Amaroo on Mandalay, Magnetic Island

Look, this place has seen better days. Much as seems to be the way in Queensland's North coast islands. The rooms were well appointed and air-conned and had been renovated since our last stay. That was really the only positive. The resort is spread out amongst tropical gardens, which are well kept, however the sprinkler system often prevents you from using the paths. The pool is large but has seen better days with grouting missing around the edges. Reception is a minimalist affair both in terms of first impressions and reception staff. Pleasant, but really didn't want to be there. Car park is pretty awful, seems to contain a range of discarded cars with mould, peeling paint and weeds growing under them (not a good impression). The restaurant was closed, temporarily info on which was not provided when booking - which meant a walk into town for food. Wifi only in reception (if you have kids that can't live without it). This place has lost its charm and we concluded would be our last visit having come here since 2011. Think carefully before booking and weight up price and amenities.

The room itself was quite nice, spacious and clean. No interactions with staff as reception was closed during check in and check out. The actual grounds and pool area are in need of a tidy and clean. A little TLC is definitely needed as it appears rundown and messy in places. The smashed windows in reception are also not a good look. If you are looking for somewhere nice, probably look elsewhere.

The only unpleasant experience on Magnetic Island was the woman on FOH. Because of this person's lack of of professionalism, she lost the business money. She needs to learn about the hospitality industry and not be rude to potential guests.

Hotel problems In my opinion the place was run by inexperienced backpackers, cheap labour My room. *Wall Clock doesn’t work *Ceiling fan speed control didn’t work, one speed, very slow *Air con 1.5 metres from bed head and very noisy (window rattler) *Dishwasher doesn’t work, had a hand written sign stuck on the door *Mould in bathroom near sink *Paint in bathroom looks like it was painted by a kid. Painted over the toilet roll holder and paint drips on the floor. *Dust 2 mm thick on painting in bathroom *Flys and dirt thick dust on windows sill *Mouse in room *Spiders in cupboard *Very unusual asked to pay the full account at check in. *The swimming pool had tiles missing and some falling off, you could easily see the pool had been restored and the new surface coating had peeled off at least 50% of the bottom, not a good look to me, the water was cool and clean. On leaving the resort didn’t offer to drive us back the to port using their free shuttle service. The bus service didn’t suit our departure time so we carried our suit cases 1.4kms. They have a lot to learn in running a resort and making their clients welcome and ensuring we would return. Overall poor housekeeping And this was an upgrade to executive suite We will not recommend to resort, look elsewhere on the island. Bad experience 👎

Whilst this is a resort some rooms are privately owned and rented out on Airbnb. I stayed 4 nights in a studio room. Old style room with basic facilities and overpowering mouldy odour. Room needed airing and fan. No wifi. Gardens are nice and it's quiet apart from the noisy curlews. Kookaburras visit every afternoon. Nice big pool. Did not use the restaurant but bar ok. Bus stop outside the resort and buses go everywhere. In hindsight I would not stay at Nelly Bay again. Much nicer at Arcadia or Horseshoe bay. Amaroo needs a lot of updating.

Booked and paid for 2 nights and left after the 1st night and just accepted the one night loss. As mentioned in other reviews you have to either park in the car park near reception or out on the street, then cart your luggage etc up hill for a reasonable distance to reach our very run down room. After vigorously complaining we were give a bottle of wine. Being Saturday night we thought we would dine at the restaurant, another mistake, whilst the restaurant looks lovley and clean, approximately half the items on the menu were unavailable, so we had our wine went back to our room and had our own cheese and biscuits. Don't stay here it's rubbish and there are many better places on the island.