Grand Mercure Apartments Magnetic Island

Had an amazing time from even before we arrived getting island tips on places to see and do from Richelle and Sam while we were there for the long weekend. The apartment was lovely, fantastic views, well equipped and spotless. Can’t wait to come and visit again.

Choosing Magnetic Island over staying in Townsville for work turned out to be a great decision! Upon arriving, Richelle at the reception welcomed me warmly and shared some valuable local insights. My room was spacious, offering a breathtaking ocean view, and the option of three swimming pools, one heated, was just what I needed after a hectic week of meetings. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back!

Let me say at the start I am surprised the Luxury Escapes and Mercure companies would be associated with this resort, and particularly this particular apartment. There is no way to describe the apartment we were allocated other than to say it was really dirty, especially the deck overlooking the harbour. I wiped down the table outside and the cloth was black. It took several attempts to render it acceptably clean. Ditto the floor outside which clearly hadn’t seen a mop in a long time, judging by the stains. The kitchen cupboards were greasy to the touch, as was the crockery glasses and cutlery, and the dust was so thick on the bedside lamps I could write my name in it. The living room furniture has definitely seen better days. The material covering the couch (some kind of plastic) was cracked and flaking. There is no lift which made getting suitcases to the second floor up three flights of stairs, very very difficult and exhausting. The apartment is well equipped, excessively so, with the owners’ detritus stuffed everywhere. It is also in a good position, close to the few restaurants in Nelly Bay. The view is lovely and for $390+ per night for a one bed apartment, I would expect nothing less. There is no wifi in this apartment, apparently because “the owners don’t want it.” I suspect, despite the unjustifiable rent, it is more like, “the owners don’t want to pay for it”. I’m surprised the managers of this resort get away with such blatant false advertising. FREE WIFI is clearly stated on their webpage, along with GYM, which, as expected, was “closed for renovation.” Another false and misleading statement. Last time I checked there were strict laws in this country regarding false and misleading advertising but these people are clearly untroubled by such threats . On arrival we were told that the “one bedroom apartments are booked out so we have given you a two bedder, but we ask that you don’t use the second bedroom.” Fine, no problem, although given I booked several weeks previously this surprised me. However, when my husband asked for a discount given the false advertising regarding wifi, he was refused, because, “We let you have a two bedroom apartment and you only paid for one.” Ah yes, that would be the extra bedroom we can’t use!! My impression is that this resort is not very well managed. One look at the staff gave me pause. It’s a laid back lifestyle in the tropics, I get that, and no one expects power suited staff, but these women need to attend a professional development seminar on appropriate dress code for front of house staff. When I enquired about the 10% charge for ‘hotel taxes and fees’ I was told that this was a ‘Luxury Escapes’ charge, and that LE “had been sold to an American company and they charge this.” This is utter garbage, but fairly typical of the lack of professionalism displayed by office staff. The extra 10% charge surprised me because I have never seen an extra cost documented on any of my p

I stayed there for 4 nights in a beautiful waterfront apartment and it was stunning! How lovely to wake up and watch the boats come and go in the marina and relax and watch the sun go down with the rock wallabys…. The infinity swimming pools were divine and the staff were friendly and helpful….loved the place!

Arrived at 2.15pm for check in and receptionist was on a personal call which she remained on for the next 10 minutes while we waited, she then said that our room was not ready and when i queried that check in was 2.00pm she responded curtly - " its FROM 2.00pm", so obviously Grand Mecure need to update their website to state check ins are from 2.00pm. I asked that she call us when it was ready and got a mumbled response so after 90 mins when we still hadnt heard from her we checked again and the appt was now ready. When we got in the appt was filthy and ill equipped for a 3 bedroom appt with a lot of things not working such as the fan and tv remote. There was only one toilet roll in each of the toilets and when i went to reception to get more, i was rudely told "we are not a hotel" so another follow up for Grand Mecure is to change their logo to Grand Mecure - We Are Not A Hotel. There was not enough cutlery and glasses for everyone and we had to continually do washing just to have enough to use. Other issues were the lights from the car park remain on all night and 2 of the bedrooms were full of light, the shower had mold and broken missing tiles in it, there was rubbish under the beds, tiles around the pool were missing and broken, amongst other things. And just to add further insult when i check the bill i found we had been charged an extra $92 for "Sundries" whatever that is, surely this is illegal to charge above the agreed price without notifying us or providing any justification which is something i will report to the ACCC. There were 2 Platinum Accor members on this booking and both were disgusted by the quality of the service and appt, no doubt Rita from Grand Mecure who occasionally responds to these posts will do firstly make disparaging remarks about myself and then try and defend the indefensible, which is why there will be no changes to the service or quality levels of the appt.

This resort complex is about 30 mins ferry ride from Townsville and transports you to a tropical island , in the barrier reef locale , with wild dolphins , kangaroos and koalas all living happily next to the resident human population! The Grand Mercure is a self service luxury apartment complex , try and get a coral sea view room .. they are absolutely amazing . Contemporary luxury rooms , very large , would be brilliant for families .. highly recommended

We stay for 4 night over New year in a beach front 1 bedroom unit. It was absolutely delightful. We were on he ground floor and had an amazing view looking back to Townsville. Our unit was very personalized from staples supplied in the Fridge and pantry to Shampoo, Body Wash and beach towels for us to use. On arrival there was a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine for us to enjoy. The 4 pools at the complex were all lovely and we enjoyed a swim in each of them. The grounds were kept in immaculate condition and all the ground staff and office staff were delightful.

This is our second time back to the Mercure. The host was helpful and friendly even when run off her feet, check in/out was a breeze. It is a little different having an open bathroom (enclosed toilet room and European laundry). I'd like to see a hand rail to hold into the shower over bath for extra safety. Location just near the ferry, marina and bus terminals, a small bottle shop and IGA in the same area. The bus is great to get around on, regular and mostly on time. The place was clean and had everything we needed. It might not be new but it is well priced for the location and amenities.

I can only speak on my experience, and comment based on standards I have come to expect from staying in numerous hotels (Particuarly Accor brands), and also from my training and career working in hospitality. From the get go I was a bit apprehensive about this place. Dealing with Mel on the phone, I was told she ‘would get to my booking when she got through all the other requests' she had received. The guest doesn't need to know how busy you are. Instead, just tell me you will get to it as soon as you can. Things should look effortless to a guest. A few days before arriving, I called to amend another booking. When Mel picked up the phone I was told I would be called back because 'I am busy checking the cleaning has been completed in the rooms', whilst I could hear impatient tapping in the background. Again - I don't need to know how busy you are - Just advise you are with a client and will call me back. Based on that phone call, I decided to read some reviews about the hotel, which is when red flags started to pop up. There are pretty consistent comments on uncleanliness and rude reception staff. The rudeness was made very clear looking at some of the hotel owners response to reviews. To say I was shocked that a hotel was unprofessional enough to sass back at guest reviews would be an understatement (goodness knows what they will say about this review). Anyways, the day came to check in. Unfortunately my worries were confirmed. I shared a two bedroom apartment with a colleague. Both myself and a colleague had to wipe down everything with antibacterial wipes, as you could see streaks on the kitchen bench, and fingerprints on switches. Based on that, we just ended up wiping all the common touch areas, just to be safe. Our bed sheets had stains on them (see photos). I don't know if it was blood or red dirt. Either way we slept on what appeared clean, or put towels down (we didn't dare ask for clean sheets). The light and ceiling fan in my room didn't work - yes I know how to operate both. When you are only presented with 2 switches in the room, it is pretty easy to work out how to turn both of them on (see previous reviews where the hotel owners clapped back that the guest didn't know how to operate a fan). The bedrooms at the back of the apartments, that back onto the carpark, and have non-sound proof louvers, do not block out any noise. So if you want a good nights sleep without hearing other guests, don't stay here. No bath mat, hand towel or face washer. Just one bath towel per person - for a 4 night stay. Ew. Dust was evident on the bed side table and wall (see photo). Back of kitchen chair was broken - see photo. Not confident the floor had been cleaned as there was very obvious gum on the floor right next to the glass sliding door (see photo) - again, something we cleaned up instead of 'troubling' reception. It just kept going, and we had to put up with the place for 4 nights. So, if you are thinking of staying here, take into account some p