We stayed at Treasure Island for 4 days in Dec 2011, just before Christmas - 2 adults and 2 kids. We booked into a Poolside Villa. Managed to get an early check-in by turning up on spec at 12noon which got a thumbs-up. The villa was in a nice, secluded near corner location. We could virtually step out the door and into the heated pool area. The grounds are lovely, however mozzies are a constant nuisance and we had to burn citronella candles and cover ourselves in repellent anytime we sat outside on our verandah (not the resort's fault of course - just something travellers should be aware of.) The size of the villa was a bit disappointing. The 2nd bedroom had 4 bunk beds - but they were really for very small children. this wouldn;t work for teens, or adults. Floor was grubby when we arrived but we phoned reception and a cleaner was sent round that afternoon to clean it. The master bedroom was pretty ordinary. Vertical blinds that looked as though they hadn't been replaced since they were installed in the early 80s flapped all night long thanks to the up-draught from the fans/Ac. But it was so hot, we couldn't do without fans and AC so we had to struggle through 2 nights with very little sleep. It was the most annoying thing. Installing roller-blinds would sort this problem out easily. Fridge was tiny as were the wardrobes. Inside the robes were those hangers that are welded onto the rail. Made you feel like the management was worried about people pinching the hangers!! The resort also advertises as having (what we thought) was a giant outdoor chess area. Em - no. It was some painted pavers which you could either play chess/Twister on. Not quite how it looks on the resort map and in the photos. Bit of a letdown really. We wouldn't recommend eating in the bistro. On the busiest night, Tuesday, it looked like vats of unappetising shlops were being served up and it was very pricey. Much better to pop next door to Harbour Town Shopping Centre and eat at their food court, which had a great range of eateries to suit all budgets. We wouldn't bother with the go-karts. Staff left us to assemble a 2-seater kart on our own, with no instructions - plus, they're very heavy to pedal if you're under 5 years old. Our kids asked us to hire them once, and never asked again for the entire holiday which speaks volumes.
The TV in the villa had an intermittent, fuzzy signal. Hubby was thrilled to find I'd slung 3 or 4 DVDs in the suitcase as a last minute thing, never thinking we'd need them. But watching a movie on the villa's telly was unbearably bad so, rather than go to bed when the kids did at 8pm - we watched the DVDs we'd brought from home.
OK - gripes over. Now for the good points. The main pool was gorgeous, beautifully landscaped and our 2 kids loved it. The spa, which is located just outside the pool gate, was also fun and we were happy to feed coins into the meter just to stay in there for a couple of hours. The jumping pillow was a great feature. Even us oldies had a go on it and have the pix to remember it by. The opening and closing hours of the pillow varied and were NEVER as advertised. So we'd saunter down in the morning to find it closed, but loads of kids milling around waiting to go on it. And one evening we got back from Surfers' Paradise at 6.50pm, to find it had shut early. We had planned on sitting on the bistro deck with a glass of wine (or three) and watch the kids having fun on it. But it was not to be. One of our littlies got pretty upset about it and we ended up going to bed early, such was her disappointment. The location of this resort is excellent. It's easy to find, fairly close to Runaway Bay and a short drive to The Spit, Tedder Avenue and of course Surfers' Paradise. Never thought I'd step inside the Harbour Town shopping centre - but when I saw the sales at the factory outlets, and the quality of the food court places, I couldn't resist it. The staff were also pleasant enough, although when we enquired about the JetBoat Ski trips which are mentioned in their in-house booklet, the girl on the receptionist looked at us blankly and said 'I've never heard of it'. When it was pointed out it was contained in their own booklet, she hopped onto the internet and did some research and managed to give us directions to it. So we got there in the end.
Not sure if I'd go back to this resort. But if we did, I'd investigate whether it was worth paying more and staying in a Townhouse Villa that offered more room, more amenities and beter furnishings and fixtures. Ours was pretty sad and shabby and in need of an urgent facelift.
I would recommend the resort to people on a budget, people who opt for the camping (the facilities for campers seemed to be very good) and for those whose day will revolve around the pool - as this was excellent.
Unlike other reviewers, we didn't experience any traffic noise - just the endless rustling from our vertical blinds at night. Go with low expectations and you'll probably be very happy with your holiday. We put our trust in the glossy brochures and photos and felt this place fell short. With some modernisation and better furniture and fixtures in the villas, though, this place would move up to 4 stars for us.
