Paradise Links Resort was actually BETTER than their website photos indicated. We had a 2 storey 3 bedroom villa overlooking the golf course and could not have asked for a better outlook or such a high standard of furniture and fittings in the villa. Plenty of space upstairs in tehbedrooms and downstairs had comfy sofas and a huge dining table, front and back patio with outdoor table and chairs and also a garage to park our hire car in. The resort featured some of the most beautiful and immaculately maintained grounds I have seen in any resort in Port Douglas.
Having visited Port Douglas a number of times previously, this was our first holiday during the wet season and not knowing how the rain would affect our holiday it was with some trepidation that we booked a 5 day stay at Paradise Links, to be followed by another 5 days staying at Palm Cove . Our fears were unfounded! We had 1 or 2 part-days with some rain, but generally most rain fell at night. Temps were from high 20s to low 30s and although the humidity was high it was made bearable by most places being air conditioned. Late January was a great time to visit with tourist numbers really low, so no queuing anywhere and a certainty knowing we could jump on any tour or get a table in a restaurant without having to book!
Paradise Links is ideally located about 15 mins walk from Four Mile Beach in one direction and about the same in the other direction to the nearest IGA shopping centre. A shuttle bus stops by regularly to take people into Port Douglas, which is a short 10 minute drive away. The resort had very helpful and knowledgeable staff (JC ) who had a great rapport with our teenage sons, and Johnny and Emma also - excellent facilities with several lagoon pools and two bbq areas. Also had golf clubs, tennis racquets and push bikes for hire, sightseeing trips easily arranged. We booked a half day tour to the Low Isles on the Reef Sprinter - our boys loved it - 15 mins by jet boat then 2 hours snorkelling off short of the Low Isles before returning back to Port Douglas.
We had a great holiday and will be back again before too long, and will DEFINITELY stay at Paradise Links.

We came to Paradise Links because of an email coupon offer I received. Having never used a coupon for a vacation before, I was a little apprehensive. First I wasn't sure if we would be able to book the days we were available, on the coupon rate. Emma was very helpful, communicating via email promptly with me and assuring me that everything was fine. After the dates were set, I was curious if the resort would be everything I had read. It was--and more.

Paradise Links is a beautiful place with all the amenities of an apartment and the beautiful grounds of a resort. We found it very clean and by keeping our food put away we never encountered any insects at all. We were surprised that there weren't really even mosquitos. Emma and John were incredible helps for whatever we needed from bookings for tee times to tours (at same or lower prices than I was able to get on my own), even to helping me figure out how to use the stove! They were patient and friendly with every question.

Our apartment overlooked the pool, which is a lovely multi-pond waterfall type pool with a very comfortable temperature (not freezing like so many pools). We don't have little ones, but it would be perfect for all ages. There were also bikes of all sizes on property to rent inexpensively. There are also tennis rackets, but since we don't play I am not even sure where the courts were.

If you golf, note that the Sea Temple clubhouse is close enough to carry your bag and an incredibly beautiful course--one of the prettiest we've seen--with mountains in the background, immaculate grounds and beautiful gardens everywhere. It looks like an exclusive Hawaiian course. Paradise Links keeps nice clubs on hand and when you book your tee time through Emma or John, it will cost you the same--with the club rental--as if you brought your clubs and booked the tee tie yourself!

While we were there, they had a car on the property available to rent as needed for a reasonable daily or weekly rate. I presume in busy seasons this may need to be reserved. Note that most of the tours will pick you up so unless you just want to do a lot of self-drive you could easily just rent the car from Paradise Links on an as needed basis.

Port Douglas is about an hour drive from Cairns Airport via very windy hilly roads so after a long flight at night, it's a great deal to get the shuttle that runs regularly for about $50-$60 round trip ("return"). Well worth it in our opinion.

Once you're at Paradise Links, it's worth nothing that there is great public transport so even though you're quite a way from the restaurant section of town it's easy to get there for $4 each way. Presumably, since you have the advantage of an apartment, you will want to cook for at least some meals, and the local market is but a reasonable walk or a short bike ride away. They will even deliver your purchased groceries for free. (There's also a bottle shop and pharmacy in the same market area). There is not daily housekeeping in the standard rate, though I believe it can be provided for extra cost.

Personally we really liked how Paradise Links is close (just 15 minutes from the city center,) but feels like it is on a private island...very peaceful and quiet. Each time we returned, the beautiful waterfall and the sounds of the rainforest type gardens reminded us of one of our favorite sleep sound-tracks and made us feel like "ahh...home.."

As we rode the tour shuttle several times we had an opportunity to check out most all the other resorts and hotels along the way and in my opinion, Paradise Links has by far the most beautiful facilities and grounds....and fantastic air conditioning systems in the apartments.

As regards Internet, you purchase by day, week, or data usage. I found it to be fast and reliable. Typical prices for such things...about $60 for 5 days as I recall.

Note there are certain times of year (like now) when the bad jellyfish are near shore and you can only swim at one beach that is protected against those types of things. You can however swim out on the reef tours and the water there was warm and crystal clear. We came during this "bad jellies" season which is also the "wet season" but really found neither to be the least bit of a hindrance at all. There was hardly any rain during our stay. It was just quite hot and humid when we were out and about. The best thing was that there were very low numbers of people on tours and no crowding at all.

Definitely wait until you get here to book your events and activities, or at the very least make sure you understand the cancellation policies. John/Emma not only provide invaluable help in choosing the best tours, I was also surprised that they sometimes got better prices than I was able to get. Plus, most of the activities need to be scheduled according to weather, wind or waves and they have access to that information on a daily basis and so can suggest which are best to do when.

I'll comment on our activities separately on each of their pages, but just to note we were planning to ride the Skyrail but it had a rare closure. We took the train ride from Karunda, a self-drive to Mossman Gorge, and a Great Barrier Reef tour with Calypso (the highlight of our trip).

If we ever come to Port Douglas again, we will without any hesitation choose Paradise LInks for our stay.

from the moment we checked in, the staff were very nice polite & helpful. Our 1bd apartment was modern, air conditioned, fully equiped with everything you could need. The view from the apartments to the resort pool, is great & soothing. This is a great place to stay especially when u want the resort feel without all the people & hassal. A great resort if u like to self cater your holiday time but still have the assistance of the professional staff. Our apartment/room was always comfortable, the bed, the temperature, no noise. The resort grounds are nice with the golf course, semi rainforest, pools & bbq areas, with native Australia wildlife outside our apartment everynight. Cant stop raving about our absolutely fabulous time we had at port Douglas & staying at paradise links resort was the icing on this fabulous cake. Recommending to everyone i know & dont know. A quick Thankyou to Emma & John C. It really is paradise!!

Had a great family holiday topped off with this great resort. Everything you want is here and the staff very friendly. When 2 x 16 year olds and a 17 year old want to come back.

We will return with friends in the near future