I have long been wanting to visit the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas as a base for exploring Far North Queensland, and the recent refurbishment of the property got me over the line to make a booking earlier this year.
We spent five nights in the Sheraton Mirage, and then another chunk of time in The Daintree rainforest (which I won’t review).
Research & Booking
The Sheraton Mirage is ranked #18 out of 43 hotels in Port Douglas on TripAdvisor, while not very impressive ranking wise, the property still received 4 stars from most reviewers.
At the time of writing this review, this property was classified as an SPG Category 5 property, costing 12,000-16,000 Starpoints per night.
Due to the merger of SPG into Marriott Rewards, this is now a Marriott Category 5 property, costing 30,000/35,000/40,000 Marriott Rewards points per night (off-peak/standard/peak).
I was keen to use Starpoints for a five-night stay – as Starwood (and now Marriott) offers the fifth night free on points redemptions, cutting the total redemption cost by 20%. We booked two Lagoon View Rooms which were confirmed as connecting rooms on arrival.
The total cost was 44,000 Starpoints per room for the five nights, versus paid rates north of $350 for the same room (we visited during school holidays which may have increased the cost if paying cash a bit – making this an ideal opportunity to use Starpoints).
These points were all mostly earned from my American Express Explorer and Platinum Charge cards, topped up with a small points purchase to get my balance over the line to make a redemption.
The Lagoon Room with King Bed
The rooms in the Sheraton Mirage have been refurbished nicely with plenty of open space, a hard wood floor (ideal for handling sandy feet, but a bit doesn’t help with echoes), and shuttered windows.
I found the shuttered windows to be ineffective at blocking out light at night, which was primarily from building lights around the property.
The connecting corridor between the two rooms was good for use as part of a family stay.
The Lagoon Room with Two Double Beds
Both my daughters enjoyed their pretty massive double beds (massive for a 3 and 6 year old, anyway).
And true to the room’s description, we had an excellent view of the lagoon.
The Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas
The hotel is situated on the coast just south of Port Douglas, bang on the beachfront – not that it’s recommended to swim in the ocean here due to crocs and stingers.
As a result, the property has a huge complex of crocodile-free salt-water lagoons, plus a large regular pool – good if you (or the kids) don’t like salty water.
As you’d guess, there’s a very tropical feel to the place with large parts of the public areas open, and fans to help move the air around.
In the main hotel lobby a small cafe (but with lots of comfortable seating) serves up hot and cold drinks and snacks. The main hotel bar is not open until the late afternoon.
What we’re all here for really – chilling out by the pool.
The private cabanas pictured here are available for around $55 per day, from memory.
A number of ground floor rooms (charged at a higher rate) have direct Lagoon access from your balcony – pretty cool, but not a feature we would have valued with small kids in tow.
The Feast Restaurant and The Feast Deck
Feast is where the dining action takes place for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. We benefited from free breakfast for the whole family thanks to my Starwood Platinum status, and the spread was excellent.
For the evenings we stayed at the hotel, I took advantage of the Star Privilege paid membership program to cut our food bill in half, which brought it down from ‘expensive hotel food’ to ‘what you might pay in a decent restaurant’.
In addition, the Sheraton Mirage offers $15 daily room credits for restaurants if you decline housekeeping. This is a great deal!
Around The Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas, Queensland
The property is not in Port Douglas itself, with the town accessible with a few minute drive or taxi, or a longer walk – either along the road or the beach.
This is a shame as Port Douglas has some great restaurants and cafes which would have helped with slight feeling of hotel food lock-in.
Of course, one of the main reasons you may be here would be to head out to the Great Barrier Reef – which we checked off too.
Reviews of other Sheraton Hotels
- Sheraton Grand London Park Lane
- Sheraton Melbourne Hotel
- Sheraton Towers Singapore
- Sheraton Denarau Villas Fiji
Summing up – The Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas
I really enjoyed our stay at the Sheraton Mirage. I felt like the hotel has hit the mark when it comes to it’s refurbishment, with the rooms feeling airy and comfortable, and the whole property very tropical.
We didn’t have much reason to interact with the staff while we stayed, but service was generally good, barring the odd wait for food or drink ordered pool-side.
The lagoon and main hotel pools were both well-kept, which was good as they are the main drawcard of the place, and the ability to walk straight out onto the massive beach for a walk or explore with the kids was ideal.
The main downside for us was the cost and slightly limited nature of evening dining – with kids, we were a bit more stuck on the hotel than most others might be, and the menu was both a bit limited and expensive.
The attraction of visiting Port Douglas was not so much the hotel – we were keen to explore the beautiful sights around, but the Sheraton didn’t let us down either.
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Supplementary photo courtesy of Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas
Nice report… Thanks.