Qualia

Whilst Qualia claims to be six star we found the service aspect very poor. The waiting staff were are full of hi how are and pseudo interest in you that they forgot their real job of waiting the table. Dinner service took several hours in the Long Pavilion restaurant and often no member of staff was anywhere to be seen. Breakfast took over an hour on our check out morning, other guests that came later were severed and we kept getting missed. When we did get some sort of service the wrong juices were bought just how hard is it to get a two juice order right! Just about everything we had to chase up from our in room bill being wrong and not corrected to the transport back from marina we booked which didn’t show until, we managed to find a phone number for Qualia and chase it up. We had our reservation cancelled at Pebble beach restaurant because of a function. I made this booking three months prior to our stay and Qualia had every opportunity to email me to tell me rather than wait until I arrived. Again I find this from a high end resort pretty poor. That night we dined in our room which was nice and as we had a dedicated waitress the service was good so it can be done. The next day we came back from our day out to find the dirty plates with what was left of the food scraps still piled outside of our room. I will give credit where it is due and the food ( when it eventually arrived) was very good. As other guests have said the rooms are large but not really luxury. We also weren’t told on check in the keep the doors to the room closed as the Cockatoos would come in and steal biscuits from the mini bar. It wasn’t a terrible stay here but not what you would expect for the cost. The service needs to be much improved. One other point is Qualia charged us a fee to use our debit card to pay our bill ( cash isn't accepted ) as we understood the charge should have only applied to credit cards. No where else in Australia charged us to use our debit card. I don’t understand this as surely Qualia makes enough money….

When you’re paying these kind of prices, you expect perfection, but it is far from that. The hotel is pitched as 5 star and sure, the resort is big with the kind of facilities you would expect, including spacious rooms, private pools, good food and buggies to travel around in etc. The rooms however are very early 2000s and actually quite basic. Worst of all though is the service. It seems that most staff are not hotelier-trained (as you would expect of such a place) but rather, European travellers - almost none of whom have been there for more than 6 months. Most try their best but we found them to be overwhelmed almost all of the time. 5 times we had to wait more than 4 minutes for room service to answer the phone, once just being cut off, another time, no answer at all. Cleaning was sub par, with dirty cups left on the side and items in the fridge not replaced. Waiters taking our food orders forgot things or failed to ask about drinks unless prompted. And it took half an hour to get served a cocktail. All I can think about is how much this stay cost. Very disappointing.

A really beautiful property but the service just didn’t do the place justice. Service at mealtimes was by a group of young people. Some were friendly , charming and affable, others showed neither enthusiasm nor aptitude for working in hospitality. Admittedly our group was difficult as both my husband and daughter have special dietary requirements. But every request seemed to result in some level of confusion. At our first breakfast the girl nominally in charge promised us she would organise dairy free spread for the rest of our stay. This never actually materialised. Granola was served without spoons and on one occasion at breakfast we had to ask on three separate occasions for some juice. This confusion seemed to permeate throughout the organisation.I had taken a lot of trouble beforehand to book activities and on arrival our activity schedule had a sunset cruise missing. I was asked to provide proof of booking it ! Attention to detail seemed to be lacking in nearly every area. I understand that it is difficult to get staff to somewhere like Hamilton Island but surely this does not excuse a severe lack of training. At times it really felt like we were holidaying in a hospitality training facility. Some parts of the experience were exceptional, the spa, the Sommelier Ben, and the afore mentioned sunset cruise were all completely wonderful. The turndown service was also very special. We were lucky enough to stay en route at Raffles hotel where every single member of staff genuinely seemed invested in you having the best possible time and everybody seemed to know your name. This was such a different experience and I do feel the underlying ethos of Qualia needs to fundamentally change so there isn’t such a wide rift between the amazing place itself and the accompanying service levels. Would we get back ,definitely it’s a beautiful place. But we would like to be reassured that the service had improved in the interim.

The whole idea of Qualia is to be private and exclusive and it definitely gives that vibe. The room was nice but not spectacular in comparison to some of the other luxury homes on the island, it’s nice having your own private pool however there was no where to sunbake as the whole deck was undercover. Hence, it lost that private appeal as if you wanted to lay in the sun you had to go down to the main pool with other people. As we were celebrating our wedding anniversary we just wanted to stay in the room and not do much else. We got the food included and that was the one thing that made it worth it. Would just come back for the food!

My wife and I stayed in a windward room at Qualia. It was one of the best resorts we have visited. The room, the grounds and all of the central restaurant buildings were very clean and maintained to a very high standard. The restaurants were excellent and service was clearly better than other places we have stayed. Qualia is gated with only guests able to enter so it is a lot less busy than the rest of Hamilton Island. It is expensive but if you can afford it it is worth every cent.

qualia is a beautiful property, with wonderful rooms and facilities and excellent food, let down by slightly amateurish generic service. Examples of service issues include: - breakfast, where missed or late coffees and drinks were the norm (they should write down the orders); - a single slightly hostile reception experience at the spa (the spa was otherwise excellent); - the impression that the facilities aren’t quite sufficient to match guest demand, with the resulting emphasis on pre-booking in advance; - a general service experience that just falls below the very best out there, although Pebble Beach in the evening did have excellent waiters. These issues might not rate a mention at a lesser property, but when paying these prices the entire experience should be near perfect. qualia is very much a high-end hotel and not a luxury lodge. This isn’t necessarily a plus or a minus, but the marketing could give the impression that qualia offers a personalised luxury lodge experience with lodge-like levels of personal service. With 60 rooms to cater to, it doesn’t, and if you’re expecting that experience then you’ll be disappointed. We’ll probably be back, and we had a generally great time - but management should work on the service. A more personalised, slick service approach would be the cherry on top of an otherwise great property.

Qualia was beautiful! The staff were very nice! Rooms were absolutely exquisite- well appointed with every amenity one could want! Unfortunately we were there during a cyclone warning so all of our activities were canceled. We tried to snorkel at the resort but the water wasn't clear because of the imminent storm. Kudos to Mia at the activities desk who really tried to help. We couldn't get any spa treatments because they were booked solid so definitely book in advance! My only small thing is that I wish the menu at Long Pavilion was a bit more varied and low key. Delicious seafood platter at the pool!

We stayed for 3 nights in a Windward Pavilion. I seldom give 5 stars - perfection is rare - but Qualia must qualify. From pick up at the airport on arrival the service was exemplary. Our pavilion was beautifully appointed and well maintained and housekeeping was unobtrusive and effective. Breakfast is cooked to order and was delicious. In summary there were no *******; this resort advertises itself as perfection and it is.

Best hotel by far, will go back again. Impossible to fault. Get the room with your private pool (Winward Pavillion). Turn down service, luxury check in from the airport, your own private golf buggy, nothing is ever a problem, the spa is also worth a look. The bath has a view over the whisundays. And the ultimate breakfast!