Ferntree Rainforest Lodge

Stayed here 5 years ago and it wasn’t terrible. But this time, I wish we’d tried elsewhere. Check-in, nobody around, tried the phone number and waited for 20mins, then tried again when another group showed up and a staff member eventually decided to show up. Room is very basic. Air conditioner filthy. No window coverings on one level. Noisy & pointless gardening work in the afternoon on a Sunday so no relaxing to be done. There is a moron with a stupidly noisy backpack leaf blower right outside our window now. Not sure why he is leaf blowing around the side of a cabin in a rainforest… it is not like it is a path… Restuarant not open Sunday. But one of the locals advised us to avoid when a certain chef is working anyway. Stupid signs in reception area, the only spot with wifi - not allowed to eat or drink there… why?! Pool area disgusting, children refused to swim and these are kids that have been in and out of natural creeks and water holes and happily explore the ocean - but this pool was too off-putting for them. Generally just isn’t a welcoming place and seems to have been taken over by people who have no idea how to run a tourism business.

We spent two nights at the Ferntree Rainforest Lodge in Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia. Although there were only two of us, our two-story room would have held four or five people comfortably. There was also a lovely front porch, but we did not spend much time there, given the warm summer weather and considerable rain. The reception area was very nice, but not always staffed; nonetheless, the lodge's personnel were extraordinarily helpful (see below). The restaurant and bar were closed for the low season, but there was a very nice pool, and the grounds were beautifully planted with a variety of tropical plants. The lodge is associated with Far North Escapes (reviewed separately), with which we took two great tours of the Daintree rainforest. In the late morning of the day we were to return to Cairns, amid the rainiest day of our entire trip, TransNorth informed us by e-mail that our return trip had been canceled because their bus had broken down. We had reservations to fly to Sydney the next day and back to the States two days later, so we were in dire straits. The staff at the Turtle Rock Cafe nearby made every effort to find us a way to get to Cairns, but nothing seemed to pan out. Finally the staff at Ferntree / Far North came through for us, and Sunny drove us to Cairns. We had to pay for it, of course, but we were very grateful for the service!

The following comments are meant to be an informative review for prospective clients. 1. There was a kettle and 4 mugs and teaspoons. A toaster was also supplied but no crockery or cutlery so not sure how the toast would work. 2. There were only 2 small open shelves for storage for possible 4 people staying there. 3. There was a TV on the wall but no mention of the fact that there were no free to air channels. You could supposedly hotspot to a device and only if you have the Telstra network. We could not get this to work and there were no staff who knew how to help us. 4. There was nowhere to hang towels hard again if there were 4 people staying. 5. No adequate lighting on paths at night - it was quite dangerous. Lots of the lights that were there were not working. 6. Childproof door at the top of the steep stairs had no latch. 7. Much of the time the reception staff were elsewhere but were exceptionally helpful when you could find someone. 8. We stayed at this resort 32 years ago and it is now showing signs that a lot of maintenance and financial investment is needed.