Scott Ferguson

Review of Couran Cove Island Resort

We spent 4 nights here over Christmas. We took our...

We spent 4 nights here over Christmas. We took our own boat which was very convenient but was also very expensive. We had been told by friends that when they went it was $40 a day mooring fee and you get a $40 voucher for the bar for each day. Well that wasn't the case now it was $80 a day and no voucher. We didn't get a proper spot like others in the main area we had to tie up on the side with the jet skis. I just thought they must have been very busy but no there was plenty of room and on low tide I had to trim my motor right up and push past other boats to get out.
We booked a 2 bedroom family suite on the lagoon which was great. It was spacious and clean with a great veranda looking out over the lagoon. Just a heads up, there is no room service for food, you only get one towel per person for your whole stay because they don't clean your rooms when you are there less then 7 days. If you have allergies take your own tissues because they don't have them in the rooms.
They did give us 3 bikes free for each day of our stay, that was nice but there was 5 of us. Hiring bikes is a costly extra ($20 p/day or $45 for 3 days).
Christmas lunch was a buffet with all the trimmings even Santa showed up. Felt it was overpriced at $145 per adult (over 15yrs), $89 kids & $29 for 2 - 5 yrs & did not include any drinks (except water). No coffee,tea,soft drinks or juice. Friends went 2 years ago & it was only $89 p/adult for same buffet. Thought it was strange because the night before they had a really nice $30 dinner buffet that included tea, coffee, juice. We definitely didn't get value for money for our kids & 2 year old who ate a basic kids size meal.
Pool area was nice, kids loved it, but all the shade sails had been ripped off, maybe from a storm, and hadn't been replaced. Pool was a bit messy but I put that down to reduced staff for the holidays maybe. (See photos)
They have a lot of activities to keep you busy, tennis, mini golf, basketball, squash, gym, indoor bowls, running track with hurdles, playground for the kids, and a gaming room with virtual reality games, they even have a baseball pitching machine but this and a lot of the stuff is in a need of some repair and in some cases total rebuild. eg the lookout tower ladder has been taken down so you can't go up because it may come down with you on it.
It seems that they cater more for the day trippers because they close things such as coffee shop, kayaks and stand up paddle boards and VR/games room by 3:30/4:00 (last ferry), which is very sad when in the summer school holidays there is still about 3 hr of good sun filled day left that's why we go to a island resort. Kids weren't happy.
Once upon a time the resort was luxurious but not anymore and they are still charging for the elegance that just isn't there.
Overall we had a great time we will go again but we will try and keep an eye out for better deals. If this review helps you please like THANKS.