Daintree Eco Lodge

The Ecolodge is a magical and unique hotel. Waking up in the treetop cabin to the sounds of the rainforest is unlike anywhere else. But what makes it is the warm and friendly staff, particularly Rob and Julia who are superb at advising on which trips to take and ensuring that your stay feels very special. Delicious meals and cocktails in a beautiful setting and the size of the hotel makes it a very intimate experience.

I don't like to write negative reviews so let's just call this one a "mixed" review. We were expecting our stay at the Daintree Ecolodge to be one of the highlights of our month-long Australia vacation. Alas, we were disappointed for a number of reasons. But first, let's start with the good. Staff are wonderful. We enjoyed all our interactions with hotel and restaurant staff. They all seem to have a great attitude and clearly want to please. Secondly, except for one experience, the restaurant was outstanding, especially for dinner. The exception was our 'breakfast bowl'. Of the 30 days we spent in Australia we had breakfast bowls (fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts and other healthy ingredients) about 25 times. The worst by a mile was the one served to us at Daintree. It was not only unimaginative, but was so salty we couldn't eat it. We wondered if salt had been added by mistake instead of sugar. The rooms at Daintree are very nice and imaginative, but NOT worth over $800 dollars per night. We stayed in much better rooms for half that cost during our trip. What was particularly disappointing was the lack of extra amenities and services in the room. One expects extra special touches for $800. There was no turndown service, no chocolates on the pillow, no extra special exotic soaps and lotions, nothing that really made the stay special. Furthermore, the bathroom lacks any sort of hooks or racks for towels and toiletry bags. What are you supposed to do with your wet towel? Service to the room was "perfunctory". The minibar was not restocked, we did not receive fresh towels, cleaning was clearly done very quickly rather than thoroughly. All of this was disappointing for a high-end resort. We did not feel anything was special. Admittedly, had I brought any of these issues to management's attention, I have no doubt efforts would have been made to address them. We didn't bother because none of this is critical and we were just too busy exploring the area to fret about it. But we were left with a less-than-favourable impression given the cost of our stay. I would not be writing this review if we had paid $400 per night. Based on this experience, I am sorry I cannot recommend staying at the Daintree Ecolodge.

Contrary to other reviews we've seen, the Ecolodge is NOT "tired" in any way. It's beautiful. Our rainforest bungalow was beautifully provisioned, clean, and idyllic. Everything is modern, especially the bathroom, and the bed was divine. The central areas of the Ecolodge are stylish and comfortable. The staff are absolutely next level amazing, as is the food! We did the 6 course degustation on our second night and the food was absolutely *to die for*. In fact, all the food was delicious and well-presented, even on the regular menu, and the included breakfasts were exceptional. I'm glad we only stayed 3 nights though... wouldn't stay longer, as there is not all that much to do unless you're keen on significant driving. Our only slight complaint is that the "gym" (if you can call it that!) is tiny and only has one cycle and a selection of handweights. Unfortunately my biggest "issue" isn't really the fault of the Ecolodge... but it needs to be said nonetheless. A HUGE party of about 10 adults and 10 young children turned up on our last night and morning. I'm surprised that the Ecolodge isn't billed as an adult retreat as everything about it isn't really geared towards families. The dining deck should be a place of candlelit calm and romance beside the lagoon, but... on our last night, and last breakfast, that was shattered. At dinner, all the adults sat together and the kids all at one table unsupervised. They were getting up and down, running around the tables to their parents. etc. We took our dessert to our room. In the morning, it was worse. We delayed our breakfast until the latest possible time to be finished before checkout, thinking the group will have already had breakfast. Well, essentially they had finished, but that didn't stop the adults sitting at the tables drinking coffee and talking loudly throughout our whole breakfast, with their children running in and out, playing games on the floor, even skating around the tables in their wheelie shoes, crying, screaming etc. The parents were completely tone deaf to the few couples like us who were trying to enjoy a peaceful rainforest breakfast. I can't believe they just continued to sit there as if the dining deck is an all-day play area. It was completely selfish. While I know this is not the Ecolodge's fault, perhaps there needs to be some counselling of such large groups in advance. Or give them a separate dining window and warn the other guests.

This was a unique place in that every room is its own small “house”. You get to enjoy being a part of the rainforest. The resort is beautiful. Loved the screened in porch. We also had two dinners here and they were excellent as were the drinks. There is a small hike to a waterfall on the property that was beautiful and a nice small adventure. For larger adventures the staff helped us with a river tour at sunset which was beautiful. My only call out is I do feel it most appropriate for couples due to the relaxed romantic vibe. You can hear neighbors a bit due to the open design but this is also what makes it special.

We very much enyoed our stay in the Lagoon Treehouses. It is a very special experience to sleep and eat breakfast directly in the rainforest. The rooms/treehouses were great - clean and good equipped. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The breakfast was great as well. There is small à la carte choice. Everything we had was delicious.

Such a wonderful experience. Hands down the best food in the region. Knowledgeable and friendly staff and guides. My wife and I had a lovely relaxing holiday here. On the luxury end in terms of price but so incredibly worth it!