Hotel berhampiran Oaks Head Office, Maroochydore

What I liked: we were on the 3rd floor, and the apartment had full length windows on two sides, so the views over the city were amazing, particularly at night when the city lights up. It was very spacious and new-looking, fully equipped; king bed; smart TV that you could pair your headphones with to avoid disturbing others; TV in the bedroom as well as in the main area; the ensuite had a real door (I have a pet hate for sliding bathroom doors – so noisy!) had a large shower with hand-held shower head with good water pressure; secure car-parking underneath. Not only did it have a dining table and chairs inside, but the balcony had a large table and more chairs. Location is just great, an Italian restaurant on the doorstep, Thai to the right, café/pub bar to the left, all within 5 minutes. And just round the corner still within walking distance is Ocean Street, which has many many restaurants to choose from. Traffic noise during the day, but not a problem at night as Maroochydore does not have much night traffic. Not so good: the ensuite had no hooks to hang anything; no shower caddy so your shampoo, soap etc had to be put on the floor; the towel rails were inadequate for more than one towel. A safety rail in the shower recess would have been appreciated. Only two pillows on the bed plus cushions, extra pillows would have been better, I never see the point of cushions on the bed.

The receptionist Nicky booked us in at the hotel, she was friendly and helpful providing maps and local advice. Our room was on the first floor with a balcony overlooking a building site... Perhaps should not have been charged extra for this privilege as we never used it! The room was clean, tidy and functional. Beds were firm, but there should have been a better pillow selection as ours were all flat as pancakes. Not sure about the glass shower room with duel purpose door. Can't leave the night light on as it illuminated the bedroom. Car parking at $20 a day was expensive as we stayed 5 days should have been discounted. Breakfast options were good with gluten free options available toostaff always happy to help. The hotel is within walking distance from cotton tree beach area. There are laundry facilities on top floor. The blue lighting edge to the building made it easy to find. Al's top tips Don't pay extra for a room with a balcony it over looks a building site, and it's not worth it. Take your own pillows as their are flat as pancakes. Parking at $20 a day is excessive and you can park in neighbouring streets after 6pm. Whilst in the area visit Maleny Botanical Gardens and Bird World and Australia ZooWe had a great day at both places, and for some fantastic views visit Montville you won't regret it.

Units in this apartment complex appear to be a mix of owner-occupied, long-term rentals and holiday/short-term rentals. We stayed in a two bedroom apartment on the second floor of one of the towers for four nights. We were told that this apartment was currently up for sale. We chose this Apartment complex as it was close to the place where our friends lived. As it turned out the Apartments were less than a 10 minute walk to Sunshine Plaza and about a 25 minute flat walk to Maroochydore beach. There were several coffee shops nearby and a bakery and convenience shop across the road. The unit was furnished and quite large with a combined lounge/dining area, a separate kitchen, a laundry with a separate toilet, a bathroom with a separate bath and a shower but no toilet and an ensuite bathroom with a shower (good pressure), basin and toilet. The two bedrooms were a reasonable size, both with queen sized beds (comfortable) and had plenty of space in the built-in wardrobes. In the kitchen there was a full sized fridge, an oven, a cooktop, microwave oven, dishwasher, kettle, toaster etc and sufficient pots, pans, crockery and cutlery. There was also a balcony. The two downsides to this unit were that you felt as if you lived in a fish bowl as surrounding units had a very good view into the kitchen, lounge room and balcony. Also you could see into the two bedrooms from the street. Second was that the WIFI was effectively non-existent. We did have the Strata Manager reset the router at one stage but this proved to be only a temporary fix. The Strata Managers, Coral and her husband, were very pleasant and helpful. We did not use any of the complex's facilities that included a swimming pool and games room.

We stayed at Verve for 10 nights from 27 December 2021 to early Jan 2022. Unfortunately, it rained almost every day except for 2 days. We were on the 6th floor (603) great views, large apartment with everything we needed except the Sun! This would be a great place without the rain, you can walk to Ginger Tiger Japanese, BYO, Sang's, BYO and Hathi Indian, BYO at Alexander Headland, you can catch the bus to Moom, which is BYO at Mooloabah. The only other disappointing thing about Maroochydore is that everything closes on a public holiday is you have no where to go locally! I got to the beach for a swim once!

The website claimed that the property was close to shops and restaurants. The situation was not close to anything except a couple of restaurants and a bakery which was very nice. There were no maps available to local eateries, shops etc. While the apartment was clean, it was very tired. There was nothing left in it (apart from one small packet of laundry powder and the smallest bottle of milk in the world! ) Had to buy my own dishwashing liquid, laundry powder, and rubbish bags. The rubbish room was on the ground floor and we were asked to dispose of all rubbish prior to departure or we would be charged $100! The whole time I was there the swipe card for after hours access at the front entrance did not work so had to walk a few yards down the street (in the dark) to access the back entrance. Not ideal. There was no information available on local attractions, trips, activities. The receptionists were not helpful when asking for advice as to how to get to places, how to call a taxi (my NZ mobile would not work on the local number). Fortunately I have an Uber app so used Ubers which were great. The pool was closed for a day (without notice). Wifi was intermittent and not reliable at all. I had a wonderful time on my break but that was due to my pre-planning prior to the trip. I would not recommend this property. Jane

Have just returned to NZ after 3 weeks staying at The Rise. This was our second stay and we have rebooked for next year. Extremely friendly and helpful staff. The apartments are very modern and stylish with magnificent views all round. We had a two bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment, laundry, fantastic living, dining area and gorgeous sunny balcony. It is very handy to shops, restaurants and beach. A must stay!

Stayed at the Sebel Maroochydore for a weekend! The room was fantastic. We stayed in one of there 2 bedroom Terrace apartments! What can I say! It was big,spacious and beautiful! And the view was incredible. On check In the reception team were very lovely and welcoming. I did speak with other reception team who were equally as lovely. True asserts to the Sebel Team. We did attempt as a Platinum Accor member to get a late check out, due our flight schedule changing,however the latest time we were allowed to check out was 12pm which was disappointing. Pool area was lovely and well maintained and great temperature. The hotel is conveniently located for any facilities you would need for your stay. Would definitely recommend this hotel. Enjoyed it so much we have just made another booking for February.

We had a great Easter get away at the Beach tower. With ocean view, pool, sauna and the little play area for the kids was pretty handy. So close to everything such as restaurants, shops and takeaways and a little across to just take a stroll on the beach, swim, surf or a picnic was ideal.

The best part is the pool, although it is not heated. The spa was stone cold unfortunately. Unknowingly we were allocated a unit up 3 flights of stairs and our view was of skyscraper buildings across the road. The beach was across another road. The unit was spotless but only a few miserable tea bags, sugar and coffee. One piece of soap and one dishwasher tablet. One set of towels. What would have been useful is instructions as to where to put rubbish (in a basement garage) how to operate the opener for the garage and gate. THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE is for kiwis to have a phone that works in Aust. We arrived in the dark only to find an Aust mobile number on the gate. In the end I had to shout until another occupier heard us to let us in. We worked out the keypad number was the post code plus hash. The beds were comfy but very soft. The unit was spacious but a ground floor one would be my pick. We would stay here again as it is in a handy spot but quiet. The reception is only open 8 to 5.