InterContinental Hayman Island Resort, an IHG Hotel

Beautiful location, rooms, location, architecture, and landscaping. Awful service, I would have rated the service as poor if it was a 3 star hotel, and they claim to be the top luxury resort in Australia! There were multiple issues across our stay and we never received anything more than a cursory "sorry". Not only that but we stayed in multiple indoor/outdoor rooms in northern Queensland (one for less than 1/4 of the price per night of Hayman), and this was the only one that had cobwebs and bugs in the room. Spend your money elsewhere.

I would usually not write a bad review but seeming as we paid extortionate prices I feel compelled to warn anyone who is thinking of staying here under the guise of this being a luxury holiday. I stayed for my honeymoon during the new years period and was incredibly disappointed with my stay and seriously underwhelmed. This hotel is definitely not deserving of the 5 star rating that it boasts about. The rooms are dated and old despite the hotel supposedly having a renovation recently. Maybe we were given a dud room despite the fact we were on our honeymoon ? They don’t care. The handle of our bathroom door was broken and missing and our bathtub was covered in black marks and stains and the room smelt like mould. There was a power outage atleast twice during our stay and the internet connection was consistently bad. We had to call IT to our room twice just to be able to watch tv, the second time no one showed up so we just sat in our room staring at the walls the entire evening. When I called to complain reception just said tough luck. Reaching room service was a hassle on its own you would have to call multiple times before getting through to someone so we just gave up. Not only is the service incredibly slow, the staff are indifferent and inexperienced. Both pool bars have limited opening hours 11.30-4pm. So if you’re looking for sunset drinks ambience by the beach absolutely forget it lol it’s a retirement village. Pool side service is shocking, I had to get up to chase down waiters every time I wanted to order food. It’s like they hibernated behind the bar. There’s really no ambience or lively-ness to the resort. It quiet literally felt like a ghost town in what’s supposed to be the busiest period of the year ? I’m sure if you’re over 70 you would love the slow pace but abit of music wouldn’t really hurt anyone seriouslyyyyyyy. Tours and activities will cost you thousands of dollars, we paid $700 for a trip to Whitehaven whilst hotels on Hamilton island arranges it for $40. A short 7 minute speed bought to a neighbouring island cost $200 for two people. The selection and quality of food is quite poor, for extortionate prices. There are only three restaurants so if you’re staying here more than 3 days you would grow insanely bored of the options. You’re stuck being price gauged just to have a meal. Please stop trying to extort us ? It’s driving guests away. Everyone boasts about the location but there is literally nothing around for you to do ? I went insane of boredom. They have one retail store that takes full advantage of the fact that we are on a secluded island and cannot purchase products elsewhere so they hike the prices up. If you’re looking to stay around white sundays or the Great Barrier Reef I would advise staying at the beach Club Hotel in Hamilton island, for similar prices you really do get a luxury holiday with great ambience. There’s local restaurants around and supermarkets that don’t price gauge you. And not to mention the abundance of activities to do. This is whay you would call a REAL holiday.

Our stay at Hayman Island was largely delightful, thanks to the outstanding staff. Courtney's efficiency during check-in and Emma's warm welcome tour set a positive tone from the start. Kudos to Winnie for her attentiveness at the pool, ensuring a serene experience while keeping seagulls at bay. Special mention to Georgina at the Pacific restaurant Georgina stood out with her excellent service, always helpful, cheerful, and incredibly attentive to guests. While the service was top-notch, I found room for improvement in the food options considering the resort's 5-star status (we tried all 4 restaurants). Additionally, our room had broken blinds that won’t reopen and what looked like an indelible stain on the countertop. Despite these minor setbacks, the exceptional service from the staff and the beautiful island made our overall experience enjoyable.