Are you wondering which is Australia’s worst resort? Well, I think I’ve found it. This small, forty-year-old timeshare resort located north of Mandurah could fit this description to a tee.
Silver Sands Resort is not actually in Mandurah Proper. It’s outside. From the roadside, it looks like a prison or some kind of institution. It’s surrounded by bars, cages and gates. There are some strange rails on top of the roof too. I half-expected riflemen to be walking back and forth after I got there. (I thought, there must be a lot of crime in Silver Sands)
A group of foul-mouthed gardeners and maintenance officers walk the site during the day, led by the world’s worst resort manager, Ivan Hill (and his arrogant wife, Dianne). Together, they mishandle the day-to-day running of the resort on behalf of Classic Holidays, a timeshare company from the eastern states. The rooms they offer guests are old and tired and have stairs everywhere.
And at night, you can’t even see your way along the resort’s pathways or to the pools. We can see light fittings placed around the facility but they either don’t work or aren’t used. (Correction: They came on two and a half hours after sunset!)
It doesn’t have a great vibe. The office staff don’t smile or don’t care. Even the cleaners appear to hate their jobs. I’ve never experienced such a depressing holiday place in all my life. Silver Sands Resort may well be the worst resort in all of Australia.
-M