Heron Island Resort

Loved location and wildlife, turtle experiences and snorkelling amazing. Pity the resort is so poorly maintained and run down. Hotel and restaurant staff less than helpful and a lot were incompetent, meals continually stuffed up and wastage was extreme due to the size of some meals (especially the entrees). Obviously the management is very poor or non existent.

Amazing place for nature watching. Accommodation is in a poor way and clearly hasn’t been maintained for a long long time - large plants growing from blocked gutters, repairs needed inside (broken curtain pole, toilet roll holder, door handle etc), damaged externals. I can’t fathom why they aren’t getting a company in to fix these up given the cost of the accommodation. I do wonder where all of the money is going. Restaurant was surprisingly ok given the reviews I had read. Plenty of choice at breakfast too. Yes there is bird poo everywhere but that’s what happens when it’s a haven for birds! The staff are amazing and those that have completed science/conservation degrees are so interesting. Overall would recommend. Would go back if the accommodation was seen to, but not if it continued to fall into disrepair.

The staff were amazing, our ferry was cancelled due to bad weather. Celine in the office, went the extra mile to make sure we got to our connecting flights. I so appreciate her help, she was amazing. The coral, the fish, the sea birds and the laying and hatchling turtles were also awesome, if you want to teach your kids to love and care for our beautiful planet 🌎 go to Heron. This place holds a special place in my heart ❤️

I read reviews beforehand that made me skeptical about going but it’s a fantastic island and wonderful wild life experience. I highly recommend going, and going with some realistic expectations around staying on a remote island with HEAPS of wildlife. Some highlights from a January trip: - seeing turtles laying eggs and hatchlings running into the ocean - seeing heaps of wildlife when snorkelling off the island and on tours - the activities run by the island (most are free) - live music at the bar Some tips: - bring a few more tops/tshirts and hats than you might normally as you will get pooed on by birds - bring hand sanitizer and wash your hands hands before meals given the widespread bird poo - book the rooms with AC if available, it’s worth the money. We only got a room with a fan and it was hard to get comfortable one of the days due to such bad heat - don’t expect a luxurious resort with fantastic food, you’re paying a premium for the wildlife which is absolutely worth it. In saying that the food is pretty good, but not fantastic! - book travel insurance that includes the island as the ferry can be cancelled and helicopter is expensive

We stayed on Heron Island for 5 nights in the first week of January 2026. Having read the reviews prior to booking, I actively managed the family's expectations on what the experience would be and we ended up having a great time. Firstly, consistent with the reviews, the island is NOT a luxury resort. It is more akin to an "eco resort" and is indeed in need of an upgrade. The food options are also limited, but you are on an island. For ~$40 (adult) all you can eat buffet each night - it is reasonable. The bird droppings are also a hazard. The best thing about the island is the bird and marine life. Just a few meters into the water, we swam with turtles (over 100 come to the beach each night to nest), sting rays (about 20 of them just 5 meters from the shore), 3 sharks (approx. 1 meter in size, so harmless) just off the pontoon, abundance of reef fish and coral. Our days were spent swimming, snorkelling, reading and watching Ashes cricket in the bar in between. It was a wonderful summer holiday. If you want to come and disconnect from the world and reconnect with your teenage kids ... you will have a great experience.

This is by far one of the worst places I have ever stayed, and I genuinely cannot understand how it is marketed as a “resort.” From the moment you arrive on the island, you are confronted with an overwhelming number of birds - and with that comes bird droppings everywhere. Paths, buildings, outdoor areas, and even people are constantly being covered. You cannot walk anywhere without an umbrella unless you want to be hit. The smell is unbearable and constant; the entire place smells like a farm or pigsty, and the air feels thick and unpleasant to breathe. Being constantly surrounded by animal waste made me anxious about catching some kind of disease, as it felt incredibly unhygienic and unsafe to be breathing in all the time. To make matters worse, we were initially placed in a room that was very unpleasant. It had no air conditioning, no lock on the door, and was dirty. The room was unbearably hot, sweaty, and felt damp, adding to the already unpleasant smell. It was completely unfit for guests. We were eventually moved to another room (which we had to pay to upgrade to) but aside from having air conditioning, it was no improvement. This room also had no lock, and instead had a sliding glass door that did not fully shut, making it feel even more unsafe. Both rooms were in a terrible condition, poorly maintained, and clearly not held to any acceptable standard. Hygiene is a serious issue. The rooms are outdated, poorly maintained, and visibly unclean. Cushions and throws are stained, floors have marks and dirt, and the overall feeling is that the room has not been properly cleaned or cared for in a very long time. The beds feel cheap and uncomfortable, adding to the sense that no effort has been made to provide even basic comfort. There is also no sense of safety. The doors to the rooms do not lock at all - and my bedroom door didn't even shut correctly. It wasn’t until I questioned the receptionist about why my door had no lock that I was told this was the case for every single room in the resort. This is completely unacceptable and genuinely concerning, especially considering that each room is a separate, standalone unit located outdoors rather than within a secure main building, none of which have a safe. If you are a woman travelling alone, do not stay here! There is no Wi-Fi unless purchased and the packages are a complete rip-off, no air conditioning in some rooms, and none of this was communicated before arrival. These are not minor inconveniences — they significantly affect comfort, especially in a hot, remote location. Food options are also poor. The only option is a buffet, and if you don’t want that, you are forced to take food away in a box. There is not a single sit-down restaurant on the entire island, which reflects incredibly poorly on the level of service. For a place that charges resort prices, this is astonishing. Overall, the place feels neglected, unhygienic, and misrepresented. It looks cheap, smells awful, and feels unsafe. I would strongly advise anyone considering booking here to look elsewhere. This is not a relaxing or enjoyable experience — it is something to endure rather than enjoy.

Another fabulous week at heron island however this is the first time in 5 years of visiting we didn’t eat in the restaurant at night at all ! None of the menu items in the buffet style offered were a meal i would have ordered, unfortunately this meant eating take away pizza or fish & chips from a card board box every night and of course breakfast is no longer included so that just added $420 to the $2449 for a week, still great value because we go for the marine life which is the best of any location !! 2026 ? Not sure i want to eat dinner out of a box again so we will see !

Our experiences at heron island were extraordinary and was full of surprises. Some things that could have been better during our stay was the bird poop. If you come during December thousands of birds live in the island(noodies come to nest) causing poop zones. It was like a game; some places you could get hit rarely and others where you had to run to not get hit. In the two days we stayed, we all got hit with nasty poop at least 3 times. The hotel mentioned no bugs at all because of the high bird population, however even with that many birds, countless bugs were in our room. Beware that if you are a luxury kind of person, this resort is more of a eco friendly and not made for endless relaxing. Not the hotels fault, but if you hate hot weather or think you can handle( or live in a cold place) the heat gives you headaches and massive burns. BRING SUNSCREEN! Tips: Come during December and you can not only go see turtles laying eggs but you can also see them hatching. Also the algae makes the water glow at night and the was a big surprise. Staff were nice and so were guests. A good tip is to do the turtle walks so you can see baby turtles and females laying eggs, you can also wake up at 4 every morning and see a beautiful turtles and sunrise. Some honorable mentions were Ethan, our guides for excursions, Cath, a guide on the snorkel tours who really helped and Chase, our helicopter pilot and helpful guide to our first Australian hotel. Speaking of helicopters, the helicopter experience is super fun and thrilling, while giving you an ariel view of the Great Barrier Reef. The excursions like snorkeling and tours was very informative and fun. Snorkeling is fun on tours and around the jetti. There are so many unique experiences like jumping spotted eagle rays. If you are planning a trip around one to two days is best for a trip. However, this means that you will be tired and have tours back to back so be prepared for that. The water is so clear and beautiful you can see everything. Some tours I definitely recommend is the snorkeling/ scuba diving but if the water is choppy and the weather is windy, I don’t recommend doing that. For the wildlife the waters are so abundant and if you are scared, here are some things you need to know. Jellyfish are present, we saw a whole lot of them including moon jellies and various other jellies that are harmless and mild stings, however you could encounter a irukandji jellyfish, we might have seen one in the I spy submarine. Sharks are harmless if you don’t chase or harass them you are safe. There are no hammerhead sharks and tigers sharks in the reef however if you go out of the reef there are some.( some tours take you past there. There are mostly rays however there is one species the Cow-tail stingray. Don’t worry those are rare and don’t sting that hard. And that is all you need to know for your stay at Heron island, hope you liked my in depth review for only two days though.

Heron Island is an absolutely beautiful place. The sea life you can see, without even setting a foot in the water, is incredible. We have been visiting the island every couple of years for over 12-years and the island is thankfully still unspoilt and stunning. Over the years the resort has had its ups and downs, thankfully a change in management shows. The staff are happier and there is now a good level of customer service that was sorely lacking when we last visited. Housekeeping was efficient and regular. The food, even for us as vegetarians, has improved massively too. It was also good to see a definite emphasis being placed on appreciating and respecting nature. We dove every day and although there has been significant coral damage and bleaching, there is still a lot of life and we enjoyed all the dives. The dive team are great. Special thanks to Keiran and Katie, Nadia, Edu and Tyson too. Also thanks to Will in the bar. And Ethan, for his amusing trivia night and genuine enthusiasm for nature and conservation. We will be back!

A true escape Heron Island is perfect. Accomodation is comfortable and blends in nicely with the natural environment. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Heron island is the hidden gem of the Great Barrier Reef.