WE GOT INSIDE: Palmer's resort no 'rundown eyesore'
THE Sunshine Coast Daily gets an exclusive tour of Clive Palmer's Coolum resort amid reports that it had become an "embarrassing, rundown eyesore".
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SOME of the shine may have come off Palmer Coolum Resort since much of it was closed down but a quick spruce up has revealed the potential of the expansive site.
Owner Clive Palmer invited a Sunshine Coast Daily reporter and photographer to take a look around for themselves on Tuesday.
He said he was disappointed by reports of the resort's decay.
After checking in with the resort's general manager the reporter and photographer were taken on a guided tour tour by a man who said he was doing consulting work for Mr Palmer.
First stop for the golf buggies was the resort spa.
The doors were unlocked and access granted to the treatment rooms, gym and shop area.
All of them were clean, apparently ready for use should Mr Palmer give the word.
Sporting apparel still hung from display racks as if it was waiting to be bought.
Water in a lap pool was clear but had a green tinge to it.
The colour was explained as being a result of tannin seeping from leaves of nearby plants.
The Village Square was the next stop, where men were carrying tables to be put into storage.
Our guide suggested they had been brought out of storage to be cleaned.
A few of the restaurants were opened for a look inside as well as the kiosk-type shop.
All of the shopfronts were clean.
We then took a short walk over to the Copacabana cocktail bar and Captain's Table restaurant.
Again, from the front of house, both appeared clean.
Next stop was the tennis courts, which we were assured still had players routinely using them.
Then it was up to one of the villa rooms, which had a fake red rose sitting at the foot of a neatly made bed.
There were magazines on a coffee table.
The inside looked ready to move into, however the balcony had a pile of leaves on it that looked like it had been accumulating for some time.
We were told that most of the rooms were kept to the same standard as the one we were shown.
Most of the villas needed to have leaves and plant debris cleaned from their gutters but didn't look too bad otherwise.
We made our way past the resort pool, again with a green tinge, to the dinosaur park.
A large locked gate was opened so we could bypass the disused turnstiles to drive past the prehistoric replicas.
They were all in place, although the electronic movement and noises they used to make were nowhere to be seen or heard.
Cars were still visible in the Motorama as we whizzed past on our way across the resort to the Ambassador's Club villas.
The door was opened to Mr Palmer's personal three-storey villa Ballina House but no photos were allowed.
It was clean and looked ready for guests.
We then drove along the fairway of the ninth hole on our way back to clubhouse.
Once there we were shown into the Palmer Grill restaurant and were assured it was opened for golfers when required.
That concluded our tour.
Overall, it was hard to agree with Mr Palmer's description that it was the best resort on Coast but the sections we saw were also a far cry from being an embarrassing eyesore.
* This is the opinion of Sunshine Coast Daily reporter Stuart Cumming
Originally published as WE GOT INSIDE: Palmer's resort no 'rundown eyesore'
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