Mantra Amphora Resort - 4 1/2 Star Beachfront Resort in the Heart of Palm Cove Village
At the start we should note that Mantra are the caretakers of the Amphora Resort and have the right to on site letting. Therefore they manage a “pool” of apartments. However, all apartments are individually owned, and at the time of writing Mantra’s “pool” is now much smaller than it was originally. We were the first to opt out of the “pool” (in fact we did not opt in). We purchased our first apartment” Apartment 734 not "off the plan” but before settlement.
Before purchasing the first apartment (734) Lesley and I (the owners of the apartments) drove from Port Douglas to Townsville looking for something that resembled a condominium where we had often stayed in Maui which we found had a certain atmosphere. We found that Palm Cove met that criterion very nicely. In fact as we have now found out, it exceeded it. In purchasing the apartment our criterion was similar to all of our real estate purchases (and there have been many over the years) : “an apartment we would like to live in ourselves. We therefore paid a premium price.
We purchased our second apartment (724) in August 2008. In doing so we looked at about a dozen apartments on the market including beachfront and eventually decided on 724 immediately below 734. Incidentally, Palm Cove is very windy at certain times and the beachfront apartments are exposed to the wind.
The Palm Cove Mantra Amphora Resort is located at 49-63 Williams Esplanade Palm Cove; it is classified as a 4½ star resort by AAA. It is located on the beachfront on Williams Esplanade, across the road from the beach. It has beautifully landscaped gardens, an award winning salt water lagoon pool that wanders through the resort with a large outdoor spa (accommodates about ten people) at one end, and a children’s pool at the other end close to our apartments. The main part of the pool has a maximum depth of 1.5 m and the depth varies gradually over the length of the pool. Contrary to the developer’s specifications the pool is not currently heated, but if you compare average air temperatures (which are a proxy for average water temperatures) between Sydney and Cairns, we think that you will find that Palm Cove sea temperatures in winter are warmer than those in Sydney in summer, and pool temperatures are warmer than sea temperatures.
The Resort is family friendly and of course kid friendly, as you will see from many of our Guest reviews. It has an award winning signature restaurant on site (Vivo’s Bar and Grill). It is also only a few minutes walk from the other five star resataurants in Palm Cove and several day spas.
AMPHORA RESORT FACILITIES
- Beachfront location in the heart of Palm Cove
- Landscaped gardens
- Award winning salt water lagoon pool with outdoor spa and children’s wading pool
- Free BBQ facilities (Cairns council free gas BBQ’s located directly in front of the resort on the beachfront)
- Complimentary underground parking
- Tour desk in reception area
- Award winning signature restaurant on site – Vivo’s Bar and Grill is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tapas and cocktails are served between 3.00pm and 6.00pm each day. Coffee served throughout the day. Winner of 2005 Caterering Award in the Italian Restaurant category and finalist in 2006 and 2007.
Resort Map
