, though I don’t know if it was the same room. My friend in unit 5 had no smoke detector at all, while another friend in unit 4 did. No one was there when we arrived, but after we contacted someone in Townsville, the manager (?) came back. She was friendly, welcoming, and helpful. I didn’t see her again during our three days there, and reception stayed locked. A temporary manager (?) stopped by on our last day to clean, thinking we were checking out. Wifi didn’t work in the rooms, though it worked outside. The gardens outside the sliding doors and the shared areas, including the kitchen and laundry, need some care. There were patches of slimy water on the main walkway outside the rooms. It looked as if a cafe or restaurant area might have been partly under construction or being dismantled, hard to tell which. In its current condition, calling it a resort may be a bit much.

The pool was nice, the bathroom clean, and our room spacious. The location was good too, with places to eat just a walk away. Management were kind and generous with local tips, which was really cool. There were insects in the room, though I guess they’re hard to avoid in a tropical climate.

We were warmly welcomed by the hostess. For an overnight stay at only $110, I suppose you get what you pay for. The room was clean, but not especially comfortable and clearly overdue for some paint and repairs. We wouldn’t consider it for a longer stay.

The outside, office, and grounds looked pretty tatty, and the restaurant and bar area had been gutted for renovation. The rooms, though, were clean and new inside, with new air conditioning units, and the pool was in nice shape. There wasn’t any shade by the pool. For the price, I’d give the rooms an A and everything else a C.