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Everyone needs a place to lay their weary head and for travellers visiting Point Lookout, Samarinda is an excellent choice for rest and rejuvenation. Well-known for its family-friendly environment and proximity to great restaurants, board walk and attractions, Samarinda makes it easy to enjoy the best of Point Lookout. All apartments are individually owned and are fully equipped, just bring what you need for your stay. Some of the amenities offered by the complex include pool and barbeque facilities. An added convenience is free undercover parking. If you’re looking for good restaurant, consider a visit to The Whales Way Restaurant & Bar or the Straddie Wood Fired Pizza, which are all conveniently located a short distance from Samarinda. If you’re looking for things to do, you can check out the North Gorge Walk (0.1 mi), which is a popular attraction amongst tourists and is within easy walking distance. Samarinda is sure to make your visit to Point Lookout one worth remembering.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Lovely three night stay at Samarinda. The managers Angela and Barry were very welcoming and helpful (with some great recommendations for nearby coffee and food). The apartment was very clean and pleasant with a view of the main beach surf. Samarinda is a pleasant short walk (5 minutes) to the North Gorge walk, Main Beach and local shops for coffee, gelati and seafood. This stay was with my elderly Mother who managed the walk between Samarinda, lookouts and shops with comfort. Samarinda has proximity and privacy. Don't want to mix for a wine or coffee? Enjoy the view from your balcony. Highly recommend. We will be staying again.
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Date of stay: August 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Angela and Barry Stubberfield, General Manager at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 12 Aug 2020
Thank you very much for your kind words and we are so happy that you enjoyed your stay with us and look forward to be able to welcome you back again real soon. Stay safe Angela & Barry
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This would have to be the best located accommodation on Straddie near the end of the gorge walk. Situated on the hill behind the surf club, you can watch the surf, dolphins and whales from the large balcony and from the bedrooms and lounge. Excellent views! We stayed in a 2br apartment - it was spacious & well appointed. 2 bathrooms and the main one newly renovated. Kitchen had a large fridge and all appliances and utensils you need. Easy parking with a few steps up or down to the units. Close proximity to coffee shack, shops, beach and gorge walk. Wifi was patchy inside the apartment but good coverage from the balcony. Managers were helpful and friendly. Can firmly recommend.
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Angela and Barry Stubberfield, General Manager at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 29 July 2020
Thank you for taking the time to comment on your stay at Samarinda. We are happy you enjoyed your stay on our beautiful island:) Kind regards Barry & Angie
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Just had a 2 night stay at Samarinda and loved every minute, the managers are very welcoming and the apartment was very clean and fully supplied, sometimes you can stay at places and find that the glasses, cutlery etc. there is few supplied, but at Samarinda the kitchen was well stocked. Awesome views from the balcony and bedroom's able to check the surf and watch the whales. The only downside was that we had trouble getting the football on fox and had to listen to Phil Gould:( on channel 9, could have had something to do with the cloud. Would highly recommend
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Date of stay: July 2020
Cleanliness
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Angela and Barry Stubberfield, General Manager at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 29 July 2020
We are happy you enjoyed your stay on beautiful Straddie! Thank you for your review of Samarinda we always welcome your comment’s! fox is now up and running, its always hard getting things sorted on an island. but our fox man came over last week and it is now working great. you might have to come back to watch the footie.. Kind regards Angela & Barry
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We were looked after beautifully by Angela and Barry, nothing was too much trouble.The room we stayed in Unit 11 , has got the views that everybody wants and the sunrises and you woke up in bed to were brilliant. Walking distance to the Gorge Walk, patrolled beaches, surf beaches, cafes..and only a short walk to the pub. even thou the room was a little dated, not uncomfortable and had what you needed, it is starting to tell its age.
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Date of stay: November 2020
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Room Tip:Â unit 11 on the 2nd floor had fantastic views of the ocean, surf club
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed in unit 3 at Samarinda Jewel by the sea, for 3 days and 2 nights. It was beautiful! The apartment was lovely, so colourful with a happy holiday vibe! Everything was clean & the view out over the ocean was gorgeous! We walked to get breakfast and went on the North Gorge walk, which were an easy walking distance from the apartment. Angela was great and helped us out in any way possible. It was a perfect spot for a relaxing, chilled out getaway. Nancy & Jenny.
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Date of stay: October 2021Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Angela Stubberfield, Owner at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 13 Nov 2021
Thank you for taking the time to give this lovely review. its always lovely to hear our guest have had a wonderful time, we look forward to your next visit. you were also the perfect guest. Kind regards Angela and Barry.
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We have visited North Stradbroke Island several times over the last 25 years.
Straddie is one of those surprising island/beach locations within 1.5 hours of a capital city.
If you are after 4 and 5 star, Straddie is not for you.
We have irregularly, stayed at Samarinda and have always found the units clean, suitable , honest and affordable.
The units are spacious, well located with views to main beach from the balcony.
Pool is great when the beaches are not so good. Samarinda is well located to cafes, coffee shops and nature walks.
The management team are experienced and dedicated.
Would recommended, we will be back.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Angela and Barr... S, Manager at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 25 Jan 2020
Thank you for your favourable review of Samarinda. We appreciate your comments and are happy you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again soon on beautiful Straddie! Kind regards Barry & Angela
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My friends and I stayed at Samarinda in a 2 bedroom apartment. It was such a beautiful unit with comfy beds everything we needed and was spotlessly clean. Couldn’t fault a thing. The views were amazing and the whales really put a show on for us. Angela and Barry were brilliant hosts and made sure we were comfortable and happy. Great place to stay within walking distance to the surf club and restaurants nearby. We will definitely be back 🌸
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Date of stay: June 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Angela and Barry Stubberfield, General Manager at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 23 June 2023
Thank you for your amazing review. It was our pleasure having you as guest at Samarinda, We look forward to your return. Kind regards Angela & Barry.
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Our first visit to North Stradbroke Island, and we were blown away. Samarinda is in the perfect position, close to the amazing gorge walk and the fabulous Blue Room cafe. Everyone we dealt with at Samarinda were delightful, friendly and so helpful. The apartment was very clean but pretty dated, it would be an easy fix to have made it fabulous.
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Date of stay: August 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My family and I stay here every year, renting out 3 to 4 apartments for a week in each January. This will be our last year staying here. We used to enjoy staying here but the last couple of years, and this year in particular we notice the place is no longer clean or properly maintained. I have attached photos of our apartment from January 2013. When we first checked in, we had to ask the manager to come and clean the pantry as it was filthy and had rubbish in it. He came and vacuumed unwillingly. The management is also ridiculous, in our group of 3 families we had one couple that was given a 3 bedroom apartment and myself, daughter, son in law and 2 grandchildren were given a 2 bedroom apartment (we had booked 3 x 2 bedroom apartments, but they ran out of one), you would think they would have had the common sense to put the larger group in the larger apartment? Anyway, a family tradition is to be no longer sadly as we can no longer justify the price of over $1500 per apartment for such shabby and dirty conditions.
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Date of stay: January 2013
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Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Stay elsewhere on the island
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Robin B, Manager at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 29 Mar 2013
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write a review on your Stay at Samarinda . All your comments have been noted and the problems have been corrected. Jo and I have been managing Samarinda for 9 years and we work very hard with our owners to try and make sure that the cleanliness and maintenance of the apartments are kept to a high standard and it is disappointing that you did not find it to your satisfaction. We can assure you that we will work very hard to ensure that we maintain the highest of standards.
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We have stayed at Samarinda every year for the last 4 years over the New Years week. 8 families stay every year. This was our LAST year. We have stayed in pretty much every apartment and apart from 2 of them, they are sorely lacking in basic amenities. Virtually none have adequate fans so be prepared to be very hot!! The kitchen supplies and furniture are also very basic and often with inadequate kitchen supplies. The final straw however was the care taker Peter. He is best described as a self proclaimed "rule enforcer" he stands guard in the pool before 7:30am and won't allow people into the pool. He aggressively removes you from the BBQ area at 9pm even if you are eating your dinner. They do not fix things when they break. There is no phone service at this establishment but they charge for WiFi (despite advertising free WiFi) which charges your credit card for $40 but then doesn't work and Peter refuses to do anything about it. We stayed at Samarinda for 4 years and spent over $60,000 in accommodation costs between us, the location is fantastic but we will not be returning. If you are one family and don't mind being bullied by the caretaker it is OK but be warned, the apartments are very basic. If you are a group STAY AWAY!!!
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Date of stay: January 2017Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sharon and Pete... T, Manager at Samarinda Jewel-by-the-Sea
Responded 5 Jan 2017
We were not prepared to rebook this group next year due to their noisy, inconsiderate behaviour on several occasions. On New Years Eve, the writer of the above review was decidedly aggressive when asked politely by the manager to keep the noise down and at 1am to vacate the pool area. It is interesting that now the apartments are lacking in basic amenities, yet it was fine for them all to holiday here for 4 years in a row. We did not hold the apartments for them to re-book for next summer, as we did not wish for them to return. Some members of the group actually came to management after New Years Day and apologised for the poor behaviour of the above reviewer. Samarinda is a family resort and while we are happy people enjoy themselves on nights such as New Years Eve by extending the pool hours, we do not allow poor behaviour of a few to upset the quality of other guests' holidays.
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Thank you for your enquiry with Samarinda.
Unfortunately Samarinda does not have lifts - only stair access. Please note our ground floor apartments do have stair access. Our mid-floor/Oceania apartments have the least amount of stairs(approx 6) however we do have one apartment on this level which has no stairs. We recommend contacting us direct if you would like to book this apartment(subject to availability).
Kind Regards
Sharon & Peter Turnbull
Managers
Ph: 07 3409 8785
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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