Major attractions at Paradise Palms open

A CAIRNS tropical oasis is back to full strength with some of its major attractions reopening after months in coronavirus shutdown.

Paradise Palms at Kewarra Beach is letting “the good times roll again”, encouraging residents and visitors to “come along and enjoy delicious food, refreshing beverages and plenty of fun in the sun with us” as it reopens its restaurant and playground.

General manager Paul Callaghan said the shutdown was a “testing” time for the team and they were glad that operations were restarting.

“The playground’s a great family place because we have a large spacious area that’s fenced in,” he said.

“While it was tough (during shutdown), we’re now hoping we’re able to stay open for a while.”

As for the restaurant, Mr

Callaghan said everything that was on the menu prior to the shutdown was now available.

He also said a key feature was the meat being supplied by a Clifton Beach butcher.

Asked about his expectations in visitor numbers, he said it was an unknown.

“We’re obviously hoping to get about 100-plus people during the lunch and dinner periods, but with things changing all the time, it’s uncertain,” he said.

Mr Callaghan said having a COVID-safe plan and doing their best to make the most of the trading opportunity was “the best we can do”.

“The restrictions and regulations surrounding reopening hasn’t been difficult, it’s been testing,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of getting staff to make sure they stay on top of things as well.

“The biggest thing for us is to get people to remember that we’re still here.”

Mr Callaghan said that while they were mindful of the situations in NSW and Victoria, he and his team “get constant guidance from the QHA (Queensland Hotel Association), so if there’s anything that does happen, we get notified.”

A QHA statement on Thursday said that it was important “we remain vigilant in our collection of every person’s accurate contact tracing details” following the developments in southern states.