O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat

felt like one of those older homey country resorts, in the middle of lamington national park. great views and plenty of activities activities available. parking is a bit far if your room doesn’t have a room-side parking spot.

Nice environment.

We recently stayed at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The experience was relaxing, full of adventure, and made extra special by the many activities available for both adults and children. Our kids loved the Kids Club, it was a fantastic way for them to stay entertained while we took in the natural beauty and tranquility of the surroundings. A real highlight was the zip lining experience with Nathan and Jackie. They were absolutely excellent, professional, fun, and made the entire activity feel both exciting and safe. A big thank you to them for such a memorable experience! Our villa was very, very clean and comfortable, with stunning views of the rainforest. However, there were a few maintenance issues worth mentioning. The barbecue unfortunately didn’t work when we first tried to use it. While maintenance came eventually and appeared to fix it, it still wouldn’t work properly afterward (which lead to the next point of a lack of cooking utensils and oven trays to cook food). There was also a slightly frustrating moment when I returned from getting lunch for the kids, only to find a housekeeping van parked in our driveway. It took some time to locate someone to move it, which was a bit of an inconvenience. The buffet breakfast was excellent, fresh, high quality, and a great way to start the day. However, we did notice a lack of variety in the upstairs bar meals throughout the evening, and while the restaurant has now shifted to a buffet service in the evenings, it didn’t quite match the high level of personal service we’ve come to know and love from O’Reilly’s in the past. And also, $6 for a can of Coke! That’s insane! All in all, it was a really lovely stay with mostly positive experiences, and we would definitely consider booking again in the future. With a few small improvements, it could easily return to being the gold standard in rainforest getaways.

The journey up to the retreat is quite something; you have to have your wits about you, but the views are splendid and it’s well worth the drive. The whole place is quaint and I applaud their decision not to modernise all the character out of it. We were in a Mountain View room, very clean and comfortable with stunning views especially at dawn and sunset. Plenty of parrots hopping onto the balcony to say hello. The cosy library is very interesting. We aren’t normally fans of buffet style dinners but it was surprisingly good, with tasty roast meats. It was the only hotel on our trip that had a dedicated GF area for breakfast, with staff knowledgeable about allergens so well done to them. The manager’s welcome meeting was a nice touch. I experienced the (free) early morning bird walk and learnt an awful lot. Later, we enjoyed the boardwalk through the forest leading to the tree top walk which is great fun. We booked two paid-for experiences; the host was charming and knowledgeable, just three creatures on the wildlife experience - a docile carpet snake, a bandicoot in a cage and some sugar gliders you could feed. Children seemed to enjoy it. The birds of prey experience was more interesting in my opinion; two different owls and a kestrel plus a flying display of a huge bruiser of a rescued eagle. I admire their attitude that animals are not for our entertainment. Sunsets and birdsong at the retreat are out of this world as are the clear starry skies. Just one little disappointment out of all the generally lovely staff; at check out, the lady on the desk barely looked up from her computer or asked about our stay. Maybe just an off day. All in all, a unique experience immersed in nature with an enthralling history.