From the moment we arrived at the Bedarra office at South Mission Beach Jasmine and Marcos made sure we were in the groove and ready to relax. The trip over to Bedarra on the sea-legs was fantastic. The trip back spotting turtles from the helicopter was fun. Once we stepped onto the island's sandy beach the divine Geoff made sure we had absolutely everything we needed. Nothing was too much trouble. The fabulous hospitality team of Leah, Adam, Bindi, Heath and Jess made our stay so perfect. The food was spectacular and service was faultless, friendly and professional. The rooms were spotless and the grounds lush and tidy. This is not our first trip to Bedarra and it won’t be our last. We’ve already booked our return. Sheer luxury!

We had a beautiful 5 night break at Bedarra Island staying in the North West Villa for 2 nights and one of The Pavilions for 3 nights.

The island is amazingly beautiful - you have to pinch yourself to realise you really are staying in that place you saw in the photos and that it looks just like the postcard.

The service team are fantastic - friendly, funny, attentive. Thank you Geoffrey, Lance, Bindi, Jessica, Leah, Andy, Danielle. The food was also extremely good (with the exception of our picnic which was average and not enough). We aren't massive drinkers but the wine pairings were quality and you can drink the bar dry if that's your thing (it was so hot and humid just staying hydrated is hard work!)

My reason for saying four stars rather than five is that there are aspects of the resort that just aren't five star. The villas are tired looking - the balustrade on the deck in our first villa was rickety (I was nervous leaning on it), both villas had tiles missing in the pool, nails on the deck were sticking up, everything looks like it needs a good reoil/repaint. Our second villa was much nicer (and only $100 a night dearer) - would recommend The Pavilions but not the North West Villa. But there are no five star touches in the villas - they are plain, no decorations etc

Although the resort does use solar there are a lot of other practices that aren't the best in terms of sustainability. The toiletries still use miniatures all of which are in plastic, small plastic water bottles abound.

Finally although the service is great when it is there, it's only really there at mealtimes. If you want snacks other than kettle chips or a cookie you need to walk to the central villa and help yourself - and the selection is pretty limited. There's no in room phone so you can't call for anything unless you use your own mobile and Google the front desk number. All of this is fine. But it isn't quite five star.

In summary, we loved our time at Bedarra and really appreciated the staff. But the owners maybe need to refresh the property and think about whether their view of five star matches the price and equivalent properties.