Shantara Resort Port Douglas - Adults Only Retreat

“This adults only resort is highly recommended and perfectly located. Restaurants, shops, beach and marina close by.”

Exceptional location, facilities and service! We were even provided a celebratory champagne for our 30th wedding anniversary, which we happily consumed with seafood on our balcony overlooking the pool. Staff were friendly and very helpful with recommendations on best tours, restaurants and sights t… more

Exceptional location, facilities and service! We were even provided a celebratory champagne for our 30th wedding anniversary, which we happily consumed with seafood on our balcony overlooking the pool. Staff were friendly and very helpful with recommendations on best tours, restaurants and sights to see. ❤️

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“Relaxing stay at the Shantara!”

Had a wonderful stay at the Shantara! Adults only, no kids, pool view apartment room with balcony and kitchenette. Apartments have a washer and dryer right outside the room. There are two pools on site and a lovely onsite spa that we ended our stay with. Very quite, no fuss stay. Short walk to the … more

Had a wonderful stay at the Shantara! Adults only, no kids, pool view apartment room with balcony and kitchenette. Apartments have a washer and dryer right outside the room. There are two pools on site and a lovely onsite spa that we ended our stay with. Very quite, no fuss stay. Short walk to the main strip of Port Douglas with many restaurants and shops about 5-15 minute walk depending on your destination. Four mile beach is roughly a 8-10 minute walk from Shantara. Weather in early October was very nice and sunny but not overly hot. Overall great place to stay and reasonable pricing so that we could focus on exploring and excursions within budget.

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“Great location, spacious apartment, laundry facilities”

This adults-only accommodation is very nice. We stayed in a one-bedroom apartment that had a separate bedroom and a living room/kitchen combo area. The kitchen was equipped with dishes, a microwave, dishwasher, toaster, and refrigerator. There was sort of a stove top with two burners that we never… more

This adults-only accommodation is very nice. We stayed in a one-bedroom apartment that had a separate bedroom and a living room/kitchen combo area. The kitchen was equipped with dishes, a microwave, dishwasher, toaster, and refrigerator. There was sort of a stove top with two burners that we never used. Tea bags, coffee, and sugar are provided. But you need to go out and get groceries for any meals. Nothing is offered on the premises. There are two pools. There is limited front-desk service, usually 9-5. And a security gate to the property is locked when there is no one at the front desk. But it opens with your room key. The thing that we loved the best was that there's a small washer and dryer in the alcove of each pair of apartments. It was just perfect for us. We were 8 days into a 18-day trip, so it was really nice to be able to wash our dirty clothes before we headed to our next destination. There is no cost to use the machines but you do need to get laundry soap, which they sell for $2 per pack at the front desk. I opted to buy my own bottle from the grocery store because I needed to do two loads and needed a liquid detergent because of an allergy to soap powder. Shantara's location is really good. It's probably a 10-minute walk to get to the main drag, where all the restaurants and stores are located. And we only walked about 12 minutes to catch our boat to the Great Barrier Reef. It is a very short distance to Four Mile Beach. If you don't mind having to provide your own meals (especially breakfast) it is a nice place. I prefer not to cook at all when on holiday, so I would have liked a hotel that offered breakfast. However, the laundry machines were a big plus in my book! P.S. I was awoken every morning around 4:30 a.m. by the birds. So be ready for that! (Hubby woke up one morning and slept through the noise on the other days.)

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“Old & Dated, Needs to be Updated”

Let’s start with the good stuff. The Shantara has a great location in walking distance to the downtown shopping and dining. It’s even pretty close to the port where all the Great Barrier Reef excursions depart. And it has an underground parkade if you have a rented vehicle. Also really nice is the … more

Let’s start with the good stuff. The Shantara has a great location in walking distance to the downtown shopping and dining. It’s even pretty close to the port where all the Great Barrier Reef excursions depart. And it has an underground parkade if you have a rented vehicle. Also really nice is the fact that you have separate A/C units for the bedroom and the living/dining/kitchen areas. There are 2 swimming pools, one of them on each side of the lobby, with the barbecue area situated by one of the pools. And finally, having a washer & dryer (shared with 1 other neighbouring room) was great. So…lots of nice things to have when you’re here for about a week. This is a fairly old development as far as I can tell. The kitchen has an old hot-plate and microwave, yet a fairly modern fridge (which oddly enough opens the wrong way from what you’d expect). The unit has a very bare-bones quantity of dishes – you get only 4 dinner plates, bowls, small plates, although our unit only had 3 bowls. Enough cutlery and glassware. They advertise having barbecues. Well…no. They have 2 large griddles, which can’t do anything close to the job of a gas BBQ. And they take 15-20 minutes to heat up. Big disappointment, because we’d been eating in restaurants for 2 ½ weeks, and were looking forward to cooking our own meals while we were here. Our unit didn’t even have salt and pepper shakers, instead providing you the little paper packets you find at fast food restaurants. The griddle area has salt and pepper shakers along with a miscellaneous selection of other spices and condiments (that prior guests have left). The bathroom vanity countertop offered little space for makeup bags or shave kits. And the shower is in a full size tub that you gotta climb into…not as nice as a walk-in shower. And the shower controls are at the far end of the tub. Weird. Bottom line is that, although this place has a lot of great things going for it, it also sorely needs to be updated to the expectations of today’s travellers. The big tub/shower could easily be converted to a walk-in shower plus a mini-tub for those with small children. Rip out those junky griddles and build a nice dual gas BBQ station down by the pool. Upgrade the kitchen and put a few more dishes in each suite. The king bed was comfortable, 2 pillows each. Nighttime was quiet, so pretty good quality of sleep. No restaurant on site, so that morning latte is a short walk away.

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