Port Douglas accommodation ranges from campsites and hostels to luxury 5-star resort hotels, villas, rentals, and apartments. Port Douglas‘s accommodation choices cater to all sorts of holiday-makers and visitors and if your budget is big, you could easily spend it here on a stunning place to stay. This post covers the best accommodation in Port Douglas for your holiday or vacation.
The Sheraton Grand Mirage (above) is arguably the best 5-star luxury accommodation in Port Douglas. It’s as close to beachfront as you will find in Port Douglas, and has this incredible lagoon poos with sand and beautiful cabanas. You can stroll onto Four Mile Beach from the grounds and the food is pretty good too! Take a look at rooms and prices for The Sheraton Port Douglas here. This beautiful hotel has had a recent refurbishment and the rooms and facilities are really delightful.
What accommodation is best for families in Port Douglas? (The Sheraton, above has family rooms and studios to suit families with kids, as does the Pullman Sea Temple Resort, which is a little further out of town, but still adjacent to the beach. The Pullman Sea Temple also has self-catering apartments and private plunge pools) And also for romantic or couples vacations? Couples may enjoy enjoy the adults-only haven of The Peninsula Boutique Hotel, this is a beautiful place to stay, tucked in behind The Beach and close enough to Macrossan Street to stroll to your favourite restaurant.
What is the best Port Douglas accommodation for you, for your needs, and which part of Port Douglas should you stay in?Do you want to be within walking distance of the marina, shops and restaurants clustered around Macrossan Street, or are you happy to be a little out of town and use your own transport and the local shuttles? There are also a few very nice places to stay just outside Port Douglas. We cover the best accommodation for your Port Doulglas QLD holiday in this guide.
Port Douglas Australia is an understandably popular holiday destination for international and domestic travelers and tourists. Port Douglas is becoming very busy again as the world opens up and with the Christmas season approaching, We highly recommend booking your holiday accommodation early.
Port Douglas also offers visitors some great restaurants to enjoy, fun play possibilities for children, and a changing scene of local festivals and events, and exhibitions.
I should particularly mention Port Douglas Carnivale which is held in May, this is another attraction that draws tourists, although it falls outside the usual busy periods.
We have some superb luxurious top-end hotels and resorts in Port Douglas. There are also many private rentals in Port and the villa rental market is currently flourishing, we’ll link to a few private villa options for you too.
Golf courses and spas are thick on the ground and many hotels offer gyms, both of the hotels we mentioned so far have great facilities. Some of the rental properties are units and self-contained apartments and villas, within these large hotels or on their golf courses.
I’d like to share some of our favourite and best Port Douglas accommodation with you. The location within Port Douglas, or nearby, will be important to you too, depending on your requirements.
Port Douglas 5-Star Accommodation
The Sheraton Port Douglas
There are a number of 5-star hotels and resorts in Port Douglas Australia, offering a very good standard of accommodation for couples, singles, or families. Choose from the following 5-star hotels.
The Sheraton Grand Mirage is the hotel that put Port Douglas on the map. It is closer to Macrossan St than most other resorts, is directly behind 4 Mile Beach and boasts a vast lagoon pool with sand and gorgeous cabanas. There are a number of dining options and this hotel is famous locally for its seafood buffet, take a look at room options and prices here.
Port Douglas Rentals and Hotel Locations
Port Douglas is a narrow strip of land with water on 3 sides. There are hotels along the beach (although not absolutely beach-side due to local planning laws). These same laws also require no building to be higher than a palm tree. There are no high-rise hotels in Port Douglas.
Some of the luxury villas are stand-alone properties, others are within the grounds of the big golf course resorts, such as The Sheraton and Sea Temple.
The hotels are mostly clustered at the north and south ends of Four Mile Beach. The stinger net, marina (with marina restaurants and shops), and Macrossan Street, with its shops, bars, and restaurants, are at the northern end.
If you don’t have your own vehicle we’d recommend staying as close to the marina and Macrossan St as possible. There are local shuttle buses and taxi-style vans, but they quickly get very expensive. Bike hire is a good option for getting around, but remember how hot it gets in Port Douglas.
A new development in Port Douglas are the purple electric scooters you’ll see everywhere. These can be rented or hired in Port Douglas and from various hotels.
Best Area to Stay in Port Douglas
The heart of Port Douglas, the town, shops, restaurants, and Sunday market, are at the tip of this long narrow peninsula.
Macrossan Street is the main road from 4 Mile Beach and it passes directly through town to Dickinson’s Inlet. On the inlet side of Port Douglas, you’ll find the Sunday Market grounds, the Superyacht Marina, and Sugar Wharf.
Most of Port Douglas’s restaurants and pubs are in the Macrossan St. area.
Not so many larger hotels are in this area. Most of the big luxury resort hotels are spread along the peninsula and some are quite far out of town. This means that central Port Douglas isn’t necessarily the best place to stay in Port Douglas for big resort hotels, motels, or super-easy beach access. The best places for this are further out of town.
From Sea Temple, for instance, expect a walk of around 45 minutes to Macrossan Street. Sea Temple is a dream of a hotel, don’t let this put you off.
The Sheraton is as close as Port Douglas gets to beachside. You can see the sea from the Sheraton grounds, although there are trees and bush at the back of the beach. This gives the beach a natural appearance but unfortunately, there is nowhere to get a meal or drink on the beach.
Sea Temple is also directly behind the beach but further out of town. There is quite a thick strip of trees between this hotel and the beach but good boardwalks are provided.
For Port Douglas dining with a view try the Combined Club or Tin Shed on Dickinson’s Inlet or one of the Marina bars and restaurants. The Surf Club is as close as you’ll get to beachside dining.
The best area to stay in Port Douglas depends on your needs. Are you willing to walk or take a car into town? Do you want to be footsteps from the beach? Would you prefer to be on Macrossan St.?
Which Port Douglas activities are you interested in? The beach, marina, tours, dining? This will affect your choice of accommodation in Port Douglas.
Most of the outer accommodation providers will operate shuttles but Australia is a country built around car ownership. We’ve indicated below where these hotels are located.
The Best Hotels in Port Douglas
Some of the best hotels in Port Douglas, all enjoying excellent ratings are:
Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort and Spa. 5 star. Our favourite, see below. That incredible pool! It’s at least 45 mins walk from here into town but the beach at the southern end is very quiet and natural.
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas. 5 star.The first and original but recently refurbished to the tune of 43 million dollars.. Close to town and as beach-front as Port gets. Major celebrities stay here and you can truly see why. Amazing breakfast buffets, themed nights and a signature restaurant under head chef Spencer Patrick. (formerly owner of Harrison’s restaurant in Port Douglas, Spencer has worked alongside Marco Pierre White in London.) The Sherro, as it’s known up here, has vast lagoon pool and weddings on site in a beach-front chapel.
Coconut GroveAnother lovely one and right on Macrossan St.
QT Port Douglas has been sold, it is now Oaks Resort Port Douglas, see here. 4.5 Star This one is another favourite of ours.
Oaks Lagoons Port Douglas, is a separate hotel, the Oaks Resort, above, is the better of the two.
Lizard Lizard Motor Inn. This Best Western 3-star property cleans up regularly in ” best hotel” Trip Advisor awards. It was voted number 1 in the whole of Australia for bargain finds. It’s low cost and the location is good, walkable into town and to 4 Mile Beach.
Peninsula Boutique Hotel. Adults Only. This one was voted number 4 in the Trip Advisor awards mentioned above.
Freestyle Resort. Number 10 in the Australia – wide Trip Advisor Top of the Pops.
See which hotels are available for your dates using the links above.
Beachside Accommodation in Port Douglas Near Town
There is a small strip of hotels opposite the beach near the stinger net where Macrossan St joins the beach road. They’re not strictly beachfront, there is a quiet road, a strip of grass, some exercise equipment, and a few palm trees between these hotels and the beach, but it’s a great little area known as The Esplanade.
These hotels aren’t big budget like our premium resorts. I’d say this would certainly be one of the best places to stay in Port Douglas for families, where kids can access the beach and stinger net easily.
We have used the spa here several times for facials, waxing, and various massages and found all services to be excellent.
We can also highly recommend the swim-out apartments, the ultimate in luxury vacationing. If no swim-out rooms are available, the apartments with plunge pools are also very good. All apartments and rooms were spacious, beautiful, and luxurious.
Sea Temple is at the south end of Four Mile Beach, tucked away behind a natural, untouched strip of tropical growth. There really isn’t such a thing as a beach-front hotel in Port, all that you can see from the shore is a backdrop of trees, this keeps the beach looking natural.
To walk from Sea Temple Resort and Spa to the centre of Port takes me 45 minutes along the beach, I’m a brisk walker. There is a shuttle bus that will run you into town if you don’t want to use your own car. You can always hire your own car in for the Journey from Cairns Airport to Port Douglas. Take a look at Pullman Sea Temple Resort and Spa’s room options and availability.
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas
The Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort was the first big hotel in Port Douglas and is the closest thing to beachfront that you will find. In places you will have a view of the beach where palm trees are thinly spaced.
The Sheraton has huge lagoon pools, over 2 hectares, some with their own sandy “beach”. It also has its own wedding chapel, should you feel the urge to tie the knot. Vast buffet breakfasts and various evening buffet feasts are a trademark of the Sheraton’s dining scene.
The Sheraton is much closer to town than Sea Temple, but still not in the centre. Check out The Sheraton Grand here.
Oaks Resort Port Douglas
QT was the new kid on the block. Now it is Oaks Resort. It’s new, modern, and funky. We love the retro design and candy-bright seaside colours that feature throughout.
Oaks Resort Port Douglas is another place with a stunning pool featuring bridges, islands, and spa pools.
My kids’ favourite thing here, after the food, was the huge fish pond, they loved to feed the resident barramundi, turtles, and eels.
QT offered interesting evening buffet dining in Bazaar restaurant, it’s popular with locals and residents.
The first time I came to Port Douglas as a backpacker in 2001, I stayed at Dougies in our little 2 man tent.
It’s not just a campsite, Dougies has dorms, private rooms and caravan tents for hire. There is a huge self-catering kitchen, bar and TV area along with a nice little pool and plenty of hammocks.
Dougies is a short walk from the centre of town and is perfect for backpackers.
It’s still going strong over a decade later, has a good reputation and is a great lower-cost choice. Take a look at Dougies here.
Dougies has now been sold but was still open, we don’t know yet what the future holds for Dougies, it will be a shame to see this Port Douglas icon go.
Best Mid-Range Accommodation in Port Douglas QLD
Martinique on Macrossan
If you need to be right in town, maybe you don’t have a car or want to dine and drink in our local establishments, Martinique on Macrossan, is on Macrossan St, the main road that crosses Port Douglas, from Four Mile Beach to the Inlet. They hold the Trip Advisor certificate of excellence and have a small tropical pool for a stinger season dip ( or any other time!). Rates for a 1 bedroom apartment at around $200 AUD/ night, See Martinique here.
Best Accommodation Near Port Douglas
There are a couple of amazing hotels just outside Port Douglas which you really should take a look at. Silky Oaks (above) is set in the rainforest near Mossman Gorge and has a great food reputation, as does Thala Beach Nature Reserve.
Silky Oaks has recently been renovated. It is available to book on Agoda, see here.
Thala Beach has its own spectacular semi-private beach and is a great place to spot local wildlife, including dugongs (sea cows). This resort is a short drive (about 30 mins) south of Port Douglas. Thala Beach is a popular Instagram drone location for the coconut tree plantation just outside.
Another luxurious stay near Port Douglas is Daintree Ecolodge. It’s on the Port Douglas side of the Daintree River, so you won’t have any ferry hassles, the drive from Port Douglas to Daintree Ecolodge is about 45 minutes.
There are multiple other, less expensive, places to stay in and around Daintree Village and in the Daintree Rainforest, but the Daintree Ecolodge is a well-known and very special destination hotel. Daintree Ecolodge is on the Port Douglas side of the Daintree River making it a valid choice of accommodation for a Port Douglas holiday. It has a very good dining reputation and the setting is really lovely, particularly good for a romantic stay. Take a look here on Booking dot com.or here on Agoda
You can self-drive or book a tour to Daintree Rainforest easily from Port Douglas, Palm Cove, or Cairns.
Search For Your Port Douglas Hotel Here
We use Booking.com to book in Australia 99.9% of the time. It gives us peace of mind and cuts time and hassle in searching and booking. Try our search box below.
Airbnb and Short to Medium Term Rentals in Port Douglas
There certainly are Airbnb properties in Port Douglas, some private homes with rooms to rent, some whole houses or apartments. We actually rent out our home in Port through Airbnb sometimes.
We no longer recommend Airbnb, as booking with them has become so expensive and inconvenient. The cleaning fees are too steep for us.
Best Time of Year, Peak Season and Hotel Prices in Port Douglas
Yes, hotel and resort prices do fluctuate and you’ll save money on your Queensland holiday if you take advantage of out-of-season accommodation deals.
To check out the weather in Port Douglas and what’s happening throughout the year, visit our post on best times to visit Port Douglas. The most expensive times to book hotels in Port Douglas are, of course, Christmas and the school holidays.
June and July are winter here, Christmas is hot and is part of the summer wet season. Hotels are very full currently due to reduced capacity in the post-Covid world. You generally do need to book ahead, as early as possible.
Make sure you know about stinger season and the possibility of cyclones if they will affect your enjoyment of your stay in Port Douglas.
There is a lot of Port Douglas content on this travel blog already and we also cover the surrounding area. along with all of the best places to visit in Queensland.
Accommodation options in Port Douglas are designed to delight. We hope we’ve been helpful in finding the best accommodation for your Port Douglas holiday.
