Thala Beach Lodge (Coral Sea Bungalow)

This resort was Heaven on Earth. The staff went above and beyond and they were all super nice. The views from the restaurant and bar overlooking the Coral Sea were astonishing and so was the food. The natural swimming pools were a delight as well, but what really stood out beside the staff were the tours for guests only. I loved them all: the Nature Walking Tour with Brett, the Star Gazing tour with Rose, the Coconut Odissey tour with Geff and also the cultural presentation about the Kuku Yalanji. There is also a private beach for guests only and it was lovely to walk around the property and spotting birds, butterflies, plants and all that nature has to offer. If one does not want to walk there is a buggy service taking you around the resort 24/7 and reception is also open 24/7 - and the guys who drove me, Thomàs and the other man - were super lovely as well. At Thala there is even a Turtle Lookout to spot seaturtles. The bungalows with their porches overlooking either the sea or the forest were stunning and what I loved the most about this place was how the resort was the background of the surrounding nature and not the other way around.

Thala Beach Nature Reserve was absolutely brilliant on so many levels - it suited us down to the sand! Firstly, the staff were simply fantastic. My partner was a bit debilitated due to an accident 2 days before we arrived and the wonderful staff literals not do enough to help us (shout out to Lyndon and Ray). We were there at a non-peak time; dodgy weather, stingers in the (beautifully warm) water, not breeding or migration season for the birds or butterflies. No matter - the ambiance of this utterly gorgeous place won us immediately and we are already planning our next stay. The accommodation (eucalypt bungalow) was perfect (but we might upgrade to coral sea bungalow next time). Coconut water from the nut at breakfast watching ospreys and sea eagles fish had my heart pounding from the moment I awoke. The casual friendliness of everyone we met was unbelievable, so relaxing and we honestly felt like part of the family. Food at the restaurant was first class (and I know about these things). Drinks selection perfect (Belvedere vodka anyone). Picnic hampers wonderful. We did not want to leave. We absolutely loved Thala Beach and a huge thank you to everyone who made our stay so perfect. Simon

Thala has an impressive main building atop a rocky point with excellent views. The cabins are set in dense forrest. We have been there a few times. The food had always let the experience down. A new chef and menu held promise, but meals were still hit and miss with some very good, such as all the breakfasts and others not so good such as the lunch, Vietnamese Vego rice paper rolls with the rice paper, tough as leather. We sent them back but the replacements were also the same. The steak sandwich on the other hand was excellent. For dinner seafood bisque would have been excellent but served in such a shallow bowl that we couldn't get the bisque until we had eaten all the seafood, leaving the raw potato, then tilt the bowl to spoon up the bisque. The Pork Belly appeared to be overly deep-fried rather than roasted. The Barramundi and the Beef Tenderloin were excellent. The biggest dissapointment for a NATURE RESERVE was that we walked the entire property, day and night but found almost a total lack of native wildlife. FERAL PIGS, however, were roaming the entire property up to and even under the cabins, to the amusement of some overseas guests and staff, but not to any Australian (or informed overseas) nature lover. The "Bird Pond" lacked birds but was beset with plague proportion of Cane Toads. There were no obvious efforts to reduce the feral numbers. Perhaps they could change their name to Thala FERAL Reserve.