QT pool party open to wider community
YOU don’t need to get a room to swim in the Gold Coast’s newest high-end hotel pool.
QT Hotel unveils its $3.5 million Palm Springs-style pool revamp today and locals will not be left high and dry.
The move comes as Surfers Paradise looks set for a fabulous festive fortnight, with strong bookings reported.
The designer oasis includes nine opulent cabanas, available for the public to rent from Monday, and a new dining offering.
It is the only luxury Gold Coast hotel to open its pool gates to guests who are not staying overnight, with a day in a cabana big enough to fit a family costing from $270 and including plenty of extras.
Champagne, fruit platters, mini massages and spa treatments, cold towels and an esky loaded with sparkling water, chilled face spritz and sunscreen are among the poolside perks for visitors splashing out.
QT Gold Coast general manager Steven Oakley said the six-month construction was part of an exciting evolution for the Surfers hotel.
“We’re taking it to a different level now with a more sophisticated Palm Springs feel with black and white stripes and a bigger, more functional bar area,” he said.
“Part of the QT brand is always about involving the community, so there will be different tiers of cabana packages you can rent.”
Everyone can get in on the appetising action when it comes to the new, yet-to-benamed poolside bar and lawn dining area, with a multivenue menu available that includes contributions from Yamagen, Stingray and Fixx Cafe.
Made-for-summer snacks include a bug and crab roll with celery and dill mayo, and grown-ups-only watermelon pops with Bacardi, pomegranate, mint, lime and salt.
“We make the pops using a watermelon daiquiri recipe and put it into mini magnum moulds and dip it in white chocolate,” executive chef Greg Benney said.
“The Moreton Bay bugs and spanner crab are about using our local suppliers.
“I think the highlight of the menu will be the Moreton Bay bug quesadilla and we’ve also got a playful twist with Midori splice popsicles.”
The final stages of QT’s poolside precinct revamp will be revealed in February.
The refurbishment comes as Surfers Paradise accommodation looks toward a fortnight of strong bookings for the festive season.
Surfers Paradise Alliance CEO Mike Winlaw said accommodation providers in the tourist hub were seeing excellent numbers for Christmas and New Year’s.
“At that time of year, we’re in the high 90s – anything past 90 per cent is a really good result,” Mr Winlaw said.
IT’S beginning to look a lot like Christmas, in more ways than one.
Surfers Paradise Alliance CEO Mike Winlaw says accommodation houses are reporting healthy bookings as the Glitter Strip plunges into an active Christmas-New Year fortnight, loaded with plenty of family entertainment.
This is what the Gold Coast is famous for – fun. But staying ahead of the pack demands renewal, reinvention and plenty of investment.
As the Bulletin reports, QT Hotel will unveil its $3.5 million Palm Springs-style pool revamp today, providing a designer oasis that includes opulent cabanas and a new dining offering. The luxury speaks for itself, but what adds to this is QT’s farsighted step in turning a big plus for its hotel into a city attraction, with the public able to rent the cabanas or take advantage of the poolside bar and lawn dining.
Meanwhile, one of the major players in the city’s critically important theme-park component of its tourism industry, Village Roadshow, is considering a takeover proposal from Pacific Equity Partners, reportedly worth as much as $1 billion.
The proposal has come ahead of Village Roadshow’s theme parks CEO Clark Kirby taking over as boss of the entire company.
Observers say a takeover could take the operation to the next level, potentially fast-tracking developments in the pipeline and quelling some conflict in the organisation. What is important is that the theme park giant remains a strong stakeholder in Gold Coast tourism.