Thala Beach Nature Reserve

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HFish010

5/5Tripadvisor· a month ago

We highly recommend this paradise in North Queensland, Australia. A resort in the rainforest with a swimming pool that is a series of beautifully landscaped interlocking rockpools and a spectacular beach. You can enjoy sipping cocktails or fresh coconut juice, from Thalia's own plantation, in luxurious surroundings with views of the coral sea. The staff are lovely, helpful, friendly and efficient, with a knowledge and enthusiasm for the Reserve that ensured we had a fantastic stay. We are so going to miss their delicious food and breakfasts watching Rainbow Lorikeets enjoying the bird bath high up in the trees.|The Coral reef bungalow we stayed in was very comfortable and clean with great views. The golf buggy service to take guests around the property, including the beach were brilliant. The talks available to guests were informative and we particularly welcomed the opportunity to attend the cultural talk from Linc Walker from Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours. Thalia's eco friendly approach is impressive and the gift of a water bottle for every guest was a delightful surprise, as was my birthday gift of a drink at the bar for us both.

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Aurora Bell

5/5Google· a month ago

Unforgettable stay with world-class service and stunning views! We had an incredible time at Thala Beach Nature Reserve last week. The entire environment is absolutely stunning, and all of the personnel were great—everyone was so welcoming and helpful throughout our stay. We absolutely loved staying in the timber cabins nestled right in the forest. The architecture of the main building is breathtaking, featuring large, grand stairs and a magnificent open-space design that looks right out towards the forest. It is such a relaxing space, and I simply could not take my eyes away from the views! It was a joy to walk through and admire the beautiful paintings displayed there. Dining at the unique tree-top restaurant was a highlight, as was relaxing on the private beach surrounded by coconut palms. A special thank you to Lani at the Rejuvenate Studio for an absolutely fantastic, deeply relaxing massage—she is incredibly talented! Also, a huge shoutout to Ludwig from Indonesia at the restaurant, who was exceptionally attentive, warm, and professional during our meals. Thank you to the entire team for making our holiday so memorable. We cannot wait to return!

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malvikasinghm

5/5Tripadvisor· 2 months ago

We had the most beautiful 5-night stay at Thala Beach Resort, and it was everything we had hoped for and more.From the moment we arrived, we felt so welcomed. We were pleasantly surprised with a complimentary room upgrade, which made our stay even more special. The whole resort has such a calm and peaceful atmosphere. If you're looking for a place to switch off from the busy pace of everyday life, relax, and reconnect with nature, this is it. The food was wonderful, and every meal was fresh and delicious. What truly stood out, though, was the genuine care and kindness of the staff.A special thank you to the manager, who took the time to check in with us during our stay to make sure everything was going well. Those thoughtful little moments made us feel genuinely cared for rather than just being another guest. We left feeling rested, refreshed, and grateful for such a lovely experience. Thala Beach Resort is a place we'll always remember, and we would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a peaceful, relaxing getaway with exceptional hospitality.

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Antares Orion

4/5Google· a month ago

A very special property with a few areas that could be improved. We stayed at Thala for five nights and overall had a very enjoyable stay. The main property is stunning, with beautiful views across the forest and ocean and lovely natural timber/decor throughout the public areas. The staff and service were excellent. Everyone was friendly, helpful and responsive to any requests we made during our stay (and we had quite a few!). Our room was well appointed, appeared recently decorated and everything worked well, although the WiFi was very poor and quite frustrating at times especially for our teenage children. For a family of four, having just one combined bathroom and toilet was also inconvenient, and at this price point we would have expected at least a separate additional toilet. We also felt that daily housekeeping should really be standard at this level of property. Food was exceptional. Both the à la carte breakfast and dinner were excellent. The dinner menu is perhaps a little limited for a five-night stay, even with the specials, and a few additional options particularly some simpler comfort-food choices such as a good burger or chicken curry would make it more appealing for families and teenagers. The grounds and beach are naturally beautiful, although we felt some areas looked a little unkempt and slightly shabby. In particular, the beach area seemed to have had relatively little effort put into making it comfortable and easily accessible for guests. They also recommend not swimming due to crocodiles in the area. The onsite experiences were another nice part of the stay. We particularly enjoyed the cultural talk, which was interesting and engaging. The bird and butterfly walk was also worthwhile, although we didn’t see a great deal of wildlife along the way. Unfortunately, the stargazing session was cancelled because of cloud cover which was understandable. Thala is genuinely a special place and the value for money was reasonable overall. With a few relatively modest upgrades and improvements, we think it could easily move into the category of a leading small luxury retreat.

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barbara holland

5/5Google· 3 months ago

We had a wonderful week here. The grounds are beautiful. We enjoyed bird watching at breakfast. Massage treatment was amazing. Pool was divine. But the thing that really made it was the super friendly staff. A great place to just relax

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Mark Labow

5/5Google· 6 months ago

What a special place. Only complaint is we could not swim here due to potential jellyfish and possible crocodile! Bit that was true almost everywhere in this area this time of year. But we saw a good amount of wildlife (lots of photography opportunities), the cottage was charming with a great view Andre staff were nothing short of fantastic. Shout out to Brett the naturalist who came to our cottage to tell us about the lovely animals and spiders we could see from our balcony. Location is paradise! And an open air restaurant was excellent with a view that is stunning . Food was generous and delicious . Drinks were great too with local beers and spirits. Staff were again friendly and really fun to talk to. Wish we could have stayed longer.

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seanbrennan2017

3/5Tripadvisor· 6 months ago

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.

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simonjbrealey

5/5Tripadvisor· 5 months ago

Thala Beach Nature Reserve was absolutely brilliant on so many levels - it suited us down to the sand! Firstly, the staff were simply fantastic. My partner was a bit debilitated due to an accident 2 days before we arrived and the wonderful staff literals not do enough to help us (shout out to Lyndon and Ray). We were there at a non-peak time; dodgy weather, stingers in the (beautifully warm) water, not breeding or migration season for the birds or butterflies. No matter - the ambiance of this utterly gorgeous place won us immediately and we are already planning our next stay. The accommodation (eucalypt bungalow) was perfect (but we might upgrade to coral sea bungalow next time). Coconut water from the nut at breakfast watching ospreys and sea eagles fish had my heart pounding from the moment I awoke. The casual friendliness of everyone we met was unbelievable, so relaxing and we honestly felt like part of the family. Food at the restaurant was first class (and I know about these things). Drinks selection perfect (Belvedere vodka anyone). Picnic hampers wonderful. We did not want to leave. We absolutely loved Thala Beach and a huge thank you to everyone who made our stay so perfect. |Simon