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My wife and I have just celebrated our 25th Wedding anniversary at Qualia and couldn't have hoped for a better way to do it. An excelent mix of relaxation, friendly attentive but not obtrusive staff, wonderful array of activies and the little things that really count such as refreshing hand towels on arrival at the airport, baggage collected for you and delivered to your pavillion, champagne at reception and a further bottle on ice in your pavillion. We couldn't recommend it highly enough.. A must for anyone who really wants to unwind, enjoy and remember a holiday.

We came back to Japan from the dream days at Qualia in Hamilton Island. We completely enjoyed Qualia world: the relaxing room, the gentle breeze, the nice views, the interesting trees, the pretty bird songs in the silence, the beautiful beech, the amazing starry sky, the funny buggy, the fine breakfasts, the great wines, the wonderful dinners, and every kind and elegant services. We revisited the Hamilton Island and the Great Barrier Reef for the first time in 25 years (our honeymoon), and we felt the deep happiness under Qualia environment. Please keep the beautiful, wonderful, and graceful world of Qualia until our third visit to Hamilton Island!

Qualia has everything: a beautiful view, beautiful accommodations, beautiful grounds, a fabulous pool, even a small beach, and friendly staff, especially the wait staff. But....The food isn't as good as it could be, and the menu, especially at breakfast and at Pebble Beach, doesn't change much. Although the staff is friendly, there is a lot of miscommunication. It seems like the concierges do one thing but the message doesn't always get out to the staff. For example, the concierges were great in letting us know when things were cancelled, like our seaplane outing to the Great Barrier Reef, because the swells were too high. And they ably worked around the cancellation to offer us a helicopter ride to the Reef the next day, so we did get to go. So that first day we booked a trip to Whitehaven Beach, which is exquisitely beautiful and unusual. When we got to the boat at the marina, we were told that it was too choppy to get to Whitehaven that day and that we would instead go snorkeling at Black Island. Ultimately, that was fine, but it would have been nice to have known that before we left the resort. Or the fact that we received a notice confirming waterskiing, when the concierge had cancelled the booking. Small things, but they add up.When we arrived, we were met by a staff member who escorted us to a sitting area overlooking a beautiful view. We were offered something to drink, and that was fine, but then we were abandoned for some time, just sitting there in the lounge without our luggage. Apparently, our room really wasn't ready (although we had been told that it was), but the communication was absent, and we didn't know why we were sitting around.The best part of Qualia is certainly the pool. If you like to swim laps, then this is a pool for you. 33 meters long and wide, overlooking a small sandy beach and a somewhat larger rocky beach with the most glorious views. Towels are ample, although we have to retrieve them and spread them out over our lounges. A small issue, I know, but the kind of service one would expect for the price. One nice feature is that the staff is happy to take guests anywhere on the island. Every bungalow gets a buggy to ride in, but especially at night, it's nice to get a lift. And it's fun not having to take a wallet - everything on the island gets charged to the room. And we particularly enjoyed our big balcony. Very private with great views.

We stayed at Qualia for 4 days in April 2013 in a Windward room and our son stayed in a Leeward room. There is a 16 year minimum age requirement to stay at this resort which is great if you want a peaceful and relaxing break. This trip was a last minute decision and we tried to book the Beach House but this was solidly booked out until mid May so if you have a particular preference for a 2 bedroom pavilion it pays to book early as they have only one Beach House.The layout of the pavilions we found to be the ideal balance between views and privacy. The Windward pavilions have filtered ocean views and the Leeward pavilions have filtered bay views. They are all generally very private and tranquil. In our opinion the Windward pavilions with the best views are 3 to 6, 9 to 12 and 15 to 17 and the best Leeward pavilions are 34 to 39, 50 to 53 and 57 - see attached resort map.The grounds are very well manicured and luscious and include a wide variety of native Australian plants. If you are out at dusk you will also get the chance to see a few Australian mammals including possums and wallabies.This is definitely the best Australian resort we have stayed at. When we compare it to some of the luxury Four Seasons and St Regis resorts we have stayed at around the world, we can say without hesitation that it is equivalent or better in most aspects. The following are our thoughts of Qualia in terms of: design and construction; maintenance; service; and dining.One of Qualias¿¿¿s areas of superiority is the design and construction of the whole resort. It has a very Australian seaside feel to it with extensive use of Australian hardwoods and the layout and spacing of the pavilions affords total privacy. When we were staying at the resort it was almost full but it never felt busy. The construction detail of Qualia was the best I have seen anywhere - I have been involved in commercial construction for over 20 years so this is always something I pay attention to when I travel.One thing we always feel lets many luxury resorts down is maintenance - after a few years they are rundown and have been poorly maintained. This is another area where Qualia excels so congratulations to housekeeping and the maintenance team. We were very impressed with the condition of the pavilions. They had been clearly maintained very well, both inside and out - not a single spider web to be found. Housekeeping do a very good job keeping the pavilions clean and fresh - one ting that usually annoys us is the condition of the bathrooms and showers but Qualia¿¿¿s was in pristine condition.Service is very Australian - relaxed and friendly. If you require anything it is only a phone call away but don¿¿¿t expect there to be staff there to constantly assist you. The exception is the spa which is world class and staff will go out of there way to pamper you from head to toe.Qualia is the sort of resort for relaxing and sharing special moments together so the range of activities within the resort is fairly limited. There is a reasonably equipped gym that is usually empty so you can have a gym session all to yourself. There is a watersports centre with Hobie Cats and kayaks and there is the main pool down by Pebble Beach. The beach is not very big and is full of pebbles so it¿¿¿s not great for walking or jogging along. Outside of the resort there are a lot of other activities on the island but we preferred to spend most of our time just relaxing within the resort.Dining options within the resort is also a little limited. There is only one restaurant for dinner in the Long Pavilion and one restaurant for lunch at Pebble Beach. The menus are however diverse enough for a one week stay or there is always the option of dining at one of the other restaurants on the Island.Overall we were very happy with our decision to have a short break at Qualia. We would have been happy to have stayed a few more days but any more than a week may have been a bit boring. In summary, Qualia is the best re

Ok, I'm struggling to think up superlatives that would do justice to this resort. It deserves every accolade mentioned in previous reviews, so I won't repeat them. Having been driven to the resort from the airport, & whilst sipping our introductory champagne, the manager, Michael Shah asked us if we would mind changing our pavilion from number 4 to number 11, as it would be available quicker. Well, I'm glad we did, as11 has a more elevated location & the view was superb. It was my wife's birthday on 2nd May, & that night she was presented with chocolates on a plate that had " happy birthday " in chocolate on it. A really nice touch. We took the helicopter / picnic trip to Whitehaven beach which was brilliant. The sand is so white that it reflects the heat & is therefore quite cool to walk on.We had no problems with the buggy - it was great for getting around the whole island. As for the staff - well, I really can't praise them highly enough. Each & every one of them made us feel really special, but I must mention Jura May who was a delight & made us laugh with her story about the scotsmen in the lift! Can't comment on the spa, as we didn't use it ( too busy enjoying our plunge pool! )Summing up, this is the best place we've ever stayed in - so, I would suggest any negative comments tell you more about the reviewer than the resort. If you have a bucket list that includes indulging yourself in a fabulous resort, then I would say this is the one to go for.