I'm planning to stay in Cape Tribulation or Daintree for 3 or 4 nights mid August. I was thinking of Cape Trib Beach House or Cape Trib Resort, but have read some negative reviews. Any suggestions or comments would be helpful. I would love to be close to the beach. I'd also be happy to hear about your experiences in the area.

I can imagine it being a love/hate relationship for the CTBH for a five star resort it ain't, barely what some would call a three star.

But then it was never designed to be one as it caters to people looking for a budget experience right in the rainforest and myself, I would stay there again.

It caters for people wanting to pitch a tent, backpackers in four/five bed cabins and also people wanting their own little cabins, all of a rustic nature in a rustic/junglely setting.
They have a self preparation kitchen and also a semi open air but covered restaurant/bar/lounge area of limited meal selections but sufficient for most of normal appetites not to go hungry.
The adjacent pool is nothing to write home about but you'll see some wildlife in adjacent rainforest and may be even visited by wild pigs of an evening - or at least that's what I found out was doing a lot of snorting about 3 am after an early pit stop following a night involving some ale.

I can imagine people looking to be more pampered may not be totally impressed and should perhaps look for a more upmarket B&B if they do not want to be out of their comfort zone in what is a casual and fun environment.

It is in a great location for accessing both defined walks and less defined ones like up Mt Sorrow [the name suits] or the creek up the road, far enough upstream not to allegedly be bothered by crocs but where you can find an icicle icy pool of mountain fresh spring water where there could be Platypus.

And yes, when the tide is out you can get to the beach easily enough, just past the pool actually, but when tide is in you'll be dodging and climbing over tree branches to get to a better stretch of beach the south side of the Cape if you want to wade through a little estuary creek - deep and murky with a croc warning sign where you do not really see it - far better to get across quick when the tide is out and hopefully the crocs too!

We wanted to stay at the Cape Trib Exotic Fruit Farm B&B but weren't able to work it out. http://www.capetrib.com.au/bed.htm
It gets good reviews on Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ueensland.html

Hi beverlya, Bushranger has given an honest assessment of Cape Trib Beach house, so will only mention your alternative.

I guess you're looking at Trip Advisor reviews, where a lot of the negative posters do not seem to realise that Cape Tribulation is a remote location and don't seem to understand that a tropical rainforest harbours all sorts of insect and animal life. And inconveniences such as lack of a/c (not that you'd need it in August), charges for extra towels, no nearby shops, inexperienced young staff, etc. Notoriously difficult to attract and keep experienced staff in areas such as this, its a common complaint have often seen regarding island resorts as well. Something that should be mentioned is that this area is off the electricity grid, so all power is from fuelled generators and/or solar.

Although TA lists Cape Tribulation Resort and Spa and Coconut Beach Resort as separate resorts, they are one and the same establishment, name was changed after the resort changed hands sometime last year. Lovely spot, the main building faces the beach, cabins are behind in rainforest.

Excellent suggestion from BarbaraS, with two lovely rainforest cottage rooms, you'd need to book early as August is high season.

Here's a third vote for the Exotic Fruit Farm B&B. We had a wonderful experience there. The cottages are very comfortable, each with a covered deck for outdoor dining, a barbecue for cooking, comfortable beds and furniture, screened walls with crank-open wooden slats, and a most fabulous breakfast served every day on your deck by the owner. Only drawback, from your point of view, might be its location -- it's about a 10-minute walk (or 2-minute drive) to the beach. But they do have bikes you can borrow to pedal down to the beach and save the walk. We stayed there in June and I would definitely stay there again, no question. We made our reservations almost a year in advance, and I know they get booked up quickly, so follow Pat's advice and try to book asap if it sounds appealing.

Thanks all. I am going to follow up on the Exotic Fruit Farm B&B. I did check the link and the question of weather and air conditioning occured to me. What is the weather like mid August? Is air condtioning an issue or at least fans? Any more specifics on Cape Trib Resort and Spa? Thanks

The cottages at Exotic Fruit Farm have a large, efficient overhead fan that provided more than sufficient cooling in June. Not sure what August would be like.

You'll find weather mid August "as good as it gets" and air-conditioning is not a requirement though celing fans do allow for air movement as a deterrent to any wayward mosquitoes.

I'm going in May and tried to stay at the fruit farm however they were closed in May.
Were staying at the Mossman Fantail bed and breakfast. They were one of the few B&B in the area that were happy to take a family with a 3yr old.