Fraser Island is a spectacular place to visit, but...

Fraser Island is a spectacular place to visit, but I really can't say the same about Kingfisher Bay Resort.

I paid full price for a 2 bedroom villa and on day one, the toilet did not work. The maintenance staff's initial band aid solution was to have the septic lid off so we could flush the toilet (how revolting!) It was like this for about 2 nights and I found this unacceptable. Additionally, I had to report an insect nest that was approximately 30 cm x 2 cm large in area on the window shutters.

Thankfully these issues got resolved and the staff acted on it quickly. Although, these issues should have been identified and fully resolved before they place any guests in the room.

The kitchen and bathroom looked very old and really could do with a decent revamp. Kingfisher Bay Resort claims to be a 4 star resort, however, given how old these parts of the villa were, I would say the accommodation should be rated as 2 star at best. At least the beds were comfortable and the furniture was reasonably modern and up to date. Overall, I really felt ripped off after paying for accommodation that was overrated.

Another comment I should mention about the resort, was that the processes were not supporting the staff. This led to staff giving me things that I did not request. A typical example of this was reflected when I asked for a hamburger bun at the Maheno restaurant and subsequently I received an entire burger and chips. They then charged me an entire $19 for the hamburger bun. They tried to do the same thing at the Sand Bar a couple of days later, but when I asked the server "Are you really going to charge me for a hamburger bun?", the server thought to check with a colleague and then only charged me $2. This meant that on the first occasion I overpaid $17 for a hamburger bun as the staff did not think to readjust what they initially charged me at the Maheno restaurant.

On a another occasion, I requested a printed copy of my bill the day before checkout. The staff member who I dealt with did not want to provide it. After really insisting that I should have a printed copy, she reluctantly provided it.

After going away and checking it, I noticed that there was a duplicate charge for a tour. When returning to the front desk and requesting that the duplicate charge should be credited back to me, it felt like I was pulling teeth. Additionally, this staff member told me that she already charged my credit card after the first time I visited her. However, when I requested a printed copy of my bill on the first visit, she did not tell me that she was going to charge my credit. The whole experience just felt very stressful. People who work at resorts need to understand that consumers visit resorts to escape stress rather than endure stress. Her attitude towards me was so condescending and I had to explain that it was my right as a consumer to review the bill before paying the bill.

To the management of Kingfisher Bay Resort, please train your staff on the processes to better support them, otherwise you will run this business to the ground.

My advice to holiday makers wanting to visit Fraser Island:

1. Don't pay full price for a resort that is falsely rated as four stars. Try to get a discount via the Luxury Escapes.
2. Don't bother charging anything to your room. Pay as go and monitor the charges closely.