Clive Palmer's Coolum resort attracting criticism from guests
A STAY at Palmer Resort shows how low standards have dropped for the five-star establishment.
QLD
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CLIVE Palmer's Sunshine Coast resort might be a shell of its former self but staff can't be criticised for not trying to give guests value for money.
Workers at the Palmer Coolum Resort are being asked to do everything from fronting as a cocktail-making bar tender, to room service attendee and restaurant waiter.
Reminiscent of the classic character Manuel – the bumbling, fumbling but earnest Spanish waiter – from Fawlty Towers, one staffer showed up day after day in a variety of different roles seemingly at the beck and call of the same two guests.
The nearly empty resort continues to attract strong criticism – not only from guests, but industry figures.
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Palmer’s five-star retreat that under former manager, Hyatt Regency, won numerous awards and hosted celebrities Mick Jagger and U2 and world leaders is now the subject of ridicule and scathing reviews.
A stay at the Palmer Resort this week showed just how low standards had dropped for the five-star establishment.
Ants crawling through the rooms, restaurants closed, rooms and venues closed off in ugly orange worksite tape.
Palmer’s obsession with dinosaurs sees the mechanical beasts roar within metres of guests’ rooms, and dozens of classic cars sit idly in a showcase room with no one there to view them.
The resort is now tarnished by garish signage and homages to the cult of Clive from his collection of classic cars (Motorama) and noisy dinosaurs (Palmersaurus) to in-house TV stations, which include the Titanic Channel (playing Titanic movies only), and Palmer TV 1 and Palmer TV 2, which loop programs about Clive Palmer at all times of the day.
One of the gimmicky yellow-and-black signs littered around the resort said the Palmer Grill had “fantastic food” but it was closed for restructuring.
Many other restaurants and parts of the resort were also shut during mid-week stay. So was the Asian-styled Smiling Duck. And guests were told the wine shop which we were told had been closed for some time.
Under Hyatt, which managed the property from 1988 to 2012, there were 650 staff.
But general manager Simon Stodart defended the resort against what he said was “politically driven” criticism. He said the resort was simply restructuring and reviewings its practices after the holiday season to be more profitable.
“Clearly this direction needed to be different to the previous Hyatt management business model that has never been profitable for any of the owners of the resort,” he said.
“I will continue to work with our staff and our guests to continue to provide the cherished Coolum resort experience of the past, but with exciting growth prospects in the new economic times that are upon us,” Mr Stodart said.
Mr Palmer has also denied the resort was headed for closure, passing the sackings off as “seasonal’’. He rubbished suggestions the resort would close, saying that he liked the desserts too much.
A source said many staff have taken redundancies because they believe the resort’s decline is so steep they have to abandon “a sinking ship’’.
Industry experts say belt- tightening and reducing service and offerings is not the answer and Mr Palmer must rebrand the property or continue to bleed millions. Current losses are estimated at $500,000 a month.
Coolum Business and Tourism Association president Noel Mooney said the owner’s mining credentials may be strong but his tourism acumen had been exposed.
Mr Mooney said Mr Palmer’s claims that the local tourism industry was in decline was incorrect as other resorts and restaurants were firing.
“I think the biggest thing has been the branding. He should have got an internationally recognised brand name. Palmer Resort is like, ‘What the hell is that?’” he said. “You can sink as much money as you want into the place but if it’s not recognised (no one will come).”
Staff would not speak publicly but one said the resort was barely scraping by as five-star. “Room service is the only thing that keeps us a five-star resort,” one staff member said of the 24-hour service.
Mr Palmer purchased the former Hyatt Regency in 2011 for an estimated $6.5 million, promising to inject $2 billion into the picturesque seaside property and stimulate the state’s economy by luring cashed-up Chinese visitors.
His vision for a highrise beach hotel and casino, outside current zoning requirements and in need of local and State Government support, have yet to advance to a tangible stage.
Guests, in recent months, have blasted the Palmer Resort in reviews posted on prominent booking sites wotif and tripadvisor.
An average of 135 recent wotif guest reviews gave a rating of 3.8 out of five for the self-rated five-star property.
This is well below the regional average of 4.3, and main gripes included a lack of value for money, poor service and staff training and dated furnishings. Positives were the beautiful location and being able to swim and ride bicycles.
Tripadvisor logged 387 reviews, with average ratings 3.5 out of 5 for room quality and service, 3 for value. and 4 for location and cleanliness.
PALMER COOLUM RESORT – what guests say:
Sadly run down. Clive should spend less on dinosaurs and more on maintenance – TRACIE HEYES, regional Queensland
Food horrible, staff untrained, broken fire alarm at 11pm - JULIE GORDON, Brisbane
Ridiculously overpriced for quality and experience. At breakfast even worse … absolutely terrible value – MARIO, Cairns
Dinosaur park was a let-down and so were staff - except one gentlemen that turned on one of the dinosaurs for us that squirted water – SAMANTHA J, Robina
Awesome dinosaur experience. Great value and really well presented. Heaps of moving, roaring dinosaurs, some huge. Plenty of shade, but no seats – HEATHER D, Landsborough
Everything was well overpriced and didn’t deliver any more than a good three star, which is really sad as it used to be great. I wish we had gone straight to Noosa – LEE BUCKINGHAM, Brisbane
This place is an absolute joke. It is overpriced, dated, dirty, very poorly managed and completely ruined – LOUIE SKINNER, Sydney
SOURCE: Reviews on wotif.com.au and tripadvisor.com.au based on January stays
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