Luxury QT Port Douglas hotel slammed by guests

Furious guests have condemned a luxury hotel owned by one of Australia’s largest accommodation chains.

They say they paid hundreds of dollars to stay in a place they claim was filthy and worse than a motel.

The popular QT Port Douglas resort is the entry point for the Great Barrier Reef.

Rooms at the resort can cost more than $400 per night in the high season.

Guests are angry and have uploaded pictures on the TripAdvisor review website site showing mould-splattered sun loungers, pillows streaked with dirt and squashed bugs in uncleaned rooms.

Guests weren’t impressed with the food either. “A Bunnings sausage would be better,” one customer said.

“The decor is cheap; lampshades broken and lopsided; there are stains and scuffs all over the floor, walls and decor; grease on the handles of the cupboards; stains on the pillows; batteries were corroded in the TV remote which made it unusable and there was an out of date Snickers in the minibar,” said another comment. 

One customer claimed room service took too long .The customer said they managed to have a takeaway delivered from an outside restaurant to their room before the phone was even picked up at reception to take their order.

As one comment put it:  “We felt like we were in a cheap run-down motel”.

“If I could rate this zero stars I would,” was another comment.

The QT is owned Event Entertainment and Hospitably, the same group behind Rydges hotels and the Thredbo ski resort as well as Event and BCC cinemas.

While Event’s hotels division contributed $36.4 million an increase of 48 per cent over the same period the year before, little of that profit seems to be reaching the QT in Port Douglas.

Norman Arundel, Event’s Hotels Operations Manager says the hotel is now up for sale. It’s been listed as “vacant possession”. Essentially, that means the hotel will be empty.

“While QT Port Douglas has been a much loved part of the QT family, the property is on the market following an asset review in 2017. QT Port Douglas is still open for business and we will continue to deliver great guest experiences synonymous with the brand,” Arundel told news.com.au.

Leon Getler 1st June 2018.