Polly Chester

Review of O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat,...

First of all, the good bits - I loved how the retr...

First of all, the good bits - I loved how the retreat was so close to the park entrance - it was awesome to be able to just walk out of the retreat straight into the tracks.

It is worth being aware that if you are after a relaxing "retreat" experience, it is difficult to have this due to the busyness of the place, particularly during school holidays it's packed with families which means it's great for people who want a holiday with the kids but not great for adults wanting peace and quiet.

The price of the room (mountain view studio) was not particularly reasonable without inclusion of a meal - it was a very basic room - the provision of a simple breakfast pack would have meant (a) having breakfast at a time of one's choice, particularly if going on an early walk and (b) not having to deal with the chaos of the dining room packed with people. In Queensland it gets light very early in the spring and summer, and I would imagine lots of people would have a preference of getting up and about and into the bush by 7am, rather than wait until 7am just for breakfast. At night, the staff seemed to struggle with the busyness of the restaurant, too - and the one dinner option (3 courses in the restaurant) was really way too much food - a two course option would be much better for people with smaller appetites!

So yes, a great experience due to the proximity to the park entrance and tracks, but the retreat experience was not great, and seemed quite overpriced.