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Family Travel today announced the results of its annual Family Travel Awards recognising the best of the best in family travel with BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort taking out three awards in the “Best holiday park for campervans or caravans”, “Best holiday park for tents” and “Best holiday park for cabins in Australia”.

Providing a 100% independent snapshot of the family travel segment, this survey was carried out from April 2018 through to July 2018, and polled a broad cross section of Australians from coast to coast, small families to large, single parents to blended families, and those travelling with special needs considerations.

With over 120,600 unique votes cast in over 70 categories, consumers submitted a record number of responses rating their travel experiences, providing a clearer picture of the current Australian family travel climate.

Janeece Keller, Founder & CEO, Bound Round/Family Travel said, “With a clean sweep across all three holiday park categories, BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort is clearly setting the benchmark for family holidays spent in cabins, caravans, campervans and on camping sites. With exceptional facilities like mega-waterslides, a huge lagoon pool, kids club, and over 26 acres of gardens to explore, it is kid heaven. And we all know happy kids means happy parents, so it’s no surprise to see them take out top honours as the Family Travel People’s Choice Awards Winners.”

After recently winning gold in the Caravan and Holiday Parks category at both the Whitsunday and Queensland Tourism Awards, owner of BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, Greg McKinnon said “We are so delighted to hear the news that we have now won three Family Travel People’s Choice Awards. Families are a huge market for us, whether they are camping, caravanning or staying in one of our self-contained cabins. Our resort offers so many family orientated facilities to ensure that the whole family have a fantastic holiday here in the Whitsundays.  We really appreciate everyone voting for us and a big thank you to Family Travel.”

The full list of the 2018 Family Travel Awards recipients are published on the Family Travel website www.familytravel.com.au/awards and are celebrated in the next issue of Family Travel magazine, hitting newsstands on 24 December 2018.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach has taken out the gold award for the fourth year in a row in the Caravan and Holiday Parks category at the prestigious Queensland Tourism Awards, held on the Gold Coast on Friday night.  This success comes after winning gold in the same category, as well as the People’s Choice Award, at recent the Whitsunday Tourism Awards.

The popular Whitsunday Resort has been owned and operated by the McKinnon family for the past 25 years, which has seen a phenomenal transformation over the years to the 4.5 star, multi award winning property that it is today.

Owner Greg McKinnon, who attended the Queensland Tourism Awards ceremony on Friday night, was ecstatic at the resort’s win. “The family and all of our staff are very proud to win this award. We have had a huge year in terms of growth and development.  In addition to new styles of cabins now being on offer, the real game changer has been the opening of our huge 13 slide waterslide park, which is one of the largest resort waterslide parks in Australia. It’s been a real hit with our guests.”

To celebrate the win, the McKinnon family are sending seven staff members to Byron Bay to enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation, yoga, meditation and hiking. “Our staff are an extended part of our family and are a key part to all of our operations. It is really important to us, and always has been, that every one of them feels appreciated and acknowledged,” said Mr McKinnon.

“We must although thank our loyal guests and extend our congratulations to all the other finalists and winners, especially our other Whitsunday colleagues.  It was great to see such a strong representation from the Whitsundays on a state level at the Queensland Tourism Awards,” said Mr McKinnon.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has become synonymous with offering the very best Australian holiday experience. Loved by return guests for their consistently friendly service, concerted customer focus and commitment to continual improvement and innovation, the resort is the first choice for a Queensland holiday.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with an extensive range of quality facilities and services, gorgeous cabins and happy, helpful staff. Set amongst 10 hectares of beautifully landscaped tropical gardens, the resort caters for a variety of budgets with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to luxury, three-bedroom condos. The resort is located in Airlie Beach and has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.

Our brand NEW 2 bedroom Premium Cottages have arrived!

Located opposite the Animal Park, our brand new Premium Cottages are just perfect for that family getaway. These spacious cabins are laid out with a King Bed and 2 Single Bunks in the first bedroom and a King Bed with 2 Single Bunks in the second room (option to separate King into 2 x singles) Luxurious Full Bathroom and additional toilet. These cabins have a fully equipped kitchen with oven and dishwasher, Laundry with washer/dryer, Flat Screen TV’s and Foxtel in living area and bedrooms to make your stay that little bit extra. Air conditioning in all bedrooms and a large private verandah with outdoor seating for 8.

Wednesday 31st October 2018

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has once again been awarded top honours, winning gold in the Whitsunday Tourism Awards category “Caravan and Holiday Parks”, as well as the coveted “People’s Choice Award” at the gala industry awards last night.

Proudly owned by the McKinnon family for 25 years, the family have worked consistently over this time to develop the park and create a nationally recognised holiday resort in Airlie Beach with extensive facilities, a choice of quality accommodation and a friendly environment for holiday makers set amongst 10 hectares of beautiful tropical gardens.

Owner Greg McKinnon said, “We are incredibly excited to have won both of these awards.  The Caravan and Holiday Parks win reflects the offerings of our product, our ongoing development and our customer service, while the People’s Choice Award was won based on voting from our guests and industry colleagues. The recognition is a testament to our team and our product, and we couldn’t be any prouder.”

General Manager, Kim Thomas, who attended the event with staff said, “These two awards are the result of great investment decisions by the McKinnon family which have enabled us to grow our business. Our staff are very deserving of this award, as when our guests have a great stay with us and spread the word, a big part of that is their experience with our staff.”

Over the years, the McKinnon family have been passionate about continually reinvesting in the business in order to offer the ultimate Whitsunday mainland holiday resort. Last year eight new Deluxe Studios were added to the accommodation mix, and more recently another two 2 Bedroom Premium Cottages. The most recent highly anticipated development in the past year, however, was the opening of the resort’s brand new 13 slide waterslide park at a private investment cost of $1.6 million.

“We aim to continually improve facilities and services while maintaining a focus on offering a home-grown holiday that reflects the easy and enjoyable Australian lifestyle. With the new waterslide park, BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers the ideal family holiday with so much to do within the resort, while being located in one of the most beautiful destinations in Australia,” said Mr Thomas.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort wins 2017 Best Australian Holiday Park

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort wins 2017 Best Australian Holiday Park

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has been voted the Best Australian Holiday Park in the Out & About With Kids 2017 Best of Family Travel Awards.

This is the 7th Annual Best of Family Travel Awards where the popular family magazine asks their readers what their preferences are in family holiday destinations and experiences in Australia and overseas. Owner and publisher Elisa Elwin said, “We are thrilled to announce the winners and finalists…and the well-deserved recognition to those tourism operators who go above and beyond to ensure family holidays are a pure pleasure”.

More than 40,000 votes were cast in 20 key family holiday categories across Out & About with Kids’ vast print and online audience, including digital subscribers and Facebook friends and followers. Owner of BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, Greg McKinnon said, “this is just the icing on the cake for us after winning the Queensland Tourism Award and going in their Hall of Fame for winning three years in a row. All I can say is thank you to all our guests who voted for us and we invite all Aussie families to experience a wonderful and memorable Whitsunday holiday at our resort.”

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has always been a perennial family favourite however the addition this year of the big, huge, mega Waterslide Park has taken the resort to a whole new level of family entertainment. Geared for children up to 12 years of age, the area of the Waterslide Park is equivalent to an Olympic swimming pool and features vibrant slides in a rainbow of red, blue, yellow, orange and green colours. A massive tipping bucket sits at one end of the pool and there are fun smaller features for toddlers in the shape of a frog and octopus.

Besides the brand new 13 slide Waterslide Park, BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a wide range of activities the whole family can enjoy. Facilities also include a 32-metre lagoon style pool with two water slides and fountains, two giant jumping pillows, 18-hole mini golf, outdoor cinema, tennis court, pedal carts and an Animal Park. Special themed activities and social events throughout the year, a weekly activity schedule, Kid’s Club and a full-time activity co-ordinator ensure that there is plenty of choices for all guests.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has become synonymous with offering the very best Australian holiday experience. Loved by return guests for the consistently friendly service, concerted customer focus, outstanding facilities and commitment to continual improvement and innovation, the resort is the first choice for a traditional Queensland family holiday.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with an extensive range of quality facilities and services, gorgeous cabins and happy, helpful staff. Set amongst 10 hectares of beautifully landscaped tropical gardens, the resort caters for a variety of budgets with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to luxury, three-bedroom condos. The resort is located in Airlie Beach and has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.

Wednesday 20 December 2017

To top off a great year of achievements, BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach has once again won the Queensland Tourism Award in the “Caravan and Holiday Parks” category at the gala award ceremony in Brisbane on Friday 10 November. Winning the gold Queensland Tourism Award in this category for the past three years resulted in BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort entering the prestigious Hall of Fame.

This year the McKinnon family, owners of the resort, made a multi-million dollar investment in building more deluxe cabins and one of Australia’s largest resort Waterslide Parks, with a choice of 13 different twisting and turning water slides. The McKinnon family has owned the park for over 24 years and have continually invested, developed and improved the business into what is today, a premium Whitsunday holiday resort.

Mr Greg McKinnon for the McKinnon family said, “I think the tourism industry in the Whitsundays is as good as it’s ever been. We have bounced back after Cyclone Debbie in March this year and there are now more operators and choice of quality products for tourists than ever before. The building of the Waterslide Park has taken our resort to a whole new level of enjoyment for families visiting the Whitsundays.”

“The Queensland Tourism Awards celebrate the very best Queensland has to offer and we are proud to be a part of this industry and delivering a fantastic Australian tourism product. We extend our congratulations to all the other nominees, finalists and winners who put in the hard yards every day”, said Greg McKinnon.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has become synonymous with offering the very best Australian holiday experience. Loved by return guests for the consistently friendly service, concerted customer focus, outstanding facilities and commitment to continual improvement and innovation, the resort is the first choice for a traditional Queensland family holiday.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with an extensive range of quality facilities and services, gorgeous cabins and happy, helpful staff. Set amongst 10 hectares of beautifully landscaped tropical gardens, the resort caters for a variety of budgets with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to luxury, three-bedroom condos. The resort is located in Airlie Beach and has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach had a very successful Halloween with their annual fundraising weekend, Camp and sCare, raising $7810.30 towards keeping the doors of the Eungella dairy farm open.

With the resort totally booked out, perfect Whitsundays weather and hundreds of families enjoying the Halloween theme and the wonders of the new mega, huge Waterslide Park, the atmosphere was as good as it gets. The annual fund-raising weekend is very popular amongst local families and this year money raised from the camping sites and the guest activities will be contributed towards Eungelladale to try and keep the Mackay dairy farm open. $5680.30 was raised over the weekend from site fees and guest activities and $2310.00 was raised by guest activities prior to the weekend, which will combine to make the total donation of $7810.30.

Greg McKinnon, owner of BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort said, “I am passionate about supporting local businesses and if we can keep the Eungella Dairy open it will be to all our advantage. This just shows how when people pull together you can make a huge difference. Parmalat stopped collecting milk from local dairy farmers on 1 November and unless Dale and Paula Fortescue of Eungelladale can raise the remaining $12,000 for a pasteurising plant by the end of November we will lose our last supplier of local milk.”

Many of the animals in the Animal Park at BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort have actually come from the Eungella farm and children visiting the resort thoroughly enjoy petting the animals and the animal feeding sessions. For many children it is their only chance to get near these cute farm animals.

If people reading this would like to support keeping the Eungella dairy doors open they can go to http://www.eungelladale.com.au/Donate/Donate.html to donate. The Fortescue family are one of the few dairy farmers left in our region as the price of milk has made it uneconomical for companies to collect and process. Paula and Dale Fortescue have set up a crowd-funding site to try and raise enough money to set up their own pasteurising plant to keep processing milk for the local market.

3 November 2017

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach has once again been awarded the top honour in the Whitsunday Tourism Award category “Caravan and Holiday Parks” at the gala industry awards night on Hamilton Island.

Proudly owned by the McKinnon family for 24 years, the family have worked consistently over this time to develop the park and create a nationally recognised holiday resort in Airlie Beach with extensive facilities, a choice of quality accommodation and a friendly environment for holiday makers set amongst 10 hectares of beautiful tropical gardens.

Owner Greg McKinnon said, “2017 has been a really challenging year with the unwelcome arrival of Cyclone Debbie in March. We had all our plans ready for the new mega Waterslide Park but it took a few months longer with the extensive clean-up that was required after the cyclone. It is fantastic to again receive this Whitsunday Tourism Award and see the Whitsundays recovering and moving forward. Our tourism industry is stronger and more resilient than ever before.”

Opened in September, the Waterslide Park has added a whole new level of exceptional family entertainment for guests of the resort. Built especially for young families, the mega Waterslide Park includes 13 colourful slides and water-based activities linked by wading pools, bridges and stairways. The area of the Waterslide Park is equivalent to an Olympic swimming pool and features vibrant slides in a rainbow of red, blue, yellow, orange and green colours. A massive tipping bucket sits at one end of the pool and there are fun smaller features for toddlers in the shape of a frog and octopus. Luxurious sun loungers are positioned for parents to relax nearby while keeping one eye on their water babies.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort aims to be innovative and continually improve facilities and services while maintaining a focus on offering a home-grown holiday that reflects the easy and enjoyable Australian lifestyle. With the new Waterslide Park, BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers the ideal Australian family holiday with so much to do within the resort and located in the most superb tropical waterways in Australia.

The shrieks of laughter coming from kids as they enjoy the brand new big, huge, mega Waterslide Park at BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach will be heard all over Australia. This exciting, diverse range of 13 colourful waterslides takes the resort to a whole new level of family entertainment.

Built especially for young families, the slides come off a two-metre-high platform and are linked by bridges and stairways. The area of the Waterslide Park is equivalent to an Olympic swimming pool and features vibrant slides in a rainbow of red, blue, yellow, orange and green colours. A massive tipping bucket sits at one end of the pool and there are fun smaller features for toddlers in the shape of a frog and octopus. Luxurious sun loungers will be positioned for parents to relax nearby while keeping one eye on their water babies.

The panels around the monster fun waterslides have been decorated with gorgeous artwork of ‘Gavin’, the resort frog mascot, enjoying Whitsunday activities. The frog can be found snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, jet skiing, jumping on a fast boat to Whitehaven Beach, flying high above Heart Reef in a seaplane, hopping on a Segway tour along the bicentennial walkway, fishing, sailing, having a massage, crocodile sightseeing and enjoying a coffee at the Fat Frog Beach Café. There is colour and fun everywhere for young children to enjoy.

Owner Greg McKinnon says, “we really wanted to create something on a massive scale that would impress everyone and I think we have done that. The size, colour and choice of all the slides is fantastic and it is going to be the happiest place to be in the Whitsundays for every kid and probably their parents as well. It really is setting a new benchmark for Whitsunday family holiday entertainment and is one of the largest resort Waterslide Parks in Australia.”

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort is an award-winning resort winning multiple Australian and Queensland Tourism awards. It is a favourite destination for many Australian families who return every year. The beauty of this new Waterslide Park facility is that there is no new additional charge for in-house guests. Ensuring optimal fun for all in-house guests, the Waterslide Park will only be accessible for guests staying in the resort.

Set amidst 26 acres of tropical gardens, the resort already has a 32 metre lagoon style pool with two waterslides and fountains, along with a host of other facilities including two giant jumping pillows, 18-hole mini golf, outdoor cinema, tennis court, pedal carts and much more. A wide range of accommodation from camping and caravan sites to luxury three-bedroom villas cater for all budgets and small to large family groups. Eight new studio villas have just been installed and are a perfect size for a family with two children.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort is ready to re-open on Tuesday, 18 April and jump straight back into fun-filled activities for the last week of the NSW school holidays.

The lagoon swimming pool is up and running, the weather has returned to normal gorgeous April conditions and Kid’s Club, a full Activity Guide, the Animal Park feeding and outdoor movies will all be operating from next Tuesday.

Owner Mr Greg McKinnon and his team of 34 staff have worked tirelessly to get the resort back to its former glory after Cyclone Debbie hit on 28 March. He said, “our beautiful tropical gardens were the worst hit from the massive winds and we have removed between 200-300 truckloads of vegetation from the site. Although it’s not quite the same, we certainly have a lot more sun coming in to the camping sites! Luckily it will all grow back.” Mr McKinnon said it was unfortunate that all the Easter school holiday bookings had to be cancelled but after nearly two weeks without power, the priority was to ensure that any safety issues were addressed and that the resort was fully operational before welcoming guests back.

It’s once again full-steam ahead for all the new developments at the resort. Construction has recommenced on the much anticipated 13 slide water park, one of Australia’s largest resort waterslide parks. The tiling has begun in bright colours to reflect the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. Due to open for the June/July school holidays, this massive new activity will be a colourful and popular addition to the resort offering. Eight new Deluxe Studio cabins are also under construction and due to come online in the next few months. The resort’s 2000 Easter eggs, ordered for the cancelled Easter long weekend activities, have been donated to the Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre, to distribute as a little token to local families doing it tough over Easter.

Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays rely on tourism and many tours, restaurants, accommodation and activities are already back up and operational. Greg said, “everyone in this town depends on tourism and we hope people will come back and visit us soon and support our recovery. Airlie Beach has taken a big hit but the community spirit and positivity has kept us all going. I think the Labour Day weekend is going to be one huge celebration for everyone in the Whitsundays and a sign that we are ‘Back in Business’.”

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with quality facilities and services, combined with genuinely friendly and helpful staff. Set amongst 26 tropical acres, the resort caters for a variety of budgets and tastes with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to designer decorated three bedroom condos. Located in Airlie Beach, the resort has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.

The team from BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach was honoured to accept the silver award in the “Caravan and Holiday Park” category at the Australian Tourism Awards on Friday night.

Owners Greg and Naomi McKinnon were in Darwin to accept the award with other team members and operators from the Whitsundays. All State finalists and winners in this category of the Australian Tourism Awards were from the BIG4 Park franchise. Greg McKinnon said, “to be recognised nationally against so many other great parks is a big deal for us and gives us the daily motivation to keep at the top of our game.”

Mr McKinnon thanked staff saying, “our staff are passionate about our product and they help to give the resort its special atmosphere and bring return guests back year after year. We continually invest, enhance and upgrade facilities at our resort but we know it’s also the little things that count at the end of the day.”

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort believes the qualities that help make them one of the best in Australia include delivering superior customer service, constantly focussing on the guest experience, empowering their staff and maintaining quality throughout the resort. BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has been in the McKinnon family for 24 years and they have taken it from a ½ star property to a multi-award winning one through hard work, commitment, investment and a passion for the product and the industry.

The latest exciting development is a mega Waterslide Park which is due to open in April 2017. Other recent additions include an Animal Park, The Palm House, Palm Gardens and Palm Pavilion conference and wedding venues, more designer-decorated villas and the fun retro, beach culture Kombi van for party and event transport.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with quality facilities and services, combined with genuinely friendly and helpful staff. Set amongst 26 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds the resort caters for a variety of budgets and tastes with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to designer decorated three bedroom condos. Located in Airlie Beach, the resort has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach has received the highest state award in the “Caravan and Holiday Parks” category at the Queensland Tourism Awards in Brisbane on Friday 11 November.

Privately owned by the McKinnon family, the park has grown and evolved over the past 23 years and is now recognised as a premium Whitsunday holiday resort. Continual reinvestment in the product has seen the development of luxury, designer-decorated condos, the multi-purpose Palm House function venue, the groovy Airlie Beach Kombis service, the establishment of an Animal Park and exciting plans for a massive water park in 2017.

Mr Greg McKinnon for the McKinnon family said, “the tourism industry in the Whitsundays has been bouncing back in the past couple of years and the past year has been better than ever. Due to increased occupancy we will be adding more new cabins and campsites and a 13-slide waterpark will be installed in the first quarter of 2017. The exciting element for us is that we continue to add new aspects to our business and we cater for a much broader range of visitors including wedding parties, school and business groups and multi-generation family holiday-makers.”

“The Queensland Tourism Awards celebrate the very best Queensland has to offer and we are proud to be a part of this industry and delivering a fantastic Australian tourism product. We extend our congratulations to all the other nominees, finalists and winners who put in the hard yards every day”, said Greg McKinnon.

The many elements which combine to make up this award winning resort include consistent quality service, a concerted customer focus, continual innovation and a commitment to delivering a traditional Australian family holiday experience.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with an extensive range of quality facilities and services, gorgeous cabins and happy, helpful staff. Set amongst 10 hectares of beautifully landscaped tropical gardens, the resort caters for a variety of budgets with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to luxury, three-bedroom condos. The resort is located in Airlie Beach and has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, 74 Whitsunday islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.