Thank you very much for your review.It's great to hear that the concierge at your hotel recommended Paronella Park to you!The route you mention, via the waterfalls on the Atherton Tablelands, is a spectacular drive and a great way to make the journey from Cairns down to the Park.Thanks once again.
Excellent testament to a woman Jose Paronella loved. Beautiful Castle, home built stone by stone, the Gardens and walkways waterfalls, truly an amazing place to visit, the commentary from a young lady called Mandy was fantastic she knows it all and kept us very well informed and entertained. I will be back for a third time.
Great history and worth sitting through the tour. Got great pictures the whole way through and was blown away by what Jose Paronella accomplished in such an early day. Read the history: Everyone has a dream but not everyone’s dreams are fulfilled. José Paronella’s dream was to build a castle. He chose a special part of Australia and created Paronella Park. On 5 Hectares beside Mena Creek Falls he built his castle, picnic area by the falls, tennis courts, bridges, a tunnel, and wrapped it up in an amazing range of 7,500 tropical plants and trees (now a lush rainforest!). It opened to the public in 1935. Paronella Park has received multiple Queensland tourism awards, is State and National Heritage listed and is a National Trust listed property. It is privately owned and operated and Eco accredited. Paronella Park is the site of Queensland’s 1st privately owned hydro electric plant.
Mena Creek Falls were spectacular and the view from the picnic area was fantastic.Jack ,a local guide was interesting and gave us a really enjoyable tour. Paronella Park is like an abandoned castle with beautiful plants and animals. The story of Jose Paronalla and his wife Marguerite is fascinating.Congratulations to the new owners for restoring this beautiful attraction.
A must visit attraction. Thanks to Mark & Judy, Paronella Park is an awesome day/night visit. To see & hear the story of Jose Paronella is truely inspiring. As tour guide Mandy would say, Jose was a machine! Got to agree. Camp or cabin stay to ensure you do the night tour & see Paronella light up. Also must do the day tour because the information is far too much to tell in just 1 tour. We will be going back to see the Hydro plant up & running again as Jose intended. Magical.
Just a quick thank you for your review.I'm very glad to hear that your visit to Paronella Park was better than you expected it to be!Thanks again.
I am mystified by the high reviews of this place. It's an overgrown, decayed 1930's pleasure park. You can no longer swim, the bat cave is closed, the "amazing fountain" is covered with algae, and the "castle" (no castle - originally just a Spanish-themed little restaurant) is in ruins. The tour guide told the story of the park's history, but it was worth nowhere near the $48AU per person that we paid. It was a miserable trudge through the heat and humidity. I would never go back, nor would I recommend anything about it. It is clear from the literature, the tour guide, and the owner's comments in response to other negative reviews that the owners have A Dream for this spot. I'm afraid that time and nature might be the more fierce competitors for this land.
The park exceeded our expectations, the photos are beautiful but you'll be amazed when you get there! Our tour guy was brilliant, he told us the park history in a very interesting and fun way. It was a super hot day though, a big mistake to get there at midday, so we left to go swimming. We will definitely be using our passes soon to go back for a night tour!
My Partner and I where in the area and thought we'd better check out Paronella Park. Not knowing what to expect when we pulled up.Our problem was we where traveling with our beagle! so was pretty positive we would have to skip it as we didnt want to leave our dog in the car. But.. To our surprise we parked and where greeted by a lovely lady called Sue. Straight away she was open arms welcoming us in as if it was her home. I didnt even get the chance to say we have a dog before Sue ran over to him and insured us he will be looked after while we go off and enjoy ourselfs!Well, we certainly did just that! we where amazed in how friendly EVERY staff member was! Always smiling at you and very helpful! My partner and I both work in the hospitality industry and know how much manners and just a smile can change you're experience!The park itself is amazingly breath taking, felt like we where there for 5 minutes but it was 3 hours!! finally decide to leave the park and get our dog, who was sleeping under a fan with a big bucket of water and lots of attention!!! He was just as happy as we where.I couldn't be any happier with my Paronella Park experience and i think that it is worth every cent you pay!!!! especially for 2 years free entry, 1 free night pet friendly camping, free port tasting and puppy daycare!!! all i have to say is THANKYOU to everyone that works at the park, we loved it so much we went back the next day!and we will be back again!!!!!!!! :)
Thank you for your review.It was also great to hear your positive feedback regarding our friendly staff, and the food served by our café.As you have said, it's through your support, and the support of all of our guests, that allow us to keep José Paronella's dream alive.Thanks once again.