BreakFree Aanuka Beach Resort 4 gwiazdki

We were lucky to get a refurbished room I think. Well, mostly refurbished. They still had the 1980s sofa and curtains but generally the suite was good. It was also clean and housekeeping responded very quickly to the fact that our washing machine wasn’t working - couldn’t fix it, but responded promptly. Look, this a family beach club designed for families. Games field, clubs, the lot. That isn’t us now but would have been 25 years ago so for that reason I can’t be too harsh. The common areas are tired, the indoor pool and the spa are closed and clearly the refurb has been paused. The staff are mostly young, helpful and endearingly clueless! A warning on the pool, which is lovely but 2.2 m deep with no lifeguard. Seems strange. The wildlife really is on your doorstep - we encountered a slightly aggressive possum mum and almost adult baby - again, small children would be in potential danger. I wouldn’t go back but I understand the attraction for families

The hotel is located in a nature scenario and it's lovely in general, but the room was too old and deteriorated. Cleanliness was medium, but at our doorstep it was not clean and had bugs. Bedding was medium but the place is quiet. We arrived late in the night, so the first impression was not great. However, in the morning sunlight we could appreciate the breakfast room, lovely and just by the sea was simply spectacular. This was what saved and compensated the room.

PLEASE!!!! Listen to the most recent reviews. This place is a DUMP! My room couldn't be more 1980's than it was. Don't get caught up in the "RESORT" terminology. The bathroom is always identifiable by the color of the grout and this clearly, by a mile, did not pass the "cleanliness" test. It was FILTHY!!! I booked a "KING" room and unbeknownst to me, their "KING" bed is actually 2 SINGLE beds pushed together. What a SCAM! I had a HORRIBLE nights sleep that messed up my back and shoulder as I was sleeping on the raised stitched edges of the 2 SINGLE beds. I literally woke up stuck in between the 2 beds that were supposed to be "zipped" together to scam the guests into believing they are getting a "king" bed. Not to mention I was awoken 3 times thru the night as I had insects crawling on me. I get that this can happen but rest assured, the owners of this property are far more interested in getting your money than making sure the rooms are clean, free of insects and a RESORT EXPERIENCE for it's guests. This is 1000 % PASS. I spoke to the female Manger in the AM to express my disappointment and I have NEVER felt more disrespected and dismissed than I did after speaking to her. As I expected, she thought that I would return to the US and no longer be a threat to the dump she represents. So many other options for a cleaner, safer experience in the area. Don't take my word for it. Just READ THE REVIEWS. NOT worth it!..............

Having stayed at Aanuka previously I was aware of the property, that it was dated but Aanuka acknowledged its Accor plus members with some loyalty. Fast forward to 2025, things have changed: The positives - the staff were very friendly, as a resort, Aanuka has a beach vibe like something closer to the Whitsundays, pools are great and the location is good being only a few minutes down the road from Coffs city centre and a short walk to the Big Banana and close to the highly rated Diggers Beach. The negatives - the rooms are still dated, our bathroom's grout hasn't been white in years, and the mattress is well past its use by date, with it making pinging sounds as you moved on or off bed or roll over, clearly too many have sat on the edge of the bed collapsing the springs in that area. Parking was so limited in the resort as there were so many people at the Beach Club in the evening hours filling all the carparks and we had to park on the street both nights rather than carpark 5 near our room. Coming back through the security gate with your key you are greeted with a camera tracking you and a voice warning you that you are under surveillance. The pools aren't serviced with dedicated pool towels and if you don't want to use your white bath towel, reception will issue you an additional white towel at $2 extra per towel, Really?? I mentioned staff were friendly, but they were not accommodating when it came to requests, early check in or late check out speaking with other guests are rare. Suggestions I made to reception were greated with 'that's a great idea, I'll speak to my manager about that' but then in the next breath, No! Staff have also said the $5-7 gift bag has been provided at a cost to Aanuka. Do they not get that loyalty has a cost for a long term relationship / benefit. The Beach Club - Aanuka made a decision to stop providing their own Food & Beverage and outsourced the operation to another company, but with that all Accor loyalty discounts are no longer honoured. Now don't get me wrong, the Beach Club is great, it has an incredible vibe, food is lovely and the ambience great. But Aanuka have made a decision to rake in the money from renting out their old F & B space whilst not providing the usual benefits that Accor members should be receiving, i.e. Complementary Breakfast for Platinum & Diamond, Free welcome drinks from the bar, discounts for dining etc. As someone who stays regularly at Accor properties, it is not unusual to find F & B run independently, but there is often an arrangement between Accor and that business to honour the member benefits, I've seen this with The Sebel and Mercure both giving vouchers to the members that can be redeemed or that in-house guests will get a 20 or 25% discount from F & B outlet. The bar welcome drinks could also be honoured like this with a voucher rather than what they choose to do now which is a bag with $5-7 value containing a water, soft drink and some fudge type bars. The Beach Club do offer a discount of 10% to locals but nothing to Accor members, focusing on repeat locals having catch up and events here but tourists can pay full price! So overall not great value for money now, but with the Beach Club bringing in the crowds and increased room occupancy, I can't see Aanuka putting Accor member loyalty ahead of increased short term profits (& I do mean profits as room rates have skyrocketed since Beach Club took off and has won awards). maybe it is time for the Breakfree part of the group to go independent rather than continue under the guise of being an Accor property who values it members. Accor promised many things when the Mantra group joined the brand, (Peppers (High), Mantra (Med), and Breakfree (Low)), members are not getting what they should compared to a real part of the Accor brand, with Mantra group only giving lower reward & status points, lesser benefits and then with Aanuka not much more even though Accor members pay a premium each year for some perks.

We have been staying here yearly for about 9 years. We love this resort. A lot of the rooms are really showing their age and need renovation, but we love the long walks through the tropical resort, spotting water dragons, brush turkeys and possums. The pools are great and the renovated restaurant is beautiful.