HotelChatter

Our island adventure had us staying at the tallest building on the island, the appropriately named, Reef View and the mystery photo was snapped from our private balcony overlooking the Coral Sea. While it's not one of the nicest hotels we have stayed in (it's a little dated), we liked that everything is chargeable back to the room, plus, there are plenty of activities to get you out and about.

We can't say it would be the same case for guests staying at the uber-luxury neighboring resort, qualia. That resort has taken a top awards of one of the Best 100 in the World and Oprah's favorite. After knowing that, we might have felt slighted but quickly got over it when we got a glimpse of the sparkling water.

Golf buggies serve as the primary mode of transportation here, and the entire island can be seen in about 30 minutes. Some resorts on the island include the cost of the carts in the nightly rate. We weren't that lucky, but at about $40 per half day, it's not costly.

What you spend on the golf buggy, you save in hiring water activity gear since it's all included with most hotels.

Would we go back? Hell yes! Island living doesn't get much better than this and, granted, we saw the entire island a few times, this place is the real deal for serenity and rejuvenation.

Rates for the Reef View Hotel start at 350 AUD ($367 USD) per night.

[Photos: Rayme Gorniak/HotelChatter]