Couran Cove Island Resort Reviews

HOLIDAY TRAVELLERS BEWARE - Couran Cove Island Resort South Stradbroke is in liquidation and deposits are being taken and not refunded leaving unsuspecting holiday makers out of pocket before the festive season, the company owes small businesses and holiday makers millions of dollars all over the coast !!!!! DON'T BOOK any form of holiday or Christmas party with Couran Cove resort, don't even give them your credit card details unless you want to burn some hard earned cash .... A Current Affair has said they will conduct a full investigation on the liquidation of the business !!!!!!!

Had a wonderful time great food wonderful facilities recommend to everyone. We will return.

Had a lovely weekend getaway in the island!
Room was very clean and so spacious, lot of wardrobe room, nice big bathroom and beautiful views. Lots of activities included, such as tennis, mini golf, volleyball, kayak, transfers to go to the beach across the island and more.
The food at the pool cafe was great, delicious garlic pizza bread! Yummy!!
100% recommended!

Overall a very relaxing time and brilliant masseuses

Had a wonderful time with friends here, too tired to say more, will visit again

Relaxing, room nice, staff friendly when not run off feet as way understaffed, no supplies one restaurant ran out of just about everything on menu overall disappointing. For those old enough, it very much has a Faulty Towers vibe

The whole resort gave me the vibe of a run down old caravan park. The facilities are very poorly maintained and the whole place looks as if it s falling apart. The island itself is covered in dense bush and is absolutely infested with mosquitos. There are no swimmable beaches within the confines of the resort, just some dirty lagoons and a small rocky beach. There is quite a nice surf beach on the other side of the island but it s 2km from the resort.

There are only two places to eat - the upmarket Marlin Bar serves food no better than your average suburban pub, and for $40-$60 meals you would expect table service. The Poolside Cafe is more of a cafeteria, serving the type of fare you might commonly associate with prison. Unless you have brought food with you, cooking your own meals is not an option either because there is nowhere to buy food supplies - the general store stocks only the bare essentials and a lot of the shelves are simply empty.

The best way to get around is by bike. These can be hired on the island for $20 a day. We had one of our bikes stolen within just a few hours of arriving, despite it being locked up in the assigned bike rack outside our lodge. When we reported this to Reception, we got the impression that this was not an uncommon occurance, which speaks volumes about the resort s clientele.

Overall, this was the worst weekend getaway I have ever had. We left a day early and would never return.

Nice welcome from Bec on reception, great birth, just what we asked for, great idea redeem you birth fees in the bar and restaurant. Definately be back

Great island and activities, but totally let down by subpar staff and management which is a shame. It has potential to be GREAT. NEW STAFF required

We love Couran Cove and all the friendly staff. We go every school holidays because it is so relaxing with no cars and just bikes for transport around the resort. We especially love the wild life and nature and the kids activities that are organised for school holidays. So close to the Gold Coast a great family holiday.

came here on jet ski tour very pretty would like to come and stay with my lovely wife to experience very beautiful

Went in the off season. Positives are not a lot of people, ok facilities including inclusive canooing and pedal boarding, sports facilities including squash, tennis, basic gym, sprint track. The rooms were the nicest actually. Negatives are the Wi-Fi did not work (there was premium Wi-Fi however of course), the restaurant didn't stock half of the beers or liqueurs on the menu, the mini golf track was a bit sad looking and needed a spruce up. Like a youth holiday camp. Ok value for money I guess. Worst of all the pools were closed throughout the Thursday and Friday we were there. The staff are helpful but they are probably transient backpackers so not necessarily know how everything works. You can bring an eski/cool box with food but no bring your own alcohol, not that they checked on our ferry. An ok holiday, but I wouldn't go back

Have had an absolutely awesome day, must hire a bicycle!!

Excellent family oriented resort with lots of activity's

This is a good location to get away from it all. Beautiful setting. Relax by the pool, do a walk, hire a bike, get a buggy ride to the ocean beach, have a workout in the basic outdoor gym, lots of things for the kids.

Unique spot to check out if you have a boat, rooms are clean and a fun place to stay once in a while.

Very bad service. I booked a day there and on the way to get onto the boat to go there I revived a phone call saying all the fairies were full and we would not be able to fit. We booked the day 3 days prior and they only received the message in the morning of... very bad service and poor planning on their behalf. And they refused to give me a refund. I would recommend for future reference for anyone wanting to go there, go somewhere else. These people are not worth your time or your money.

I cannot understand any negative reviews for Couran Cove. I read them and almost did not come. This place is utterly amazing!

The staff go out of their way to help you. The water front lodge we are in is stunning and super clean.

The setting could not be more beautiful. The accommodation is spread out across a vast area, so you feel like the island is all but abandoned until you head to a restaurant or the pool... and catch up with more happy faces.

I could not more highly recommend this resort for families, couples or individuals trying to find a peaceful escape.

Thank you Team Couran!!!

We visit monthly and love this place. New management has really turned this place around!

Absolutely stunning views that stay true to the eco-friendly philosophy that Couran Cove was originally founded upon.

Great food, live entertainment, and you're almost guaranteed to see the amazing wildlife that this Island has to offer!

Awesome place for a few days or a week. Lots of outdoir activities for families. We had an apartment on the water. It was huge. Kids entertainment was great too. If you are on the Goldie and need a place to relax for a few days this is it.Dont forget to go to Sunset beach...

great weekend away for our Workforce Success Christmas party. first visit here. Sunset Bar was a hit.

100% a beautiful getaway, plenty to do or just relax. Really yummy food at the restaurant over there. 30 min boat ride. So.e people we noticed just came for the day trip. Hire a bike and ride around the island.
Try it once and you will always go back to visit.
And they take Bartercard. YAY!!!

Stayed the 1-3 May 14 in a 4 room villa and it had a great setup, room was clean and well equipped.

Staff where friend and helpful even though they where busy with a wedding and sports challenge.

even with a huge storm the staff cleaned up quickly and keep things running smoothly.

Great place that stay and relay.

Recommend getting a bike and going for a ride around.

The resort is very disappointing and has been left to run down quite badly.
Items that were once included like the kayaking are now all charged and the electric bikes are $20 per hour... Seriously???
We hired a private room which was lovely and relaxing, but still needed work.
The food was pricey and pretty ordinary.
Staff are friendly but overworked and service is incredibly slow. Some waited up to 45 minutes for a coffee order.
No announcements for when the ferry is set to leave...
Has the potential to be turned into something amazing again, or a great eco-resort...
Until it does... Will stay elsewhere.

Marina was great to enter and berth and the service was good, however the services for Mariners were not that good. Only one shower and it was cold. The laundry was a long way away. Choice of dining was limited.

Very poor reception staff .
Broken furniture and appliances.
Dirty sheets
Dirty carpets
Check in was meant to be 2.30pm but waited till 4.30pm
Public beach was not accessible to resort over new year Eve period due to rave party . Tickets were needed, not included in $2000 accommodation fee.

Just stayed at this place. Was very impressed with the service and the food. Plenty for the kids to do and parents to stroll on nice beach walks or go for a peaceful boat ride around the inner lagoon. great weekend getaway. very quiet. love the bike hire too.
actually decent gym , like that.

It s an incredible spot ! Fantastic venue, resort and nature around. Plenty of activities and opportunities to relax.<br/>Unfortunately always poor communication and information with the booking processes from the reception staff.

Great day trip, the kids had a ball, so much sports equipment to use, lots of fun!

Was a fantastic weekend next just hope next time the surf club is open

Lovely around the lake. The pool was excellent and cafes good value with free iced water. We didn't have to wait at all for stand up paddle boards and kayajs. There were quite a few run down accommodation blocks at the back and the shop didn't have enough seats to eat the stuff we bought. The ferry captain caused a mini sunami at the back of the ferry on the way home, resulting in damaged phone and headphones.

The 2 bedroom apartment on the lagoon was very clean, well looked after and an ideal size, infact it was more than enough room for our family of 4.

The pools are great for all ages and its a relaxing area for quick dip, to swim laps and for kids to swim. Our kids especially liked the inflatable obsticle course on the lagoon.

The food was good at the pool area, prices are high, although that is normal for an island resort concidering logistics.

Prices are very affordable for an island resort on the Gold Coast and there is so many different options of accomodation, from studio to 4 bedrooms.

The veiws are fantastic over looking the lagoon and waterways and the bush trails and beaches are a great way to get intouch with nature.

Its a great place to get away from the every day grind, you feel like you are a million miles away, although for its so close to all the Gold Coast has to offer.

The pandemic has obviously taken it's toll on the resort, however it seems to be back in buisness now.

Went to a work function at the Dunes restaurant. Food was delicious and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

As a professional event planner, my experience with this resort was one of the worst I had ever dealt with. Communications prior to and during was very unprofessional and non-existent, staff were rude including the GM and many of the services we had paid for, never occurred. The resort is completely dilapidated and disorganization I was warned of, was everything I feared plus more.

We had a wonderful 2 nights, made the most of bush walks and the surf beach which was amazing. Staff were lovely, we especially enjoyed the sunset drinks with music and fire. We then went to enjoy live music and drinks on the deck restaurant, it was relaxing and fun. Cooking facilities in our room was limited, and prices at the general store was rediculous..$8.00 for 1 dozen eggs !!. We wish we had brought our own supplies, we'll know better next time. We spent too much money eating out, for what we got. The room was great but, stains on mattress protector and old/thin doona as well as rock hard pillows need to be attended to. Apart from the negatives, we had a great time.

+ Staff are friendly and helpful
+ Food at main restaurant was delicious however the price seemed way too high. Only had one option and surcharge of 15% for public holidays
+ There are quite a few activities available
- Island overall felt a little neglected. Some maintenance wouod be good.
- Few things in room needed to be fixed up not a big deal but check if all lights work, remotes etc.
- Would be nice if a few more detergents would be provided. Staying 4 nights and only get two but you are being told that if you dont clean up you'll get charged extra $50. Rooms aren't serviced not a big deal but didnt know that.
- Overall its so expensive to stay here. Pay for parking, catch a ferry, book a room then you are being charged so much of for food that is very average and not getting what you have asked/paid for is a bit annoying.

Day -1
We tried to book the ferry online and it didn't work, the site wasn't working. We rang but the reception was closed at 5pm?
Day 1
We had dinner in their main restaurant and all the dishes were covered in cheap, smoky sweet sauces - the menu was all sweet laced dishes, very limited choices if you didn't like sweet ...
Day 2
The next day we tried to find a restaurant open after 10am, nothing. The grocery store was a decrepit shed with very few options for children.
We found a cafe, with baguettes. It took 30 mins to serve a baguette-very sloppy service - we were there at a quiet time, us and one other person.
The afternoon of day two, we were sitting on our deck and the cleaners decided to take a smoke break on the balcony next to us, with all their smoke wafting over us.
Stay tuned for Day 3

Beautiful weekend away. Nice and peaceful away from the city!

Fantastic place to visit. So much to see & do, or just kick back & relax.

Staff were fantastic. Meals and cocktails delicious! The resort is huge with so much to do. Bike hire makes it a fun and easy way to get around. And the rooms you can't fault. Balcony views over the water are what every holiday needs. I do not hesitate to recomed this place for couples or family's. I know I will be returning soon. I must add, After a slight mishap breaking my foot (my own silly fault) the emergency services, VMR and management at the resort handled it all amazingly without fault. Credit where credit is due. I also want to add some of the negative reviews I have read are clearly coming from people who just like to complain.

Half the place is closed or getting a reno. Got locked out of our room and no phone service to call for help

In a major atraction of tourism this resort need to be more tourist friendly and welcoming with service like providing towels for swimming for free and not charge $5 ; because not everyone visit this island by privet 6.000.000 boat.
Also the capacity of advertised referbushed rooms is not truth: they wont work. Smart promotion in earlier week stays need to be encouraged$$$$$
Support middle class to promote your tourism

So much for kids to do with live music and massive pools

It's such a nice resort but lacks organisation and good management. It had so much potential. We still have lots of fun when we go there. Lots of activities for kids

On Jan.6th I visited friends staying here, the unit they were in was very outdated, 3 rooms had separate air conditioners but only one remote control for the 3 rooms, they had an ironing board, but no iron. Contacting housekeeping was ignored. By the pool there was nothing healthy to eat, chips and hamburgers were not what we wanted. My friends saw the cook chasing a brown snake with kitchen tongs on the paving beside the toddlers pool! There was an obvious lack of staff.

Great for a weekend getaway if you like not doing roo much. As there is not much there.

Friendly service, cool selection of interactive virtual reality games, close beaches with convenient access via bicycles.

A great facility with so much to see and do. Room was clean and well appointed, staff friendly & helpful and such a large variety of different activities or just explore the awesome environment. Highly recommended, both with/without kids.

It's awesome there free wifi and air conditioning it's just a far walk to the general store and arcade

I had Purchased 2 Groupon Vouchers for 2 night stays in the Studio Apartments. The Staff were wonderfull, always friendly and Helpfull. The accomodation good.The food was top Notch, the heated pool Stunning, forest walks and Beautiful beaches to boost. Couran is under New management & Understandably they have some teething Issues but once sorted and they have the sports complex running I have no Doubt this will be a 5 Star resort, and you will struggle to get a booking.

I Would love to have my Daughters wedding in their outdoor Chapel.

Rooms are clean and there are a lot of activities for both adults and kids

Outdoor fun park definitely worth the price of the boat ride and food. Not 5 stars, but for the price I'd rate it highly. Nice trails, free use of outdoor equipment, good beach with free transport too it. Ok pools, decent food. I would go again, enjoyed it. Biggest drawback, its not for people who dont like the outdoors, went with a friend, he didn't enjoy it. Personally enjoyed it though.

We had a great day trip but the lagoon was smelly, weedy, making it very hard for the kids to enjoy. Also kids were cut by oysters on the pontoon, tgey need removing

Stayed in the premium water view room , room was spacious, deck and view was very nice . the minute we sat down we felt so relaxed so much to do and offer on this island , great for working couples that need to unwind and just relax . staff were lovely dinner meals just perfect , a cafe style breakfast would have topped it off over the buffet style. retreat only staying 2 nights 4 would have been great . highly recommend and can't wait to go back - we don't have kids but if you have kids OMG this is the place for you specially in summer so much for them to do and you will get a break as well , because you won't see them lol . we are defiantly looking forward to taking our nieces and family here. thanks for a great getaway x

Shocking they've been hiring live entertainment for the last 6+ months and not paying them. After repeated text emails and sending invoices - there's no response - They will even block musicians from off their Facebook page .

Other musicians plus my Son Yac who played there in Sept are still owed money for 2-3 nights work -

Dishonest Service from management is the worst service.

Please avoid this place and spread the word -

Just imagine yourself travelling to Stradbroke and spending money to cover travel expenses for 3 days and not getting paid and given the silent treatment

Amazing place. Awesome location. Fantastic staff. The service was brilliant and we can't recommend this location any more than we do. We absolutely loved Couran Cove Island Resort and can't wait to get back there.

Very, very disappointing. Understaffed and under stocked (running on limited menu and food even ran out). It seems it's a reflection of bad management.

Limited opening hours of the cafe and restaurant. Overall expensive meals and drinks. The rooms are good and the resort location is fantastic, lots to see. Only free-to-air TV is available, as the resort TV system is broken (not just our room).

The playground is a genuine hazard for children and a rust bowl. Broken equipment and unkempt facilities are an eye sore. You can't climb up the watch tower in the rainforest walk anymore.

A few staff members are gems and all acknowledge the current bad state of the resort (receptionist, activity centre and pool side cafe staff members - wonderful).

We have been here a few years ago and it's genuinely sad to see it so run down. The resort convenience store is no longer stocked with fruit and meats like it used to.

Management and owners must give themselves a hard upper cut to the face. I've been to African resorts better managed than this.

Needs updating but can be a great place once updated.

To be honest our visit here was very disappointing. It was a special weekend visit for a number of reasons. The ferry trip was a great way to slow down before we got to Couran Cove....We walked a long way, very slowly as my husband was recovering from major surgery. I wish I had of known how far it was although staff were sparse on the ground.
The room was spacious but it had the dirtiest,most stained carpet I have seen in accommodation for a very long time. I'm a redhead so the long black hair in the shower certainly wasn't mine.
The food and food choices were very average...don't get excited but still take your wallet. We did enjoy the nature that surrounded us.
My two stars are for the pair of kangaroos that were almost as interested in us as we were in them.

I was served raw chicken but they refunded the meal. But good activities and family fun

Nice Place, but feels rundown. Docked the boat here and tried to have Fish and Chips, waited over an hour. As others have said, poor service due lack of active listening to customers asking to clean tables and more polite staff needed.

I made a booking in Ramada Couron Cove for three nights from 14 Apr to 16 Apr. Unfortunately, I could not arrive on 14 th but arrived on 15th morning. I informed the hotel on 14th that I will arrive on 15th morning. My wife with kids arrived in morning. The resort reception informed her that the room is not ready (which was already paid for). After enquiries she was informed that she has to wait till housekeeping will organize the room.
I assumed that the hotel used the room for the night which was booked and paid. Morning checkout is at 10.30. On enquiring they said we have not sold that room for the night but it is still not ready. I called to find out how long it will take but reply was it depends on housekeeping.
I have made some enquiries across google and trip advisor and other which seem terrible on fronts of service and staff.
I would recommend that please enquire carefully before staying here as I am a local of Gold Coast.
Further, I will find out over next two days and post my experiences across various web options.

We have a great family holiday! We have a 1 year old who really loved being out doors and we had the whole island to enjoy- so many free activities and places to walk including a train ride. The rooms were great. But most of all the huge heated kids pool was the best as it was all shaded. Healthy and good quality food at the cafe. We'll be going again in winter next.

IT WAS AWESOME, SPECIALLY LOVED THE BEACHES AND WILDLIFE

What a great spot, so close to Home, Coomera Waters, lovely nature setting, you can t do it without bike rental, we were two families and we had a blast. Awesome Australia Day, we won t do the Eco Cabins again but we will pack lighter next time

Beautiful, very relaxing. Don't go there if you're expecting entertainment,you make your own

Terrible! Set your expectations very low.
Booked with my family for 4 nights in August. We left after 2 nights due to my wife getting severely ill, likely due to something eaten on the island.

This place is not ready to be open. If you go now, you are funding repairs and maintenance to a 'resort' that is not ready to host guests. If you insist on going, keep your expectations low.

They don't know who they are catering for. There are limited options to eat out on the island and they are all mediocre. 2 'restaurants' and a cafe. So if you're planning on dining out then your options are limited. If you plan to take food with you, there is no support for transporting it to your room and the store on the island is a joke for replenishing any items. Nothing is well thought out or focussed.

The staff are at the same level as Mc Donald's kids when it comes to knowledge or engagement. Our first meal at the poolside cafe, I asked to see a wine list. Blank stare. So I asked them what they had. "Red and white". They then brought a glass I hadn't ordered and which they had charged me for. The kids meal supposedly came with an ice cream. Asked them where we go to claim that: another astonished look like they have no idea.

The facts:
1) When you park for the ferry, there is no one at the terminal to answer questions. There is a space for luggage trollies, but no luggage trollies. There is no seating and very little shade while you wait. The car park nearest to the terminal was empty but closed off with chains so you have to lift your luggage for 100 metres plus.
2) The ferry staff were very unhelpful with loading luggage. I saw women with prams who were offered no assistance by the staff who just stood and checked names.
3) There is no safety briefing on the ferry. I could not see the location of life vests at all. In the event of a problem, the time taken to advise passengers could be critical. Amateurish all-round.
4) Neither TV in our cabin worked. Both were stuck at Android loading screens.
5) There are room safes but they don't work (do you see a pattern?)
6) We were provided 1 roll of toilet paper for 5 people over 4 nights. Had to call and go to reception ourselves to get a 2nd.
7) The only store on the island is a joke. $5 for a large bottle of spring water and on one day, they had no large bottles of water at all.
8) The kids playground was full of spider-webs and had exposed rust on multiple pieces of equipment. I was too concerned at the state of the equipment to let them use it.
9) Our cabin had dust everywhere (see my photos)
10) Have a look at the BBQ provided for us in the photos. It had rust everywhere and this is provided for a family where kids could cut themselves on it.
11) The cabin hadn't been properly cleaned in months. Have a look at the photos to see.
12) The pizzas at the restaurant are stodgy and overloaded with cheese. The chips were overcooked and dried out. I guarantee there is no decent chef at this 'resort'.
13) My wife got violently ill from something she ate or drank. There is no doctor on the island. Good luck if you need medical attention in the middle of the night.

If you have any standards at all, avoid this place like the plague as they have no idea what the word means.

Great range of activities included. We loved kayaking. The bed was as hard as a rock but fine for one night. Food is all a bit expensive. They had put karaoke on the night we were there which created a lot of noise until about midnight.

Always love going here but if they dropped the price abit i would go more often the place should be alive but mostly it feels like a ghost town better rates would bring this place alive i feel.

Overall a fantastic stay. We booked the 2B waterfront villa which was comfortable and relatively well priced for what you get. We only stayed for one night, but wish we could have stayed longer.
Kitchen is well enough equipt if you choose to bring some food and prepare a meal yourself.
We ended up dining at the main restaurant for dinner and enjoyed all of our meals. Sydney the only waitress rostered on, literally ran around looking after all of the tables and deserves a mention for a job well done.
On the staff, everyone we encountered was super friendly and helpful.
If your expecting super fancy you may be disappointed, but if you re looking for a relaxing get away close to the GC, you like nature or have active kids then you re onto a real winner.
The playground needs some attention but that didn t stop our son enjoying it for ages.
The free water sports are great and the pool caters for all ages.
You can see that it is a work in progress and with time I m sure this resort will be receiving 5 star reviews every time.
See you again soon CCIR

Nice place but very run down. Could be brilliant with a little TLC.