Thala Beach Nature Reserve

Thala has an impressive main building atop a rocky point with excellent views. The cabins are set in dense forrest. We have been there a few times. The food had always let the experience down. A new chef and menu held promise, but meals were still hit and miss with some very good, such as all the breakfasts and others not so good such as the lunch, Vietnamese Vego rice paper rolls with the rice paper, tough as leather. We sent them back but the replacements were also the same. The steak sandwich on the other hand was excellent. For dinner seafood bisque would have been excellent but served in such a shallow bowl that we couldn't get the bisque until we had eaten all the seafood, leaving the raw potato, then tilt the bowl to spoon up the bisque. The Pork Belly appeared to be overly deep-fried rather than roasted. The Barramundi and the Beef Tenderloin were excellent. The biggest dissapointment for a NATURE RESERVE was that we walked the entire property, day and night but found almost a total lack of native wildlife. FERAL PIGS, however, were roaming the entire property up to and even under the cabins, to the amusement of some overseas guests and staff, but not to any Australian (or informed overseas) nature lover. The "Bird Pond" lacked birds but was beset with plague proportion of Cane Toads. There were no obvious efforts to reduce the feral numbers. Perhaps they could change their name to Thala FERAL Reserve.

Amazing beautiful place - nature at its finest

Thala Beach is an extraordinary place. The accommodation is quiet and comfortable and you feel completely private yet a quick call has someone at your cabin swiftly to deal with any issues you may have. The food in the restaurant is excellent. The pools are very special. What sets this place apart from the rest is the staff. I hadn’t been clear enough about my needs when booking - upon arrival this was sorted out in fifteen minutes. An unexpected flood warning was called for our home town - we quickly packed up and there was no penalty for leaving early. Really looking forward to returning to Thala Beach Nature Reserve, out of the wet season!

I was fortunate to book a massage with Lani early December - I didn't want anything painful, and I didn't mind what type of massage modality. Can I say this is the best massage I have ever received in my life. My ability to then gently sail through the stressful month ahead I attribute to the massage. The environs and Lani are second to none. It is clean, beautiful and you feel nourished and nurtured in the natural environment. II then headed up to the restaurant in their electric driven gomobile and enjoyed a cold fresh coconut drink from the property. There is a strong family-run and staff ethos here, who care about what they do and the service they provide. I hope they never change as they are at the pinnacle of nature experience and service provision. I could extend my lengthy praise but instead I would say if you are in the Port Douglas or Cairns area make a massage with Lani at Thala a priority for your health and wellbeing. Don't take my word - go and find out for yourself :-)

If you are looking for peace and quiet this is your spot. Hotel staff go above and beyond. Restaurant has stunning views and great food. Accommodation were comfortable and very secluded.

Beautiful nature lodge. Good staff (Thomas the porter from Argentina was a standout). Ospreys restaurant was nice. Grounds were very clean and tidy. Rainforest was beautiful. Lots of wildlife. Pools were lovely. Great place!

Amazing place. Just beautiful. Excellent service. The restaurant was amazing- some of the best food I have tasted anywhere! Incredible setting for the the restaurant with friendly, unpretentious service. Some tips - take mosquito repellent with you, rooms are only serviced every second day and it’s quite hilly so you need to be comfortable with steps and walking up hills. Highly recommend and will definitely return for another stay. The walks around the resort were great and the private beach is stunning.

The resort was set in a superb natural environment teaming with wildlife with a wonderful beach (although couldn’t go in the sea stinger season and a crocodile sighted !) The resort offers free daily events and the restaurants food was first class. The staff were friendly and helpful booking trips and transported as needed. The Accomodation was of a high standard, the only issue was the WiFi which was very poor especially in the lodges, but this did not detract from the stay.

Thala Beach is a very pleasant resort. The cabins are situated sensitively in the rain forest and are clean and comfortable. The people who work here are lovely, friendly and knowledgeable about the environment. I really cannot think of anywhere that I have been where such a nice group are runing it. It is though isolated and there is nothing else within safe walking distance. Port Douglas is the nearest town and that is a 15-20 minute journey by road. There is a shuttle minibus operated by Thala but that is only at limited times and, apparently, taxis are unreliable. The shuttle costs AUD16 per person and in each direction. The food menus are very limited in contrast to the drinks list which is impressive. Breakfast has been a particular irritation as, unless you are part of a tour where a buffet is offered, it is a la carte. Mostly based around eggs which not everybody wants there were only two items I could eat. The Muesli comes ready prepared with yoghurt, honey and some fruit added. The quantity is ludicrous and far more than any one person would sensibly eat. The fruit platter is similarly large and so my choice is really one or the other. The offering of toast (at a mere AUD12) is just bizarre. The kitchen toast it for you!!! The one time I had it I was allowed, after a short discussion, to toast my own using the toaster provided for a tour group buffet. No doubt my reputation as a difficult Brit has been strongly re-inforced. Do not even think of asking for your dinner - from a similarly limited menu - not to be infused with garlic. This causes significant delay, made worse by asking for steak to be cooked right through, and it seems that going into the kitchen to speak with the chef is not allowed. This was the one time that relations came close to failing. Wifi is only reliably available in Reception, Bar and Restaurant. It can be obtained in the cabins but it is far from reliable. While some may say you come to Thala to relax we do not all have the luxury of being able to switch off completely. On balance Thala is probably ok for a 2 to 3 day visit. If, however, you do not mind having someone else control what you have for breakfast and are happy with weird fusions of eurocuisine and local ingredients then you will be very happy. I should add that I am not unhappy but why oh why can't chefs leave perfectly good food alone...

What a wonderful place, loved the location, the views are amazing in what I would call a jungle with nature all around. Food was good but if you are there for more than 3 days you get to know the menu very well. Staff and service were great. Do the free nature tour - Dave was great and do the Coconut talk.