Elysian Retreat — Hotel in Long Island

Book at your own risk. This place does not take the health and safety of its guests seriously.

I was injured during a boat ride Elysian coordinated, where both Elysian staff and the captain (John from Paradise Bay Explorer) failed to disclose the potential conditions and how rough or long of a ride we could be in for on that small of a vessel.

When I told the captain how irresponsible it was to have taken us out in such rough conditions without giving any kind of warning his response was to call me a “stupid girl” and tell me that it was up to me to disclose medical conditions as well as forecast the conditions of the water.

Elysian paid for the helicopter ride back to the island, but refused to remove the ($700 AUD) boat ride from our final bill, or offer any other kind compensation or take any responsibility for the lack of disclosure. The only thing offered was the captain’s email address so that we could request an apology from him. Not acceptable.

On a less serious note, there were many other things wrong with our stay — quality of food, professionalism and responsiveness of staff, general services and comfort of furnishings.

The tiny infinity pool is unheated and unsuitable for anything but a quick cold plunge as it’s too small for laps.

The food — based on past reviews we were expecting high quality food. What we found were inconsistently prepared meals ranging from good to bad with mid range, budget ingredients likely purchased from a big box store such as a Costco (or whatever Australia’s equivalent is). Being on an island we were expecting a decent amount of fresh and local seafood but nothing to my knowledge was local and when seafood was served it was done stingily. Many dishes were overly salted and too heavy (cherry tomato pasta with smoked salmon and feta on our last night, pulled pork and eggs Benedict for breakfast).

Our room was in need of maintenance. Toilet paper holder would fall off every time it was touched and all other knobs were very loose. The bedsheets a scratchy poly cotton blend more suitable for a budget motel.

The only place internet functioned reliably was from the main lounge / dining room, where obnoxious pop music blared at all times.

There is one ill maintained hiking trail so aside from eating and lounging, there is little else to do on this unremarkable, rocky island unless you want to shell out $$$$ for a boat or helicopter ride to the better parts of the reef.

Not worth the price point or hassle of travel. Definitely not worth the risk of personal injury, which I am still suffering from and have had to seek medical treatment for.

We deeply regret the five days we spent there and caution travelers to think twice before booking.

--- AMENDED DUE TO BUSINESS' DISHONEST RESPONSE, clearly meant to discredit my valid review ----

John the Captain NEVER checked in throughout the boat ride to see how we were doing, nor shared any updates on our progress. Regardless of whether he had, we were already out in the open sea on rough waters, so the damage had been done. This should have been shared prior to boarding the boat.

The family of FOUR that joined us were equally as alarmed. The wife returned with us on the helicopter as she did not want to risk injury herself. The husband, a seasoned mariner who owns a boat back home, validated that he NEVER would have taken folks out in a boat without disclosing how rough of a ride we were in for. They were NOT happy.

The other details the business is outlining are also false. Take this into account when considering a...

The worst five star experience we have ever had. The description on the website does not explain the reality: The resort is reachable exclusively by helicopter (that costs around 1300 AUD) or, by private transfer boats (which anyway cost 900 AUD) which are available only in very limited times during the day due to the tide (after 3.30 pm for the arrival to the Resort and before 8,45 am for the return from the Resort). This info are not communicated clearly neither in the website nor by the staff at the moment of the reservation. In fact, the website only specifies that “the Access to Elysian Eco Retreat is via a 10-20min helicopter journey from either Hamilton Island, over the picturesque Whitsunday Islands or Conway National Park”.

Because of this, without being aware in advance at the time of the flight reservation we lost one day waiting for the transfers.

Inadequate staff: when we arrived they asked where we were from and after we told them we came from Italy, a person of the staff thought to welcome us parroting “Bongiorno Spaghetti Bolognaise”, this was inappropriate on so many levels, Expecially for a “five stars trained staff”. When we arrive it was heavy raining, we arrived completely wet from the boat and we were forced to wait in the main room since Our room was not ready even though we were supposed to be there well earlier than when we actually arrived. When we finally reached our villa, there was a strong air conditioning on despite us being completely wet and cold. This shows how poorly they have managed the situation and our arrival in complicated conditions. If this was not enough, while unpacking our staff we noticed that a backpack was missing and after we want back under the thunderstorm to the reception to ask about our missing backpack, they realized it was left under the rain. Our things inside of course have been damaged. The staff was very smiling and asking too many times how we were but they missed to communicate a very important thing: nobody informed us about what was happening around whitesundays due to the weather conditions. In fact not only the airport from which we were supposed to take our flight back was closed but all the roads and consequently the airport in around x kilometer were closed due to flooding: due to this lack of info and care, we wasted money in booking other flights that anyway from other airports which were unreachable due to the flooding. Considering they refer to them as the “most secluded resort in the whitesundays” it should be normal practice (as well as basic common sense) to at least inform their few guests on how to reach and go back from the resort, especially with severe weather conditions. They also had our flights details asked by them, so they knew we were supposed to reach the airport closed! Their only solution has been offer a discount of 50% on one additional night!!! We did not hear any apologize, also when we asked to speak with a manager, she was very rude at the telephone, denying what happened. Few smiles and a lot of superficial attentions do not make a real luxury hotel experience (considering also the high rates). Beside this, meals were good and they offered a refund of what we consumed at the bar for one day and a half (2...

Elysian was a great place to stay, relax and unwind. We booked 4 nights but I would recommend 7.||The setting is spectacular and feels very secluded. Staff are friendly and were very accommodating with my plans to celebrate my partner’s birthday while we were away, arranging specific champagne, a cake and private dinner.||Days at Elysian are really best spent at the resort. I would suggest skipping the excursions and using your time at the resort to truly wind down - go for a hike, snorkel, kayak, do yoga twice a day (even if you are terrible at it like me!), read by the pool, enjoy the delicious food, get a massage…||The atmosphere at Elysian is welcoming and relaxed, without ever feeling intrusive or anonymous. Every evening canapes are served by the fire where all guests and staff get to interact for half an hour about their day, before you are seated for dinner as couples. It means you get to meet everyone, without being overburdening. Josh, the manager, is personable and makes a big effort with guests, sharing some great stories about the history of the resort. There were several solo travellers too during our stay and I noted the staff gave them particular attention to feel welcome, including sharing meals with them. ||The eco credentials of the lodge are very impressive with lots of information around about how they conserve resources and reduce waste.||The rooms themselves were very comfortable, especially the large beds, we had a great sleep every night. Rooms were reasonably spacious and all had tremendous bay views. I’d suggest getting a room with an outdoor shower so you don’t need to wash off sand and swimming gear inside your room. The room with plunge pool probably isn’t worth it for mine as the resort pool is great, as is snorkelling in the bay.||One unfortunate blight was that we booked a whitehaven beach tour for one day and really regretted it: the resort booked us onto a mass tourism trip with 60 other people (Ocean Rafting, based out of Airlie Beach) which really targets the backpacker crowd - i.e. drinking was encouraged from departure, the captain loved doing ‘donuts’ with the speedboat, and the entire boat journey was accompanied by electronic music blaring from the speakers. The worst thing about the tour was it took us away from the resort for an entire day, and was a jarring return to reality from the resort’s secluded bliss. I fed back to management how disappointing the tour was (despite the beautiful destination). They did their best to make amends but I still feel they should have known this isn’t the kind of experience guests staying at Elysian would be looking for.||So while I give this review four stars instead of five, Elysian really is a place where you can have a relaxing luxury experience which is worth the money, if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford it. We hope to go back one day, stay a bit longer, and skip the...