Rainbow Ocean Palms Resort

I have stayed at Rainbow Ocean Palms Resort twice in the past year. My first stay, in Unit 10, was excellent. The apartment was exactly as advertised: a one-bedroom with ocean views, clean and well-presented, and it included a fully enclosed bathroom, which I had not specifically requested. This positive experience led me to rebook for a second stay. Unfortunately, the second stay was markedly different and deeply disappointing. I was placed in Unit 2, which did not reflect the advertised standards. The bathroom had no door separating it from the bedroom, and a window—without glass—connected the bathroom to the kitchen and dining area. This design raises serious hygiene concerns. The ocean view was also significantly obstructed by trees, and the apartment contained several locked doors, one of which I reasonably assumed might have led to an additional bathroom. When I approached the property manager to ask whether another bathroom could be unlocked—so I wouldn’t disturb my partner during the night—I was met with a rude and unhelpful response. I was told this would incur a $50 charge. The manager then insisted that I should have checked whether the apartment had a door on the bathroom before booking, which is an unreasonable expectation. He also made irrelevant remarks about how I had booked through a third-party site and should have booked directly through the property's website—none of which had any bearing on the issue at hand. He further distanced himself from responsibility by stating he is not the owner, not the architect, and merely the property manager—implying it was unreasonable to expect a basic feature such as an enclosed bathroom. I strongly disagree. Most reasonable people would expect a bathroom with a door and would find this setup unhygienic and inappropriate for the standard and pricing of this accommodation. To add to the frustration, Unit 2 was priced the same as Unit 10 despite being clearly inferior in layout, amenities, and overall experience. I chose to rebook based on the quality of my first stay and did not anticipate needing to request something as fundamental as a door on a bathroom. After reading other reviews, I can see that I’m not the only guest who has raised these concerns. I strongly urge management to listen to this feedback and make the necessary changes. I will not be returning, and I suspect many others will feel the same. That said, Rainbow Beach and Carlo Sand Blow remain beautiful locations well worth visiting. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this resort—particularly Unit 2—due to the misrepresentation of the accommodation and the poor quality of service received.

What we booked - a superior King apartment with, according to the website, ‘stunning ocean views towards K’gari’. What we got - a view of trees, with little ocean to be seen. On realising this I immediately went back to reception to speak to one of the owners, who had checked us in. The response? ‘They’ don’t like me cutting the trees down, so there’s nothing I can do. I showed him a picture of the stunning ocean view promised on the website, and explained that we had cancelled a booking elsewhere to come here. A shrug, and a repeat of the fact there’s nothing he can do. I asked if we could be moved. No, fully booked. Silence then ensued, with no apology or alternative solution forthcoming. Eventually I asked if anyone was leaving during our stay, and it transpired they were. He agreed to move us to a higher apartment for our last 2 nights. I was quite upset by the whole situation, and wrote to his partner who I had corresponded with during the booking process. I explained that this trip (a month travelling up and down the east coast) had been a year in the planning for a special birthday, with a theme of ‘rooms with a view’. This was our longest stay, and given the website promises, due to be the highlight of the trip. To be faced with rows of trees with barely a sea view was such a disappointment, I asked if our money would be refunded if we left the following day. It is generous to describe the reply as brusque. It said (and I am only summarising very slightly) Sorry you’re not happy, normal cancellation terms apply so no refund, and anyway you’ve been upgraded free of charge for 2 nights. So we stayed, made the best of it, and duly packed up all, our bags to move for the last 2 nights. The new room was what I had hoped for from the beginning, with beautiful views, and at least gave us some enjoyment before we left. It is interesting that the original room (no 2) also features in a detailed recent review on Booking.com, complaining about the same issue. What is promised and delivered here are 2 completely different things. Ultimately though, the thing with hospitality is that regardless of issues you might have, it’s the way those responsible leave you feeling. In this case it was abundantly clear that our year of planning the trip of a lifetime, the hundreds of dollars per night spent on a room that didn’t deliver on its promise, and our subsequent unhappiness, upset and disappointment were of no absolutely consequence to the owners of Rainbow Ocean Palms whatsoever.

We were surprised by the size of the apartment ( very large) and how well equipped it was. We were in apartment 10 which was accessible via lift from the basement car park. It was very large and you could easily cook anything given the equipment. As it's up a very steep hill, most people drive up/ down to the town. I imagine itd be quite a tough walk up in the heat as its very steep in places. However, this enables the views from the apartment & balcony which were excellent and also looked down onto the small pool. We used the electric bbq a couple of nights aswell as cooking in the kitchen. Rainbow Beach is small but has lots of cafés for mornings/lunch. Ocean Palms was ideal for a more relaxing stay.