We booked this hotel on a fairly tight budget so were not expecting anything particularly amazing. The hotel room was small and basic. Unfortunately ours was over one of the pools near the spa and the noise that started from early in the morning with swimmers carried through to the room which meant that sleep-ins were not possible.

The breakfast was a bonus inclusion and although fairly limited, it was a nice complimentary addition to our package.

Disappointing that the room is not cleaned during the stay (unless over 8 nights), however the staff were always willing to refresh towels etc as needed at the reception desk.

Note: This hotel requires a $200 holding deposit when you check in. We were not made aware of this prior to arrival (booked via travel agent)

Spent 4 nights here with my partner. had a great stay. location great with the stunning beach just behind. 10 mins bus to centre of port douglas or 20 mins walk or so . hotel room was ok quite small but did not let that spoilt it has we only slept in it.bed was comfy. breakfast was fine nothing special but did the job. lay out of hotel is good with a few pools dotted around. found the the staff we dealt with very helpful. and cheerful which didt seem false. one small complaint was bar shut about 17.30 may be could have stayed open a little later. but i suppose added to the peacefulness. all in all great stay if in area again would stay again.

Oh the soap was really nice and the pen.I simply cannot believe that people can call this place ' amazing or fantastic.What a joke.The rooms spacious??? are you kidding me.We were placed in a tiny room that was suposed to have a king size bed in it.A king size bed wouldn't fit in that room.(requested as my wife is 6 ft + and has a bad back).I had to argue it out with staff that it wasn't a king bed.It also was voiced that it was for our anniversary and we were placed beside the main pool area.(just what you need on a romantic weekend-kids playing at 7am)THERE WAS NO BALCONY OR WINDOWS-just some aluminium louvers that give little to no view or airflow, you do realise its get very hot up in the tropics.Apparently however there is such a thing as a king size zip bed which is Mantras' version.oh but it's the same--just smaller than a normal one.???We had to prove that we had breakfast included in our deal and produce paperwork.Oh, its a 'continental breakfast' some tinned fruit, cereal, some bread and a toaster, some ham and some cheese slices .No salt or pepper to be seen anywhere.My wife had asked( in an email as a surprise for me) for Champagne and chocolates be left in our room when checking in(at a price which is fine),nothing was mentioned or seen.So when asked we were told to 'check the fridge'.No champagne glasses supplied or offer of ice/bucket.
To try to resolve the issue( all this was done quite repectfully and calm i didnt want any boats rocked and didnt want to upset my wife , it was our 1st Anniversary) we were show 2 other rooms.One room pretty much exactly to same just on another floor closer to the pool area.(WHY i don't know..).The other which had a kitchenette, and sitting area,with a balcony area. Given little to no choice i said we would take it-since there was no way they could give us a king size bed or any other rooms.It's an extra $40 a night...!
We weren't given what we paid for, we certainly weren't treated with any compensation, we had to pay extra for a reasonable room.The english lady who had to deal with us was very nice and of course trying to help the situation but i could see her hands were tied from the manager.
We have travelled a lot.We have stayed in many hotels all over the world.I worked in hospitality for many years.I am certainly not a person who carries on and makes too much of a fuss or expects things i dont pay for or expect.I'd like to think i am courteous and respectful of staff whether at a local pub, a luxury resort or the supermarket.We are not well off and have to save for such luxuries as an anniversary away.
Who designed and built the monstrosity-it is a maze of halls and doors-possibly one of the worst designed resorts ever,take a compas and a GPS to get out.
I ran into serveral other people in town during our stay, that were staying at Portsea too and they all said the same thing-this is just not one person airing a grievance.
After looking about we had discovered better deals and much better hotels around the area.My biggest regret is that i didnt read through all the reviews before we booked as there are several with the same comments as I have.The pictures do NOT tell the story here!!
I will be contacting Wotif and letting them know of this too. This was suposed to be 4 STAR--this is far from it, and the only way we got near a second or 4rth star is we had to pay more for it!!

And to you Mr/Ms Manger..I do not expect you to comment.I expected you to deliver what you advertised, to instruct your staff to make compensation for your hotels short commings and to act like someone holding your postion with proffessionalism.It would not have taken much..So if this letter only but helps take that measly $120 out of your profits,if not more, that you charged us extra, then my job is done.A little goes a long way.
When asked that 'did you realise by treating us this way i would leave this review'- and the smug way you had said 'you welcome all feed back-it helps monitor the hotels business'-well i hope this helps you!
Just like word of mouth and Trip advisor-it is the best/ or worst form of advertisment.!
Look about people there is better for the same $$, and you may even get what you pay for!

Oh and the pen broke after a few days too,,, so i guess its down to the lovely soap.

If you look at the pic, there is aboit 1.5 foot on this side and i am up against the small fridge to take this.on the right is where a couple of sets of louvers opens,,no windows, no view, and open to all noise,the door on other side enters the tiny bathroom. Its very hard to pass each other .
The leather satchel in the picture is
approx 38cm wide x approx 4 wide= 153cm = queen bed..=room tiny noisy hot box
Nothing bigger was seen.or offered..

I have stayed in this property 3 times now... I just cant go past it. Yes there are other bigger better hotels but I would rather save those few extra dollars to spend on activities.
This hotel has a great pool! A pool bar which makes great cocktails... and is walking distance to the main street where there are shops and restaurants etc.
Staff are very friendly and helpful, the only reason this property gets the 4 instead of 5 stars is because they dont have a restaurant on site... but other than that I cannot flaw the Portsea.
Do yourself a favour and stay there.