O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat

You have probably never heard of O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in Southern Queensland but from the name you would likely guess that it is a hotel of some sort in the rainforest. You would be right. Calling it a "retreat" isn't at all unreasonable given that you have to drive 40km through the mountains on narrow, winding roads to reach it but it also suggests a certain level of luxury and refinement. Let me reset your expectations.

If you want the best, go for a villa. They are larger (two bedrooms) and have a more redefined set of features, including hot tubs, TVs and telephones. If you are on a budget (as we were) then choose the Mountain View rooms, which (unsurprisingly) have a pretty good view of the mountains. If you're not worried about seeing mountains from your balcony, go for a Garden View room. Whichever you choose, you'll find that the only noise at night comes from the forest, which can be rather noisy.

A large number of trails start or end at the Retreat, ranging from 800m to about 25km. If you're planning to walk any of the medium to long walks (3km+) make sure you have appropriate footwear, long trousers, waterproofs, medical supplies, water and other things you'd take on any long walk in the wilderness. There's also a treetop walk which takes you high into the canopy; worth doing.

You are going to be in a rainforest, which really shouldn't be a surprise. Prepare to encounter spiders, cockroaches and other creepy crawlers, possibly in your room (especially at night, when they seem to crawl under the door). In my mind, luxury and cockroaches don't go together but they're everywhere in the forest; a blanket stuffed under the door seems to keep them out of the bedroom.

It may be thirty degrees at the coast but at the top of the mountain, about 950m above sea level, it will be quite a bit cooler (around 15-20 degrees, colder in the winter) so pack warm clothes. You'll also need waterproofs (rain forest) and you might like to take insect repellent.

The food at O'Reilly's is good and you'll probably find that the combined breakfast and dinner package represents value for money. They also have an on-site shop for minor items (which is very useful, given that the next shop is over 40km away), a decent but not fantastic cafe and a rather dull bar (the drinks are ok but the atmosphere is a little dead).

The infinity pool at the bottom of the site is pretty special but not very warm; brace yourself. The plunge pool at the top of the site is also cold (as you would expect) but is accompanied by a very comfortable hot tub with nice views over the forest.

Overall, if you want a quiet couple of nights with restful rainforest walks, O'Reilly's is probably the place for you. If you want ultra-luxury and pampering you'll need to look elsewhere.