Peppers Beach Club & Spa Palm Cove — Hotel in Palm Cove

The rooms at peppers Palm Cove are okay, they are a bit dark and dated though. Definitely over priced for what they are. We asked for an early check in (months ago) because we were having our wedding at the venue, check in was set for 2pm and the wedding started at 3pm, they said ‘just get someone else to drop your bags off for you’ so the week of, we went and spoke to the front desk who were not really that helpful about it. My in-laws also stayed at peppers over the weekend of the wedding, they booked in October of 2024 (8 months ago), they booked a 2 bedroom apartment and asked for a ground floor room due to two of them having a disability that means walking up stairs is basically impossible. They were put on the second floor and then told they wouldn’t be able to move rooms even though they literally told the person booking on the phone that they had disabilities and could not walk up stairs; I was with them when they made the phone call to book. They then finally moved the three of them, to a one bedroom apartment with only one bed, charged them the same amount of money, and didn’t put a rollaway bed into the room for their daughter, who is disabled. I went to the front desk after finding this out on the second or third day of their stay where I was told ‘oh there should have been one included we will organise that now’ but they were then told they would have to pay $53 PER DAY for the extra bed and they had to accept it because ‘people aren’t allowed to sleep on the couch’. Eventually, after my MIL was pleading with me to speak to them and sort it out, on my wedding day, because she was too anxious after everything they’d already been through, they finally said ‘no you can have the bed for free because it was meant to be in here all along’. On the day of the wedding, my 2yo daughter tripped on the bricks and fell into one of the ponds covered in duckweed, in her flower girl dress, and could have drowned if it weren’t for my father in law standing right next to her; and some of the bar staff were really rude to my husband - he ordered me a piña colada and they told him he couldn’t have it and they refused to make it. After the photographer came along and said ‘he’s the groom and the drink is for the bride’ they said ‘oh’ and made the drink but the attitude was there all evening. My uncle’s partner also got cut off about 7.30 because she was slurring (she has a disability and a slight speech impediment which causes her to talk like that a little bit anyway, drinking exacerbates it, but not that much) she had only had a few drinks and was not being inappropriate by any means, she was sitting at the bar having a good time. It just seems like the staff at Peppers don’t care about the guests and certainly need a LOT more training on dealing with people with disabilities. The disabilities act was absolutely violated for the in-laws at the very least and accessibility at the property is shocking! The two ponds are a huge OHS issue, they are barely visible next to the grass and the deck ramp - I almost stepped off the deck onto them a couple of times because I thought it was part of the grass. Michelle and Aline were great and helpful, and so was the manager in charge of food on the night, the food was delicious and the venue was great, but yeah I’m really upset and angry with how some of our guests were treated and how the staff treated our family that were staying there. I definitely won’t be staying at Peppers Palm Cove again and I won’t be recommending it to anybody as a welcoming place to stay either. Absolutely not good enough, I’m really...

This was our third consecutive June stay at Peppers Palm Cove in the last 3 years. My wife, and two sons Henry and Oscar have enjoyed ourselves previously and were looking forward to another relaxing stay.

Sadly, our experience this time didn't compare to that we have had previously. Which I found somewhat bizarre given the nightly tariff was significantly more then previous years, and the pain of COVID lockdown is behind us?

To summarise just a few of the issues: Private functions - The afternoon we arrived the wedding ceremony seating obstructed us from moving our luggage from the allocated car park 6 to loading luggage up to 4233 from the lift. I would have thought reception would make us aware if same, offer an alternative transport route or even offer from concierge for assistance. None of that occured. We were then kicked out if the pool area a short term later, despite having thought we had paid to use the resort's facilities. We were unable to use the spa or beach pool for reasons mentioned below. The Noise at night time two on both functions occasions was significant and kept our 3 year old awake all night first time around (after x2 Kiwi Hakas were performed between 8pm and 11pm) and most of the night on the second occasion. We had never experienced a private function taking over the resort in the precious two years.

Cold Spa for the entirety of the trip. My eldest son has special needs which impact his mobility. I am a physiotherapist and make sure we stay at places were we can access facilities allowing regularly movement in warm water (Hydrotherapy). Neither the Spa nor the pool off the Spa were heated as they have been on the previous 2 years. This was flagged to reception on day 1, 2 and 3 whom always seemed unaware and was not addressed the entirety of the stay. As such we were unable to exercise him and his mobility has been affected.

Movie channel - Was out of lip sync with audio by about 5 seconds making it impossible to watch. When reported to reception we were advised to come and get a DVD player. When we did we were told someone will bring the DVD player over. An hour later that occured and was dropped off leaving us to install same, as the relevant hotel person " had no idea how to".

Simple basics - nil condiments I.e. salt and peppa in the unit - and as such had to ask for it daily. Coffee machines, Bedside table lanterns, TV remote didn't work properly or at all. Yesterday afternoon I tried calling concierge to help with the bags by bringing a trolley to base if building 4. They never answered on 3 attempts.

Its really poor to be honest from a well known Hotel brand.

I realise COVID has impacted the liquidity and ability to maintain facilities, but the resort was full the entire trip and one would think investing in the Post COVID upside would make good business sense?

I have stayed at Peppers on the Gold Coast recently and not had the same experience - so I don't know why this experience has been so different to previous where hotel guest numbers were much lower and restrictions etc much higher?

I had friends stay at the same time and they didnt have airconditioning for the entirety of their trip. Another simple basic one would think shouldn't occur?

I would like you to consider the above and provide me some reasons as to why we should rebook again for future years. Some of these matters in isolation can perhaps be put down to bad luck or timing, but collectively has made for a very poor...

Overall, we found this was a medium experience - lacking the luxuries for what would be expected of a resort of this price.

Pros: Staff were friendly & helpful Pools were calming, clean & a very lovely temperature Buffet breakfast was delicious, and had options for people who were gluten free. Bath towels were very plush & extra large! Environment was relaxing.

Cons: Overall, the hotel is needing maintenance. There were a lot of small issues that, added up, made for a less than luxurious experience. Room had visible built up dust (especially on shelves, lamps and storage), wardrobe handles were wobbly, one wardrobe door was crooked and hard to close, bed wasnt very comfortable, internet was slow, room shutters were dusty, wall paper in communal ladies toilet is peeling off wall & toilet flush was partially broken (fixed with duct tape), and much of the communal spaces were in need of a good clean. Lacking amenities you would expect from a similar-priced hotel. For example, no ice vending facilities on the floor - when asked reception would direct me to the restaurant - could not obtain additional swimming towels if desired (only could replace wet with dry), no room service, no bath salts for spa bath, etc. Pool bar was closed for majority of our stay, as they informed us on arrival that the roof was being replaced. Resulted in several days of no pool bar (a temporary one was set up), but also significant noise during the works that impacted relaxing environment (think angle grinding & air nail gun!). No apologies or compensation was offered, even a small token of a complementary drink would have been appreciated! Serenity pool, while nice & separate from the noise of the rest of the resort, was much colder than the other pools. The location is also odd, as it feels you are swimming in the backyard of other guests - as their rooms go directly to the pool. Not very serene! Pricing inside the resort is quite high. Drinks are expensive (e.g. $6 for a can of coke, compared to $4 at the pharmacy 100m away) and La Mesa restaurant prices are high for what you get (recommend Vivo for similar prices, but much better food!). While the breakfast buffet was tasty, there was only one automated coffee machine for guests. For the price paid, would expect a barista made coffee to be included for breakfast.

Overall, we had a relaxing stay & would definitely return to Palm Cove. However, for the price we felt that Peppers did not live up to the expectation of a 5-star resort experience. Would stay elsewhere...