I had read the reviews on this page before we went to Illawong beach and was very worried about what it would be like, however was pleasantly surprised. We stayed in a cabin right on the beach front with a grassed area for the kids to run around safely. The beach was approx. 10 metres away, at low tide there are 1000's of soldier crabs for the kids to catch. There was lovely new linen on the beds and everything we needed for our week long stay. I would definately recommend Illawong Beach Resort to other families, but make sure you take plenty of insect repellent as there are alot of sandflies.

The name sounded promising but when I got there, it was a bit of a disappointment. The place looks a bit dated and slightly run down. The new owners were lovely and did all they could to accommodate me but it was not very organised - they didn't have a room for me even though they had documentation that I was booked in, so I had to swap from one room to the next. They also had a bit of problem with their septic system, which they are trying to fix. The restaurant 'Muddies' was also closed due to the lack of a chef, which was disappointing as I was looking forward to the mub crabs. However, the rooms were clean and breakfast (if ordered) was plentiful. Packaged lunch was also available if requested.

Staff were extremely friendly and nothing seemed to be too much trouble. I should have read the reviews before going though, as the airport was extremely close and the noise was horrible. The spa wasn't heated and was too cold to go in, the pool wasn't heated either but the water was slightly warmer than the spa. The beach was lovely but the low tides were a pain with the water going out at least a couple of kilometre making for an extremely long walk just to have a swim. The villas were tastefully decorated with all the essentials. We ate at muddies restaurant on our final night there and wished we had of done the first night rather than going into town to other restaurants. The food was extremely good value and absolutely superb. The kids meals were HUGE.
It rained most of the time we were there though making it extremely difficult to keep the kids amused. We didn't find a kids playroom, am assuming it no longer exists as there were a lot of children there with parents as exasperated as us trying to keep them amused. Overall the resort was fair, although mackay itself was a big dissapointment with very few things to do when its raining.

The location of the resort right next to the beach is very nice. The Villa's are comfortable though I was disappointed that there was no microwave in the kitchen. I was also a little disappointed that there ws no TV or airconditioner in the bedroom. My main gripe was that you are many kilometers from any facilities and there is no shuttle bus into the city. The taxi fare was around $15. Even to get a newspapr (there was none available at reception) required a walk to the nearest corner store of almost 40 minutes (and I am a fairly quick walker). The pool and spa were also far too cold to use. I would have liked them to be heated. As the place is next to the airport be prepared for the sounds of jet aircraft flying just over your head though thankfully Mackay airport is not particuarly busy. Also don't be fooled that because the resort is close to the airport it is easy to get to. The route between the two is very convulted and it cost me $14 in taxi fares. Finally I was amazed that recpetion closed at 5pm weekdays at at 11am on Sunday. What's the caper with this? Sounds like penny pinching at its worst.