Our family of 3, including one 14 year old, stayed in January 2012 and generally enjoyed our time and consider our stay reasonable value, although we purchased at a discounted special price. Note that stingers make ocean swimming impossible from October to April.
Pros and cons:
Pool: great big pool with lots of different areas, including toddler pool, good swim up bar. Hot during our stay and limited options in the shade - you have to get up early to secure a spot if you want to stay poolside for most of the day. Lots of the huge umbrella stands had no canopies on them - odd during a hot, sunny spell. Beautifully warm pool coped well with large numbers of swimmers - definitely the best part of the resort.
Room: we were in a top level room with no balcony and no sea view - fair enough for the price, but wish I'd checked on the balcony situation earlier, as no comparably priced balcony options available when we tried to upgrade. Nicely appointed, but not exceptional, but with excellent air con.
Staff: Absolutely fabulous! Everyone, without exception, smiling, friendly and seemed like they really enjoy their work. 5 stars for service!
Food and wine: very, very ordinary, especially given the prices - not value for money at all. A special note to management about the beverages: some people really like to drink decent wine and are prepared to pay for it. The wine list is very limited and we tried each dry white on the list - all horrible, except one only available at Mermaids restaurant. In the end, we gave up and drank soft drinks or pre-mixed when we would have been happy to pay for a good drop. Even the spirits were disappointing - not sure how a gin and tonic can be ruined. (A big whinge here, but I am not really as fussy as it may sound... My advice is to smuggle in your own wine - at $45 a bottle for the best wine, I expect something pretty good to drink).
The Italian buffet was horrible, the Asian buffet was mostly OK, the seafood buffet was disappointing as it tasted as though everything had been thawed ie pretty tasteless. Food at the Fishbowl was OK, nice setting by the water and, again, great staff
Activities: Very good to fantastic. The paragliding was truly amazing - not scary, but a thrill for us all. The paragliding guys were exceptionally good - nothing was too much trouble, including taking over photography duties for me when we had a camera malfunction. The mini-golf is a laugh and good value. Tubing was terrific and the free daily fish feeding was a nice touch, too. The outdoor movies were, understandably, kids' stuff but a novel experience that we enjoyed. I only had a manicure and pedicure at the spa - lovely staff, but pretty expensive for a basic service. Had much better elsewhere for half the price. Gym was reasonably well-equipped.
Nightlife: What nightlife? No idea what teens, singles or party people would do here, other than dine at a sub-standard restaurant or listen to the guitarist in the main lobby area... the pool is closed from 8 or 9pm - a nightclub with music to dance to would've been welcome, or even a beach side bar...

Had lunch here and was told 3 times by wait staff that the fish of day was snapper,which it didnt taste like. The excuse was that it was snap frozen and brought in from the main land,which I can understand. Anyway it was terrible,turns out that the fish was actually imported basa,which was confessed to us later. The Thai beef salad was dry and old,they apparently cook the beef at 11 am and is reheated when ordered,which was 1.30 when we ate. The drinks (cocktails) which were ordered well before the food, arrived after the food was served( 30min.)At that price you would think they would be hovering to get you to drink more.
Generally the resort looks dated and tired,as can be seen on a stroll around the putt-putt course and the fishing pier(an accident waiting to happen). This place is over rated and will steer clear in the future.

As a first time holiday location a few years back, I was surprised at how amazing Daydream Island resort and spa was. So much so that I suggested it to everyone as a must do over travelling to overseas locations for sun and fun. However, the second time around I am saddened to say I cannot say the same.
Firstly, on arrival we were greeted by one member of staff, who was lovely, but seemed quite frazzled and disorganised. We got our room keys and wandered off to organise dinner, looked at the Food Plan sheet, and to our dismay, our first night on the Island was going to have to be spent in an expensive "Italian Buffet", which was the last thing we had felt like doing on our first day of our holiday. So I thought to myself, no problem, we can head over to Mermaids restaurant, or the Fishbowl Tavern, only to find that neither of them were open, to be replaced by a Call and Collect Take Away option. So instead of a nice meal in paradise, I found myself chewing on a $22 steak sandwich for 20mins only to give up and throw it in the bin. Some first impression. I understand there is a plan for opening times which was given to us ON ARRIVAL, but not mentioned on the website when looking to book the holiday.
Secondly, we had booked 4 nights in succession, followed by 4 additional nights, which were to be spent in the same room as part of a deal. Even though several reminders had been made to the staff at the front desk, on the 4th day we were handed a bill as we went to breakfast, at which we explained the situation again, and headed off to breakfast. After breakfast and a nice swim, we head back to the room and were unable to get in. The cards had been cancelled. I walked down to reception, let them know what was happening and was given two new cards to use in the room. Walked back to the room, and was again unable to gain access. I went back to reception again. I was told the cards would now work, so I went AGAIN back to the room, only to be denied again. When I got back to reception, I was given two new cards again and maintenance was sent to check out the swipe reader, and I told reception it was reading the cards because the red light was showing as denied. I got back to the room and finally was able to enter.
Another small note, which I feel should be addressed, is the pool towels. They were quite rough and very unpleasant to use or lay on the deck chairs. Which were scarcely found at one end of the island, and which were apparently "unable to be requested because "nothing was open down that end of the island". For instance, Fishbowl Tavern and Gilligans healt hut and bar.
Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to say that our stay was thouroughly enjoyed, as I am definitely not one to let anything get in the way of that, and I have to give notable mention MOST of the staff on the island. They were extremely friendly. Special mention to the staff at Mermaids restaurant, definitely facilitated a great meal and experience all round with excellent customer service.
When considering my next holiday, and when suggesting to others, I will sadly be steering clear of Daydream Island. It just isnt what it used to be, or proclaims to be.
Great holiday dented by a few things, but definitely came back relaxed and happy. I just hope people dont expect too much when heading out there, as I had spoken to many on my holiday and not a one was happy with the eating arrangments, or the fact that their holiday resort seemed to be only half opened to their needs/wants.

Firstly - I could have been back in the 80's with the décor and staff uniforms.
Half the island was closed when we were there. Apparently the 24th of January is the low season (middle of Australia summer?!?!) and so practically 90% of the island and it's restaurants were closed. This became very annoying at dinner time as there was a serious lack of options of where and what to eat. We were definitely not prepared to be having Al a Carte dinners every night. Especially when ordering oysters as a special treat that were MILKY and ended up with food posioning.
The pool bar also closes at 4:30pm every day - even with a pool full of people wanting to buy drinks.
The opposite end of the island was much nicer to be around despite the bar and other main restuarants closed making it like a ghost town - however there were only 2 sun beds???Absolute nightmare.
The SPA was an absolute joke. EXTREMELY over priced and a rather pathetic experience. The massage therapist was hopeless - who clearly had never given a massage before. And another girl attending to the front desk was really rude.
Other than that, the rest of the staff were really lovely and helpful.
From a managements perspective, I just don't know how they think it is acceptable to be offering a half hearted service to full paying customers! Thankfully we came to Daydream on a special deal. I would have been bitterly disappointed if I had paid full price. Which I'm sure the majority of guests do.
We definitely won't be coming back.