Choosing where to stay on Hamilton Island is tricky because there are just so many options. But the Reef View Hotel, with its wide range of room types, pools, beach access, bars and restaurants, is a great choice for a relaxing stay on Hamo Island.
Best known and most popular of the Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island is a beautiful tropical destination that attracts all kinds of visitors from backpackers to families to couples on a romantic getaway.
It’s the perfect spot to relax, with no cars allowed on the island and beautiful views wherever you look.
And because you’re so close to the Great Barrier Reef here, the options for scuba diving and snorkelling—not to mention boating and kayaking adventures—are abound.
Hamilton Island’s accommodation options vary from private spas and AirBnB-style homes all the way to budget hostels.
But the Reef View Hotel, with its 363 rooms across eight different types, is the obvious option—especially if this is your first time to Hamilton Island.
Check out our video walkthrough of our Garden View Room and some of the facilities at the Reef View Hotel.
Reef View Hotel, Hamilton Island
Even though we’re only here on Hamilton Island for one night before we head to Reefworld and Reefsleep in the morning (you can find out more about this amazing overnight experience on the Great Barrier Reef here) we’re so excited to be see what Hamo Island has to offer.
From the ubiquitous golf carts that you can hire to get around (much calmer and less obtrusive than hire cars) to the separate yet affiliated DenT Island next door that’s an 18-hole golf course, Hamilton Island is a holidaymaker’s paradise.
The western side of Hamilton Island is taken up with shops, bars, hotels and the airport, while the eastern side has been left alone. So there are still wild beaches, lookout points and bushland to explore when you want to get away from it all.
The Reef View Hotel is part of the Hamilton Island Resort, which also includes famed qualia, and overlooks the 800m-long Catseye Beach. Staying here means you also have access to the beach facilities, including the main pool with its swim-up bar.
Where to stay on Hamilton Island—Our Garden View Room
Once we’re checked in and the kind receptionist has given us the run-through of the area—including her top tip of downloading the Hamilton Island app that’s full of handy information—we head to our room.
Our Garden View Room in fact has water views, as do all the rooms of the appropriately named Reef View Hotel.
It’s a surprisingly big room. In fact there are two queen beds here and they fit easily. There’s enough room for a dining table and two armchairs, and the broad balcony fits furniture too.
But it’s the bathroom that really impresses us.
The twin vanity and giant shower show a good start, but the deep-fill bath is an unexpected addition.
The room also has a pretty good minibar and microwave, but no other cooking facilities, so you are at the mercy of the restaurants on the island.
Thankfully, there are hundreds of them and they all seem of high standard.
Where to eat and drink on Hamilton Island
We’re only here for one night, but we still test out a couple of the bars on the resort.
We immediately head down to the Main Pool, which overlooks Catseye Beach, and have a dip. The swim-up bar is very tempting, but after having to wait just a bit too long, we decide to jump ship and head to Sails Restaurant instead.
The food here is ok though the fries that come with my sandwich are overcooked and hard. That’s ok though, because the beers are going down so well—as they should when you’re on a tropical island!
As the sun dips towards the horizon, we hot-foot it up to One Tree Hill. It’s a favourite spot for sunset with its beautiful views out towards the west, and the sun sets over the water—a rarity for Australia’s east coast.
There’s a bar here—One Tree Hill Bar in fact—which sells the basics but also some pretty good pre-mix cocktails to salute the sun’s departure.
But in food and drinks terms, it’s dinner that’s the real treat.
Hamilton Island Restaurants—Coca Chu
If you’re into your Thai food, Coca Chu is for you. This overwater restaurant and its elevated modern Thai menu is the ideal match for the location.
The ambience is lively and friendly, and the open-air lofted ceiling allows the warm evening air in straight off the sea.
We’re here with a small group, so we’re able to sample quite a few of the dishes. There are some delicious entrees worth checking out here–the son-in-law eggs with daikon and caramelised tamarind, and the tiger prawns and saw tooth in betal leaves are amazing.
From the mains, the curries—especially the massaman beef and kipfler potatoes and the red curry pork belly—are excellent, but there are plenty of other dishes here that we love too.
We make our very full way past the satisfyingly parked rows of golf carts back to the vast airy lobby of the Reef View Hotel.
We curl up in our queen beds (nothing more romantic than no arguments about bed cover theft) and drift off to the sounds of the ocean and light breeze drifting in through the fronds of the palm trees.
