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Dolphin Heads Resort – reviews, photos

Beach Rd, Dolphin Heads, Mackay, Queensland 4740, Australia
Hotel amenities
Dolphin Heads Resort
Ranked #22 of 29 hotels in Mackay
3.0 of 5 stars 31 Reviews
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31 reviews from our community

    Trip type
Traveller rating
    5
    5
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    6
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Date Rating
Noosaville, Australia
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
“Dirty & Disgusting Resort”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 22 June 2011

I was booked into this "4 star resort" by my employer whilst on a business project in Mackay and had a miserable stay from 18 -20 June 2011. This resort is also known as the Dolphin Heads Resort. The suite I was allocated which overlooked the pool area was dirty and disgusting. It had not been cleaned by the housekeeping staff prior to my occupancy so I complained to Reception and quite frankly I wasted my breath in doing so. The glass shower recess in the bathroom was covered in soap scum and human mucus, the bathroom floor had not been mopped, the previous occupant had left toiletries and soap in the bathroom which housekeeping staff failed to remove prior to my occupancy, there was shaving foam smeared on the bathroom mirror and around the sink area including the previous occupant's whiskers left in the basin, the bar fridge still had food particles in it and had not been cleaned out, the microwave oven had food stuck to the sides of it, the room phone was out of order and the carpet on the bedroom floor had not been vacuumed and it was in a soiled, filthy and stained state just to name a few of the issues I had with the general state of the room. The soles of my white socks I mistakingly wore around the room during my unfortunate stay were covered in grime from the filthy carpet. When I complained immediately about the dirty state of the room, the receptionist seemed disinterested and did absolutely nothing to remedy the situation. Unfortunately leaving the place voluntarily at that time was not an option for me even though I seriously contemplated it at the time. I was there on business and accommodated at the bequest of my employer who was obviously receiving a very cheap rate to accommodate a number of staff so the resort management could not have cared less provided they got paid. The "suites" are equipped with sub-standard amenties. The1980 style analogue 34cm (14 inch) television is situated some distance from the lounge/divan making viewing very difficult from the viweing position of either the lounge or the very uncomfortable bed. The room had cooling airconditioning only (the old 80's box style -not the more modern split system reverse cycle a/c found in most resorts today) so there was no heating available in my room at all. Mackay is a very cold place in winter so don't be misled by its location in central/northQld and that heating may not be a necessity during the winter months. On the day I thankfully left this "resort" without my room being cleaned during the entire 3 day period of my stay, I had a lengthy discussion with the manager/owner, a Ms Peggy [--], in regard to the disgraceful state of the suite. She also seemed disintersted in my comments other than to inform my employer of them. I also completed a feedback form provided by the resort advising of my issues and compaints I had with my room by no rectification action was taken by the resort nor did I receive any apology for the dirty and disgusting state my room was presented to me for my 3 day occupancy. I will be submitting a complaint to the relevant authorities in regard to this resort as I view it as a health hazard and it should not be allowed to continue to operate in its current condition. I would like to forewarn anyone contemplating booking into this "resort from hell" to go somewhere else, anywhere else for that matter including laying a swag on the beach and as a smart alternative would highly recommend the Comfort Blue Pacific at Blacks Beach (about 1km distance from Dolphin Heads Resort) as it leaves this place for dead and is fully self contained with excellent facilities and amenties. Above all else it is clean and you won't catch anything if you stay there instead.

Room Tip: Read my review and book in somewhere elsewhere.
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  • Stayed June 2011, travelled on business
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Mick S about Dolphin Heads Resort
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Mackay
1 review
“Fabulous Place for a Wedding!!”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 16 May 2011

I have reciently had my wedding at Dolphin Heads Resort, and I have to say it was fantasic, couldn't have gone better. The Staff (esp the function coodinators) where great, exceded my expectations!! We had our ceremony and reception here and all our guests stayed the whole weekend and didn't have to leave.

My partner and I would highly recommend anyone to have there special day at Dolphin Heads Resort!! Thanks for the great weekend!!

  • Stayed May 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask sarah555Mackay about Dolphin Heads Resort
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Emerald, Australia
1 review
“Faecal Fun house”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 January 2011

The resort looks great on the internet and is quite picturesque in reality, though my stay here commenced like this.
We arrived rather late at 9PM and the first thing we noticed upon entering our room was a smell much like someone with foot odour had rolled up their socks in a wet towel and left them under our bed. Not a great start though we thought we could put up with it considering the location.
Our first morning we went for breakfast and had what was available of the very basic buffet breakfast, bacon and scrambled eggs, and juice. It was only later in the day that I discovered this was going to cost us $18 each.
Our stay took a turn for the worse on our first afternoon when we decided to brave the pool and the 20 or so kids that were running around screaming. After a brief swim in the pool that was warm and tasted faintly unusual, we decided to get out and noticed something that appeared out of the ordinary. Upon closer inspection I realised I was looking at a piece of poo covered in hungrily feasting flies. it was resting on the edge of a pebbled water feature that linked the kiddies pool to the main pool.
I immediately went to reception to alert them to my discovery and was dismayed with their response," sorry about that, the pool guy will be here in an hour."
Upon return to my room, disappointed I called reception to find out the managers name and was asked to attend pooside and locate the offending turd and within 10 minutes it had mysteriously disappeared, probably washed down the water feature into the main pool where there were still 10 or so people swimming. I was informed by reception staff that the manager had been informed and would be in touch with me in the morning.
After waiting until 3PM I decided to call reception only to be informed that the Manager had left for the afternoon and no one could tell me if she would be back.
I received a call from the Owner later in the day. Her response was "that this happened from time to time and that the process is that when faecal matter was discovered in the pool that it was to be cleared of all swimmers." This obviously failed to occur in this instance, leaving at least 10 unwitting bathers swimming in a pool that had faeces floating around in it. My concern is that there is process for poo discovery, that it wasn't implemented in this case and also that there have been other cases of faecal matter mentioned in review of this resort. The owner of this resort is obviously making enough money that these kind of situations are of little concern to her, illustrated by her lack concern in contacting me and also the failure in the process of evacuating the pool after discovery of something that is at the end of the day a serious health risk. She offered no kind of compensation even though I was unable to use one of the facilities and in my opinion was abrupt and dismissive of the issue. Oh, I forgot to mention, the air-con didn't work either.

  • Stayed January 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Ask andigren about Dolphin Heads Resort
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“Unhygienic!!!!!”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 December 2010

We reported a faecel release in the pool and the situation was not dealt with the faecel was still siting at the bottom of the pool when we checked out the following morning.there were two dogs roaming round the resort.the room hadn't been vacuumed. There was some kind of food residue in the fridge.

  • Stayed December 2010
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask snashlee about Dolphin Heads Resort
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
“Nice for wedding or conference”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 24 May 2010

All facilities available, the resort rooms are a little outdated and worn looking, though nothing was in need of urgent repair. The wedding was well catered, grounds well kept, all in all a very good experience. A little pricey in my experience, but professional and friendly service.

Stayed July 2008, travelled with family
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Ask muddy19 about Dolphin Heads Resort
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Additional Information about Dolphin Heads Resort

Beach Rd, Dolphin Heads, Mackay, Queensland 4740, Australia
Price range (per night):* INR7,897

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