MANTRA TREE TOPS PORT DOUGLAS GM GEOFF WEEKS SAVES THE MOLE

With The Mole heading up to Port Douglas for Destination Britain, one of those terrible tourism things happened that should not happen to anyone, least of all a traveller or tourist, putting aside a travel and tourism writer!

As you know, The Mole tells it the way it is – hey, some people get upset, but I believe that travel and tourism writers have the responsibility to tell the truth about places they stay and visit.

The reason The Mole believes that this is important is that travelers and tourists every day invest their hard earned cash in a trip or holiday or and expect to get a return on investment on that investment – so if the flight or hotel or tour is bad then they do not get the anticipated and expected return on investment they deserve and go back to work frustrated, angry and feeling ripped off.

So, when Rendezvous Hotels and Resorts offered The Mole the opportunity to stay at their Port Douglas property for a few days before Destination Britain, it seemed a good idea…that is until the Mole arrived there and saw what a mess it was………and it was open to the public and taking guests money!

Now, please understand that The Mole has stayed in all kinds and levels of accommodation all over the world including B&B’s, hostels, holiday and caravan parks to the very best hotels and even on occasions ones under refurbishment and as long as they strive for excellence in what they do and in their sector and deliver to the customer a great visit or in The Mole terms, great ROI, then they have delivered what they promised and the client would go home happy.

So, back to Port Douglas and the Rendezvous!

The Mole arrived at the Rendezvous Reef Resort Port Douglas in the afternoon and was greeted by temporary signs at the entrance [pictured right] and what appeared to be a dusty building site liberally carpeted with builders vehicles, with the main building screened off with plastic sheeting [pictured below] and barriers and a very scruffy temporary reception in what they call a “Villa”.

It was all rather reminiscent of a low quality 1960’s caravan park entrance, with some chalets spread around the place.

Admittedly, they did put The Mole in a newly refurbished “Villa” which had been nicely fitted out, but it overlooked the main road into Port Douglas, the front door had not been painted, covered in scratched paint, and the window sills and windows encrusted in dust and cob webs, with everything surrounding the Villa coated liberally in dust. 

It also appears that during the refurb, they are letting the Villas to backpackers and local workers to live in – hardly the idyllic Reef Resort described by Rendezvous – oh by the way to get to the beach you have to cross the main road and walk a fair distance along the busy Port Douglas Road [pictured below] and also there is no food available on site, with guests also having to walk a good ten minutes to the Mantra Treetops for any food service – in the distance in this picture. 

By the way those are Rendezvous guests on the left on the other side of the road going to the Mantra for breakfast !

I feel substantial degree of what could be described as misrepresentation coming along…….a Reef Resort…………..never!!

So, as you can imagine a quick look around at this mess called the Rendezvous Reef Resort, was enough to conclude………..not staying here………a quick couple of phone calls to Stella and it was across the road to the Mantra Treetops Resort and Spa to meet Geoff Weeks the GM , who had fully embraced the issue in the classic “can do “ manner, welcoming The Mole with open arms and a sigh of satisfaction from The Mole, that at last, it appears a hotelier that cared had been found!  Compare the main entrance to the Rendezvous Reef Resort [above] with the Mantra Treetops [below]?

More about the Mantra Treetops in another article, but back to The Rendezvous and what they proclaim the Reef Resort is!

Interestingly, nothing has been heard of since from Rendezvous, either locally from the GM at the Reef Resort or centrally, although phone calls were made by The Mole to describe what was going on!

So what does the Rendezvous website say about the Rendezvous Reef Resort……..read on…… The Mole’s comments in brackets!

“Welcome to Rendezvous Reef Resort Port Douglas”

You’ll love the new look Rendezvous Reef Resort. [There is no new look, well at least not yet and they should not be taking guests – it is a building site! [pictured builders at work and heaps of noise too] The Mole can’t imagine what somebody who has worked hard for holiday and ends up there would think on arrival.]

Nestled in a magical tropical garden setting, it’s ideal for those seeking a romantic getaway for two or a fun-filled holiday for the whole family.[It is a series of villas, some refurbished, some not, all not from the outside, with car ports, all located in some trees – hardly nestled in anything.]

You’ll never be short of space and privacy, with each two storey villa offering an enormous 110 square metres of living space, set in a unique landscaped garden layout.  [Unique for certain it is a building site!]

This is double the size of competing Port Douglas resorts, which means that at Rendezvous Reef Resort you get a house for the price of a room. [Yes in a building site]

Choose from our affordable one, two and three bedroom self-contained villas, then add three lagoon-style pools, a lap pool, tennis courts and a gym. You’ll never want to leave… [The Mole left immediately – there is no atmosphere – it is not a resort by any stretch of anybody’s imagination – it is a building site!]

Best of all, Rendezvous Reef Resort is just minutes from charming Port Douglas Village – [it is about 15/20 minutes by local shuttle bus] and a short walk from famous Four Mile Beach, [the busy Port Douglas Road is between the Rendezvous and other resorts on the beach side of the road and even allowing for that it is a good 20 min walk.] making it the ideal base from which to explore the only place on earth where two world heritage listed jewels collide –  the Great Barrier Reef, and the Daintree Rainforest.

To be fair to Rendezvous the web site does say:-

Rendezvous Reef Resort is currently undergoing an $8 million extreme makeover.

Our rejuvenated villas offer brand new kitchens and bathrooms, contemporary furniture, luxury flat screen televisions and refreshing air conditioning to escape the tropical heat.

The makeover extends to Swish Restaurant and Bar, where cool urban design mixes it up with the tropics.  A stunning minimalist interior of white walls, steel and dark wood fittings and cane furnishings will have you sipping cocktails in serious style.[But it is closed and swathed in black plastic]

Villas are clustered in groups across 15 acres of tropical gardens, meaning the refurbishment team is able to work on one group at a time, significantly reducing the refurbishment’s impact on guests. [The place is a mess with dust and builders vehicles all over the place]

The web site goes on to say: –

Rendezvous Reef Resort is currently undergoing an $8 million upgrade, with rejuvenated villas, a fabulous new restaurant and bar, and enhanced facilities for our guests to enjoy.

To minimise disturbance to our valued guests, the refurbishment will be staggered over a period of some months.  [Guests will be staggered when they check in – by the state of the place!]

During this time, some facilities and services may be limited or unavailable. [Most!]

Please see below for more details, or for further information please feel free contact our friendly team at any time.

Stage One

Commences February 2008, with completion by May 2008.

The first step of our new look resort is the refurbishment of the reception area, restaurant and bar.

[This is apparently way behind schedule and has only just commenced]

While this occurs, an alternative reception area will be located in one of our villas for your convenience. [I can’t describe how scruffy this is and I can’t imagine what star rating it claims to be]

During this period, guests are invited to dine at Mantra Treetops, located directly opposite Rendezvous Reef Resort. You are able to charge any bills incurred at Mantra Treetops back to your room at Rendezvous Reef Resort, for payment upon check-out. [Yes that is true, but the Mantra Treetops is across the main road…………!!!]

Stage Two

Commences February 2008, with stunning refurbished villas available from April and all villas complete by September 2008. [The bottom line is that they should have closed while they were doing the main building and one area of villas and then reopened with those and then effectively screened off all the others while they were being refurbed – the non refurbed are still being let!]

Having unveiled our new reception area and fabulous Swish Restaurant and Bar, we will continue with the revitalisation of our spacious villas. [This is not true, the refurb of the villas is going on at the same time]

With brand new kitchens and bathrooms, contemporary furniture, luxury flat screen televisions and refreshing air conditioning, our new look villas will provide the ideal base for your tropical getaway.

We have carefully designed the villa refurbishment process to have limited impact upon our guests. Villas are clustered in groups across 15 acres of tropical gardens, meaning the refurbishment team is able to work on one group at a time, significantly reducing the refurbishment’s impact on guests. [Totally misleading]

Sadly, this is without question misrepresentation and misleading at is best and this article will be forwarded to the CEO at Tourism Tropical North Queensland and also to the CEO of AAA Tourism for consideration.

So, TravelMolers, if you have clients considering going to stay at the Rendezvous Reef Resort, Port Douglas, The Mole has one very simple piece of advice – don’t let them – send them to the Mantra Treetops Resort and Spa!

by The Mole