Woodlands Rainforest Retreat

We were really excited about our stay at Woodlands but as soon as we arrived and saw the cottage where the reception was housed, we started to have concerns. There were dead plants at the entrance, random pieces of wood on the ground, and some faded outdated notices about Covid-19 measures pinned to the windows. It was instantly clear that the retreat had seen better days - the signs indicating the direction of the cabins were faded and there were piles of leaves on the roofs of the cabins. When we opened the door to our cabin, we were met with a nauseating odour of menthol/pine scented cleaning fluid. Despite opening all the windows, the smell remained hours later. There was a large, poorly repaired crack in the bathtub and the water flowing from the tap was brown. The jar of jam in the breakfast basket provided had a broken seal, indicating that it had perhaps already been used. We decided to cut our stay short due to the aforementioned reasons and left at 8pm on our first night. The next day, our clothes smelled strongly of the cleaning fluid and we had to wash them before we could wear them again. The owners really need to improve their property urgently.

Lovely property, secluded stay in the forest. The water in the spa came out dirty but otherwise a wonderful getaway. Maybe put some lights up along the path so it’s easy to see at night when driving into the area.

My partner and I stayed here years ago, it has since changed hands, we weren’t aware until we arrived. The place is very different from our previous experience where we were welcomed by a beautiful hamper, eggs, bacon and tomato for breakfast, fresh bread, oranges, wine and port, plenty of wood for two nights clean and tidy grounds, beautiful soft bed and everything clean, and the owners were lovely warm and welcoming. Our experience in late July of 2023 was the opposite, here are some highlights: - grounds unkempt - Leaf debris all over the roof and along driveways - enough wood for 60 minutes burning time, you have to pay extra for more - bed bowed in the middle and the pillows were comparable to Kmarts generic brand - no more bathrobes - mould in the shower, grotty walls, things just felt dirty (greasy) - the Earth Choice multi-purpose cleaner was water - that explains the greasy feel in the place - no more port - we used to really enjoy that finer detail - oranges were mouldy (thanks!) - bread partially stale - no more eggs, bacon, tomato, juice (you could buy it for $95 though or travel 25 minutes to get breakfast) - no interaction with the owners. Reason being Covid-19. Sorry but I don’t believe you. Especially given the cleanliness of the rooms. - no toiletries or anything so make sure you bring your own I’m so disappointed. My partner said he won’t go back, unfortunately I tend to agree. I beg the owners to take more pride in the beautiful opportunity that they have and actually interact with their customers, text messages are very impersonal.

Fantastic quiet getaway! Very clean and tidy but for the price you pay there should be a ready supply of wood for the fire at no extra cost.

My Husband and I spent 2 nights in the cockatoo cottage, surrounded by rainforest and beautiful large ferns. completely secluded and emerged in nature. upon arrival, scented tea candles were lit unbeknownst to us by the owner as a nice little welcome for us. The cottage was clean and wel presented ( i wouldn't say complete luxury) but good enough for us. included breakfast consisted of sour dough bread, some fruit, Organic honey and jam, tea and freshly ground coffee. Due to covid or not enough staff a lot of the packages weren't available , like in house couples massage or dinner's how ever the manger or owner offered to cook us a home made pasta dish and drop it at our door. which was really nice of him. If you are wanting to go for the fire place experience call and ask first as there are restrictions around bushfires hazards that are put in place by the local council not by the owners so just check before you go. The hot tub was great, murky water due to natural discolouration, I added radox bath soak and made the water green which looked a bit more inviting. mood lighting at night and the cold breeze coming in from the open doors was magical while enjoying a hot tub, we even had a visit from 3 possum's. Bed was really comfy sheets were soft and clean. Deck is a bit slippery once it rains. FYI The gardens on the property are gorgeous this time of year with vibrant reds and yellows. got to see lots of wild life too. Over all, we had a great time, exactly what we wanted, a little pricey for what it was, but perfect for us for our honey moon

Don't stay here its not worth it!!! The Power went out 1 hour into stay. 6pm, then didn't come on until 2am. Local power out.. there solution, Giving us 4 tea lite candles. No power. No lights. No hott water. No heat. No fire... 8degrees and very dark and cold. Not able to cook. Or use anything in stay. The owner Refused any form of refund for half a night lost. First night $800 to sit in a pitch black cold room. Got excited to ride the bicycles.. guess what flat Tyers on both of them. Placed all our dishes in the dish washer end of stay then turned it on.. then they blamed us that the dish washer didn't clean them properly and charged another $70... cheap detergent they provide wont clean dishes well (scam) . There's no gym and they said they have not bothered to open it after covid because no one uses it, the gym is just dirty and messy inside and is in an unusable state . Lock downs ended over a year ago that's just lazy poor maintenance. $1600 for 1 and a half nights. 100% not worth it. Stingy new owners. This business will run into the ground with the lack of maintenance and bad customer service. The owners holidaying in japan and couldn't care less about his customers. Nobody got back to us after they said they would in 3 days time. Save your money and just enjoy a bush walk and stay somehere else. Every top class stay has back up generator's and take the duty of care to maintain there property's and care for there customers.

TOTALLY WORTH IT!! This is the ideal place if you are looking for a place to relax and heal. Spent our NYE in the middle of the forest while enjoying the beauty and serenity of nature. The management communicated with us pretty well and they were very responsive during our stay which made us feel secured though we never met them in person. We were given proper instructions for contacless check in & check out which was very thoughtful during these critical times. We were given 100% privacy which made us feel like we were in our own house in the forest. We got to see so many beautiful birds, wallabies, possums and fed them too. The cottage is euqipped with all the necessary utensils, all well cleaned and other things like medicines for insect bites. Their own range of bathroom amentities were super nice and soothing. This felt like a honeymoon we had again in two years. Definitely going back there. Wanted to stay there forever! Would recommend this place to anyone without a doubt.

Highly disappointed. Will not return. The Woodlands Rainforest Retreat is a far cry from what was advertised on the website; so much so that we feel we have been scammed. Whilst the location is perfect, it is definitely not worthy of the word 'retreat' and would not even make the mark of a Superhost on Airbnb. I concur with both O N, Heath and B J on all their points so I won't repeat these. In addition, amenities were not stocked from previous guests (empty or almost empty), mould in shower, dirt under sink and broken items to name a few. The signs in the cottage indicating the fire was ready to be lit; however, on arrival, the fire was burnt out with charcoal logs from a previous fire. The finer touches you would expect staying at a $500-$600 a night 'retreat' were absent. The gym was closed (covid is no longer an excuse, gyms have been open for a long time now) and extras that we booked were cancelled. Leading up to our stay, staff would not return my enquiries and only contacted me when it was about money. I never received a warm or welcome feeling from the communication I had with them. Saw the owners once during our stay and the lack of hospitality made our encounter awkward and made us feel uncomfortable. We booked Woodlands when clearly there were previous owners and the reviews were amazing. We are disappointed we did not get to experience this place when it was at its finest. I would not waste your money. There are plenty of other gems in the area for much less money. I hope one day this place can be in the hands of those that will give it the love it deserves.

Beautiful