Surfers Paradise
Emily toxward and her family swing by Surfers Paradise for a little rest and recreation, Wyndham style.
For a recreation destination, it’s hard to pass up 300 days of sunshine a year.
Within eyeshot of the Gold Coast’s aweinspiring coastline, Wyndham Hotel Surfers Paradise woos me with spectacular oceanview rooms, impeccable customer service and a handy location. As for the kids, they adore soaking in the sights and sounds from wrap-around balconies, the heated pool and being within a stone’s throw of the beach.
Owned by hospitality giant the Wyndham Hotel Group, the Surfers Paradise apartment complex is just one of group’s 7,800 global hotels. It’s also a mixed-use property, and offers accommodation to timeshare owners in the Worldmark South Pacific Club by Wyndham, Club Wyndham Asia and RCI Exchange guests.
Stylish, yet spacious
We have a two-bedroom apartment for five of us, with two singles, a king-sized bed and a fold-out sofa in the lounge. Obliging staff even offer to set it up come bedtime – now that’s service. Featuring modern styling, the rooms are a great mix of comfort and practicality for families; there is a large dining table along with easy-clean chairs and hardly any breakable items for little hands to grab. My tween tries, unsuccessfully, to steal my room. I can’t say I blame her; it has a jaw-dropping view of the sea, a plush bed and a wonderfully private balcony.
Abundant amenities
A luxury kitchen, complete with Smeg appliances and views through floor-toceiling sliding glass doors, almost makes
Hot tip
To keep eating-out costs down during a long visit, take advantage of the supermarket nearby and use the full kitchen or communal barbecue areas overlooking the pool. cooking while on holiday enjoyable – almost. Families with little ones will appreciate non-slip bathmats and a full laundry. After a quick beach walk in the morning, the kids spend hours in the heated pool (a winner because it has both a shallow and a deep area). A well-priced breakfast buffet keeps three hungry tummies happy, and my chai latte is served piping hot and with a smile.
Guests also have access to a large, shaded deck area with barbecues, tables, a TV and lounges. It’s a handy place for families holidaying together to cook and socialise while kids swim. I am won over completely as we are served our pancakes, burgers and chips poolside ... not to mention the resort’s happy hours (yes, three of them).
Impeccable service
Standouts are the cleanliness of the apartment, impeccable service from genuinely lovely staff and being within walking distance of everything. I am also not surprised to learn that in 2017, the hotel won an international award for best interior design following its $1.6 million refurbishment of 64 apartments the previous year.
Location, location
It’s just a short stroll to Surfers’ iconic threekilometre strip of sand and sea, and there’s a tram station across the road that goes south to the recently revamped Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, and north to Helensvale. From here, you can catch buses to Wet’n’wild, Warner Bros. Movie World, Dreamworld or Topgolf. This visit, we choose to visit the awesome Sea World in Main Beach, only a short 10-minute drive north, for a big day of fishy fun. The kids are particularly happy playing in the new kids’ water play areas and, as always, are suckers for the sea life.
When the rain sets in – a rare occurrence in Surfers, where it’s sunny around 300 days a year – we take shelter in the nearby Timezone at Paradise Centre in
Cavill Ave. The mall has specialty shops, a supermarket and offers loads of free activities during school holidays.
A Surfers stay with Wyndham certainly ticks all the boxes for this family of five.
Surfers Paradise Report Card
Info surfersparadise.com
Stay wyndhamhotels.com/wyndham