Australia Gold Coast - where to avoid and great hotels please!

[notyummy]

Dh, DD and I are hopefully going on an anamzing holiday to Australia next Easter. Part of the trip involves spending a few days relaxing on the Gold Coast. We are looking for somewhere luxurious to stay that has some facilities for children (maybe even a Kids Club as DD loves these....but not necessarily a deal breaker if there isn't one.) Wouldn't mind being walking distance from some restaurants etc. Open to hotel or self catering.

All thoughts and suggestions welcome. Also, where to avoid too!

Bump

Can't recommend anywhere but I would avoid staying in surfers paradise if I was you. Totally Chav-tastic (or bogan-tastic as the Aussies say!).

What about going a bit further north to the sunshine coast? Noosa is amazing.

Thanks for that - I was suspecting it might be the case by looking at the pictures! Will have a look at Noosa.

Any other thoughts welcome!

All noosa is lovely, but sunshine beach side (rather than noosa heads) is beyond amazing. Miles and miles of beautiful beaches one after the other, pretty much deserted. Aaaahhhh, those were the days! Whitsundays islands are also incredible. I can recommend Daydream island for a cheaper alternative to Hamilton island, but still luxurious.

Have a fabulous time.

Noosa and sunshine coast would be my preference

OK - am now looking at Noosa, plus Novotel Twin Waters Resort outside of Noosa, which seems to have loads to do - and the Tangalooma Island Resort.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency at Sanctuary Cove it was lovely but from what I've heard Noosa is better.

Yes. tbh I would avoid the whole gold coast. It is almost the only place in the whole of Australia where there are highrises along the beach! Noosa is gorgeous but quite expensive, Noosaville on the river around the corner is a bit cheaper. Sunshine Coast also lovely. I would also second the Whitsundays.
If you could get further north and go to Port Douglas or Mission Beach you would be in for a treat...
Go a bit south from the Gold Coast and you will find Byron Bay which is a sort of hippy resort town with beautiful beaches and chakra balancing massages on every corner...

www.visitbyronbay.com/pages/page-500/

Ooh, thanks for these ladies. Still not booked anything but a travel consultant has found us a good price for The Sebel at Noosa which are classy looking apartments. This suits us as we were looking for some extra space. Will have a look at both those recomends though.

Noosa is surprisingly hilly- if your DCs are very small you might notice it.

DD will be 5.9 by the time we get there so hopefully alright. Had a look at the local tourism website for ideas of what to do in the local area - do you have any 'must sees' or 'avoids'? We are happy to some chilling out for part of it, as will already have done Melbourne and Sydney.

If you're still looking, can I recommend the Hyatt Regency Coolum? Slightly down the coast from Noosa (but easy drive to go in for dinner or shopping). I've been there many times over the years with kids, and for me it's the perfect place to relax for a few days.

Apartments/villas dotted around over a large site, with lots of swimming pools, kids club, craft and other activities, spa, golf, tennis, private beach access, little shuttle buses to carry you around, and shuttles to Noosa. What my DCs like best is the fact that there are kangaroos living on the hotel site, so you pass them as you are on your way to breakfast...

The main thing I'd class as a 'must see' for families near there would be Australia Zoo.