Palm Bay Resort

The location here is incredible, with cute wallabies jumping around and friendly cockatoos, plus a number of seabirds.
It reminded me of places I've stayed at in South East Asia, with the jungle feel, the palms and the beautiful greenery around clear (mostly) blue waters.
It was great to be greeted (very White Lotus) on arrival and would have been nice to have a goodbye on departure too.
The bar/restaurant staff were fantastic, couldn't do enough for you.
A special mention is needed for the food, which was amazing. Their chef put some very interesting flavours together - top class.
Unfortunately I didn't sleep well a couple of nights as I found myself catching and removing cockroaches from my bathroom. Maintenance were helpful, attempting to poison them, reception less so, providing me with a spray for flying insects, that did nothing to the roaches. I understand they turn up in tropical places and that they are hard to shift, but while I didn't mind no housekeeping for the 4 nts I think bins should be emptied every day, to avoid attracting them.
The other negative was the noise of tractors and outdoor power tools at different times of day.
Thus said, it's a beautiful place and I found it a wonderful place to chill.

NOTE: Palm Bay Resort would be ideal to stay at for limited stays. We did not know any better so booked an 8+ night stay so my review is based off this. The facilities were a little run down, tiles falling off the pool, areas missing off some of the roofs. Tv in main area slightly broken. Room was fairly clean, staff were lovely however a bit forgetful, not super proactive (apart from one amazing employee) view from room was incredible, spent hours upon hours reading with that view in the background. The beach itself was very rocky. Food was good, but menu limited. Again I need to stress, if this was all over a 3 or so night stay this would be 9/10. Also massively limited with supplies. Definitely need to do some supply shopping in Airlie or Hamilton before coming. So would definitely would go again but would definitely stay shorter.

Beautiful, relaxing idyllic stay. Food was good. Staff were lovely. Pool was nice. Loved the setting and nature. The hammocks were a nice touch. Lots of activities. Bush walks were fun. Bedding etc was very clean.
Room 15 was very musty so had to keep aircon on at all times.

We really enjoyed our utterly relaxing stay. The staff were friendly, the bungalow was clean and comfortable with a lovely beach view from the balcony, and were surrounded by nature. We’d definitely come back.

Quiet island location close to the mainland. Small resort with great staff and food service from a great kitchen. Facilities are older but maintained in a casual lush tropical setting Good walking options to explore a bit if you like.

This resort was everything I wanted in a holiday. From the moment we arrived, the relaxed island vibe set in—it never felt rushed or pretentious, just easygoing and welcoming. The cabins right on the beach were picture perfect, especially at high tide, and the free use of kayaks and paddleboards was such a bonus. We also loved the hiking tracks, a great way to balance out the lazy beach days. And the food—absolutely next level and very reasonably priced! Every meal at the restaurant was a highlight. A true holiday escape.

It was the most beautiful place to stay. If you want to relax & soak up the beauty, this is the place. Food was beautiful, staff were excellent & the bed was so comfortable. Excellent holiday

Great resort on a quiet island with hike paths around it, many beautiful beaches where you can walk around alone. Restaurant of the hotel has the same menu everyday, so after a while you have tried everything. They do a great happy hour during sunset everyday!

Palm Bay is a secluded resort nestled in Long Island,,,in fact it’s the only resort that is habitable. There is an abandoned resort property on the island as well. Palm Bay cottages are lovely and very roomy. Beds are comfortable. The restaurant is good…it’s the only place to eat on the island. We didn’t appreciate that it wasn’t feasible to take a water taxi anywhere else (say Airlie Beach) to dine because the last water taxi coming back to the resort is around 4:45 pm from Shute Harbour, and the cost for a return fare on the water taxi is about $115 per person—-very pricey. Staff is friendly, kind and courteous. You’ll run into locals such as wallabies, curlews and cockatiels as you hike on a couple of the trails. The trails are rather rough and rocky—bring a walking stick and good walking shoes.

Peaceful and quiet but wish we knew how remote it is and that there’s only one restaurant for the entire time we were there. The food was good but can only have it so many times!

The place is a little bit difficult to het to. Island was beautiful and surrounding areas. The resort itself is nice especially when you first arrive but the room we were in was in serious need of repairs and clean. I wouldn’t rate the resort as a 4 star, not in its current state. If you’re looking for a retreat type place to go for a walk and sit on the beach to get away, this place may be the place to go. The resort wasn’t really lively at night and there weren’t any activities run by the resort except for the spa. No free wifi. Other than kayaking in the Bay Area, going in the pool or snorkelling to see the mostly dead reef theres not much to do. Food options were limited and overpriced with reason but, $32 for an eggs benny is way over the top. The water jugs were dirty. There was mould on the lids which looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in months, until I made a point of cleaning it and leaving the dirty napkin on the table. The staff were nice but didn’t really seem to care about customer satisfaction or even checking in. The room we were in had mould on the curtains. It looked like the place maybe flooded, door was damaged, cupboards and shower was mouldy. The fridge is located in the bathroom and so is the kettle, tea and coffee. I had moved one of the chairs and the floor was caked in dust underneath it.
We won’t be going back to the resort again unfortunately. The worst part was that the bed had bed bugs which indicated they don’t often clean or vacuum the bed.

While some things were excellent here; it's very quiet and private. Beautiful setting and helpful staff, the main reason for this being our holiday destination was so underwhelming, it's difficult not to be very disappointed in our holiday.
Firstly there aren't many options to get there (in fact we were only given the name of one boat company which was disappointing) and it is so expensive that it really adds hugely to the cost and if we'd known prior to booking, we probably would have chosen a different destination.
The main reason for disappointment however was the snorkeling. It is terrible! The water is very cloudy and we didn't actually see a single fish. You could see fish at times from the shore but very plain, no tropical species at all. What coral you see is very grey. We definitely would never have gone there if we had known this. We have so enjoyed our snorkeling experiences in Fiji, it was really our main focus.
The pool is lovely and located superbly by the restaurant. The food was good. The sunset bar has the most beautiful setting, evening cocktails weren't to be missed.
There's a few walks which are good and is something else to fill your day. Because the snorkeling was so bad it gave us something else to do other than lying by the pool.
The staff are helpful and friendly but they are almost all backpackers so it feels like there's no one in charge or with local knowledge to share.

Great staff. Great location but a little hard to get to and from at a moments notice. Wifi would be nice as well.

Great staff very friendly and helpful. Resort is clean and tidy, can see that resort has suffered cyclone/weather damage so some things like tennis courts not used.
Free snokals and kayaks/SUPs was great, great get away for couples.

The location was amazing with stunning views and amazing sunsets. The quiet pace was exactly what we wanted including the double hammock 😎

We had a beautiful relaxing holiday at Palm Bay
Delicious restaurant, wonderful staff, in an idyllic paradise a perfect place to getaway from the rush, so tranquil 💛

Comfiest beds ever! Absolutely amazing food, every single meal. Friendly staff. Relaxing stay indeed. The view from The Hideaway was amazing and I’m definitely going back. Only one issue was the water in my shower was Luke warm. Was reported but not corrected.

Such a tranquil beautiful resort in amongst stunning rainforest national parks. Island transfer options are limited and can add significant costs depending on mode of transport. No shops o n island so make sure to take adequate supplies of snacks etc with you.

I had a wonderful stay at Palm Beach resort. It is a beautiful location. I had a beach villa and it was clean and had a really comfy bed and a hammock on the deck.

The staff were really friendly, helpful and welcoming and the food in the restaurant for dinner was great - the steak was fabulous and I had a special fish risotto which was lovely.

The resort seemed slightly understaffed and so the beach sunset bar was not open in the evening but it was a mere 2 minutes walk to the main bar which was no hardship.

A truly lovely and relaxing stay with no tvs and no children. All my stress disappeared. Good for the soul! Breakfast, lunch and dinner had to be paid for but you rarely needed all three. There was sea kayacking and a lovely swing by the sea. You can walk on the island on the trails but you do need footwear (not thong/jandles/flipflops) for that. If you are after a relaxing trip, this is the place for you and the pool was nice.

A tip - You can get a transfer from Hamilton Island directly but it is much cheaper to get a boat to and from Shute Harbour as a different option if you fly into Proserpine.

If you are looking for tons of activities this is not for you, if you are looking for a beautiful and simple place to relax, this is it.

Beautiful quite serene island away from the hustle and bustle of city. A bit of challenge to reach the place so one needs to do a bit of research to reach there. If possible avoid private transfers, its damm cosly. Overall its a fantastic place to stay.