I was here before the pandemic and before they renovated. It's a nice hotel, very well situated…read more Light rail literally stops in front of the hotel, so you can take the Brisbane Airtrain, transfer to light rail, and get right to the hotel for about $50 all in. Or, take the Airtrain to the Narang station (closest to hotel) and then catch an Uber. That's about $10 more in total, but also a bit faster. The hotel has a nice restaurant area. Very open, well-lit, and right next to the pool. Breakfast buffet is well stocked with a huge variety of pretty much whatever you want, including fried rice. I'm oryzivorous, so I appreciate fried rice any time. You can also order custom omelets if the steam-tray scrambled eggs don't suit your taste. I went here for a conference (both last time and this), and found the facilities very nice. Unlike many venues, you don't have to walk a mile from your room to the conference center. The beach is about four blocks from the front door, around the corner. So, with light rail on one side and the beach on the other, it's a great location. There's also an airport in Gold Coast, just down the street. But there aren't a lot of flights, so if you miss a connection, there may be added hassle. Just a note for the wary traveler. One final note for no apparent reason: The room keys are wooden with the chip inside. Kinda pointless and cool.

Tallship Island Adventures provide great tours. I recently embarked on their Paradise tour and…read morecannot recommend it highly enough. It ran from 9am to 4.15pm and involved: - a coach pick up from my hotel - morning and afternoon tea - a tall ship cruise to the exclusive McLarens Landing - parasailing off the boat (cost $60) - full licensed bar on boat and on island (drinks cost extra) - island BBQ and buffet lunch - live entertainment (singer) - free use of paddle boats, kayaks, beach volleyball equipment, pool table, cricket and darts equipment - sea plane flight (cost $90per person) - choice of speedboat or tall ship cruise back home - coach drop off at my hotel Best of all, the tour was only $129!!! It was extraordinary value for a day packed with fun. There are plenty of opportunities to relax with glorious beaches on South Stradbroke Island (where McLarens Landing is) and even a hammock available for a snooze. The staff are incredible and make the atmosphere very fun. They are sociable and entertaining too. If you have a day free I would definitely go on this tour. The sea plane ride I took was incredible and the owner of the plane is happy to bargain with you for a cheaper fare. From memory I think I whittled him down to $55 for my flight. He likes to have fun and rolled the plane right over at one point - definitely got an adrenaline rush from that!

A little late for review but this still warrant a follow up by me! A wonderful stay at this…read moreapartment!! My first day in Gold Coast Surfer's Paradise was a big surprise! The outside and the reception area of the Rhapsody Resort wasn't grand but simple. Yet the interior of the rooms were fantastic! We were allocated a room on the 15 floor facing the sea and the view was just great! The soothing sounds of the waves breaking on the beach and the occasional birds are all too alluring. There are two small pools, one heated for the dip you may want to have, Sauna Rooms and there are BBQ pits too. If you want to have a good unobstructed view, go to the top! There are nice settees! The apartment is roomy and comes with a open concept kitchen and had a nice balcony with a dining table for outdoor dining. Air conditioners are provided in the bedrooms as well as the living room. The period we were staying through (June) provided the fresh cold air without the air conditioners. The bed linens and bathrooms are clean and bath amenities were provided and added daily when needed. Generous! The location was also good as it was near to the city tram and we took advantage of it to travel to the nearby Chevron Renaissance for shopping and eating. Will come back for another stay when I am back to Brisbane for my holidays!

Where do I start the Skybus drops you at the door from airport, amazing checkin and it was done…read morestaff first day! Fantastic one bedroom ocean view room with all you need and great roof top deck wait til you see pics later! Cafe, bar and restaurant all in one below and own bbq facilities on premises! Forget hotels this is a gem 50m from beach and short stroll to surfers! Amazing and thank you Rhapsody! Upmarket without the price tag!

Got a chance to stay here on my last surf trip to Coolangatta. At the time, I was given an…read moreexcellent rate for a studio room by receiving a discount for being one of the over 2100 victims involved in a then-recent accommodation company's bankruptcy on the Gold Coast. The Mantra and Breakfree properties were kind enough to offer a discount on bookings, as many people had to wind up rebooking accommodations as a result of this incident. This was much appreciated! As I arrived at the property at around 11:30 a.m., my studio room was not yet ready. The reception staff was very kind and allowed me to store my luggage until check-in. I could tell right off that this property stays very busy, which is never a bad sign. It was great to be able to explore the area until later on in the afternoon. The Mantra is in a perfect location right on the Marine Parade, centrally located to just about everything. Not to mention some of the best surf breaks in the world! Everything in the studio room, which turned out to be room 208, was in excellent working condition with no excessive wear. I did have some trouble with the wireless internet connection after I had prepaid for three days, but I cannot fault the Mantra for this, as the internet company is separate. Turns out I was able to get a partial refund with no problems. It seems like it took the hot water about two seconds longer to get hot in comparison to some of the other properties I had stayed at on this holiday, but it wasn't a big concern. Some of the amenities in the room included a powerful air conditioning/heating unit, fully-stocked kitchenette with refrigerator, microwave, utensils, and just about everything one would need for a holiday. Ample closet space, queen size bed, a medium-sized balcony overlooking the courtyard (unfortunately all of the one bedroom ocean view apartments stayed constantly booked up until my arrival, but I did try!), a small ceiling-mounted television set, and a bathroom with a washer and dryer. The swimming pool, spa and barbecue areas were very modern and well-maintained. I'd definitely stay at the Mantra Coolangatta Beach again. My only regret was not being able to find a vacant ocean view unit, but I'll definitely be back. Great staff, good waves, and an overall fun area.

The holiday park is in such a convenient location, making it perfect for families. It's only a 10…read moreminute drive to Aldi, Coles, and Woolworths, and just 10 minutes to Point Danger and the beautiful beaches. It is close to the Gold Coast airport which means airplanes will be taking off and landing everyday, but we love planes so we enjoyed watching them! The waterpark and pool were a huge highlight -- the kids had an absolute blast! Mum was a bit scared of waterslides but then found one she enjoyed, then we couldn't get her to leave! Dad tried going down one of the waterslides and the water stopped in the middle, he had to drag himself down the rest of the way! It took us a long to time to figure out that there is a button to activate the water! We also loved the Friday movie nights by the pool, which created such a fun family atmosphere. We cooked in the cabin some delicious Mexican food which we ate during the movie - everyone was jealous because it smelt delicious-!! Also, make sure to bring your popcorn as the Mini Mart in the reception doesn't sell any. Dessert and food trucks visit often, which was a lovely treat. The ice cream is delicious! The Sea Salt Caramel and Macadamia is definitely a recommendation! There are so many activities available, including kayaking, go-karting, and stand-up paddle boarding for only $10 per hour. Kayaking in the lake was amazing, especially after we saw the stingray swimming underneath us! Don't worry nothing dangerous. If you go Go - karting, make sure you are high on carbohydrates because you will need a lot of leg power for the two person kart. After we finished, our legs immediately turned to jelly. But it was definitely worth it!! The kids enjoyed the jumping pillow, playground, and outdoor play zone with games like ping pong, mini golf, giant chess, and sport courts for soccer, basketball, or cricket. Equipment can be hired easily from reception, and there's even a pickleball court. The Sprinkles Bakehouse and Playground were fun since the kids had supervised cooking and craft sessions in the bakehouse. The camp kitchen and BBQ area were great for family meals, and fishing in the lake was another enjoyable option. Another fun thing was that we were visited by Australian Water Dragons each morning. Apparently they were playing hide and seek because they were hiding then chasing each other. At the end of the day, they were always waiting for us to give them something to eat. One small suggestion would be to add cushions to the outdoor, reclining chairs in the cabin, as they were very uncomfortable. Dad loves reading outside with his coffee, but after 30 minutes of sitting in that chair, he almost broke his coccyx. Overall, this place is fantastic for families, and we can't wait to come back. Highly recommended!! The Faithful Travellers are ready for their next adventure and for their next review!

Staying in the Sky Lodges was an amazing experience. As is the many bush walking tracks. Where…read morepossible would suggest packing all your own food and drink to take advantage of the cooking facilities. Would strongly recommend avoiding the lodge restaurant and tea house as the view is the main attraction over the food quality and price. Comment from another visitor 'a long way from international standards if you are trying to attract tourist'. Easy opportunity to improve before the Commonwealth Games.

One of my favorite days of the whole trip was our long car trip up into the mountains to come to…read moreO'Reilly's. This is a private business that's a welcome center, restaurant/cafe, and lodge with cabin style rooms to stay and enjoy the birds. Everything here is bird-centric and you'll see tons so if you love them, this is a must-stop. We only came for the day and started with a visit to the cafe for burgers and drinks. Even in the dining areas the birds will come up to you. The gift shop is large with lots of souvenirs. The highlight is buying a tray of bird seed, where you'll be immediately inundated with parrots and other birds fighting over the seeds. It's amazing to see them so close up. They have an airplane that tells the story of a crash on the mountain decades ago. They have restrooms as well. From the center, there is a forest walk that's worth it to get closer to nature. At the end there is a botanical garden you can explore, and a tree top walk with bridges pretty high up. On one especially tall tree, there are ladders that go into the canopy to get amazing views of the valley and far off mountains. It's worth the climb! If you're in the area, this is a must visit special place. You can either spend the day, or stay a night or two if you want to experience natural Australia.

This place is amazing! In the middle of a world heritage site and national park is this fantastic…read moreresort with all of the amenities. Delicious food, 5star service, hiking trails, beautiful day with a pool overlooking the valley, shopping, a cafe, and nature walks and talks. What an incredible experience to get to stay here.

Mum , dad & me stayed at Ocean royale for a weekend seen white whale from windows n great ocean…read moreviews every day , and we hired a company to drive us around for 2 days to winery's n distilleries n a luncheon dinner with amazing pineapple tours as well as fruit farm tour and this is something we had never done before .my parents at 80 n we planned a low budget holiday with train trip for pensioners prices to carins and stayed at a backpackers that was very birdie . We saved up as it was way out of our disability budgets. But great memories n dad old radio friend came to visit us at Ocean. Royale si we felt like we were with a star.