Where 7 Staghorn Ave, Surfers Paradise, (22km from Gold Coast Airport), Qld, (07) 5584 1200, qtgoldcoast.com.au
Cost From $265, without breakfast.
At a glance 297 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, café, pool, day spa, gym, sauna, tennis courts, paid valet and self-parking, free bike hire.
In room Free WiFi, smart TV, coffee machine, some baths and balconies, Malin + Goetz toiletries.
Best rooms The high-floor King Suite Ocean View pods have the sort of big blue views we all want from the Gold Coast.
It’s part boutique hotel, part Gidget movie. QT Gold Coast‘s open-plan ground floor has it all going on: calypso-style pool with fake lawn; lobby bar Fixx laying on high tea with Champagne; and Stingray Lounge pouring 50 shades of tequila. Dressed in retro leisurewear, vivacious staff serve the 297 rooms on 22 floors in record time (just two and a half minutes to send up a phone charger!). Our modest seventh-floor suite has a sunny balcony, witty minibar and galah-shaped bedside lamp. Expect edgy art (Jennifer Steinkamp’s soaring digital artwork in the lobby is a standout) and a serious spa. The only dead spot is the charmless gym; plunge instead into the paradisiacal surf, a two-minute stroll away.
We love
Someone has a sense of humour here. Case in point: “In-room robe removal may result in a slap or a tickle. Permanent removal from this room may result in a swipe (of the credit card kind).”
Don’t miss
Don’t miss the chance to cycle the beachfront. Grab a free retro bike and a hamper (sandwiches, water, fruit platter and sunscreen in a cooler bag, $55) and get pedalling.
QT King Suite Ocean View bathroom
Dining options
Chef-run stations at Bazaar Marketplace restaurant create a superior morning spread ($38), featuring chive and potato rösti, house-made baked beans and a dedicated coffee station. Also on site is Yamagen, a cut-above izakaya.
Fixx Lounge and Café
Drink up
QT minibars aren’t so much stocked as curated, and feature quality booze, an emergency bow tie and a beach ball. Stingray Lounge is a Baja Californian refuge from the hotel’s prevailing beach party, featuring tequila cocktails such as Day of the Dead, with chilli tequila, lime and black lava salt.
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Hotel Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
