Great escape
Swimming with fish, buffets, quiet … this Gold Coast hotel is so enjoyable that leaving it was out of the question
The Covid-19 pandemic has a lot to answer for. But, it turns out, there have been two immensely positive knock-on effects that are emerging from the gloom as life slowly gets back to some semblance of normality, and I may have discovered both, just an hour south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast.
Before 2020, I could think of nothing worse than booking into a hotel for a weekend escape and never stepping outside the property to explore the neighbourhood nor the attractions on offer nearby. Back then, the guilt of not broadening my horizons would have just killed me.
But now, having become adept at self-isolation during lockdowns or while awaiting test results, such guilt was never to materialise as my wife and I eased into a surprisingly restful and regenerative weekend in the heart of Surfers Paradise, of all places … with a four-year-old in tow.
And it was upon arrival at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa following a typically hectic Friday afternoon drive south from Brisbane that we instantly discovered the second unexpected benefit of the turmoil of the past 18 months. What greeted us the second we’d made our way under the immense portico and into the lobby, where the frenetic Gold Coast
Highway was almost instantly drowned out by a blissful calm, was the result of a year-long, $35m renovation that had shrewdly capitalised on 2020’s unforeseen closures and absence of guests to deliver a quite breathtaking backdrop to a guilt-free weekend away.
Vast rattan fans swayed back and forth in unison along the full length of the ceiling, evoking images of colonial grandeur as our eyes were guided deep into the hotel, past reception and the magnificent sweeping staircase that stands primed and ready for the return of gala balls and conferences.
I’d never even considered that we wouldn’t spend a second on the touristmagnet beach just a few hundred metres away, nor explore the array of entertainments that could have staved off any childhood tantrums (from the fouryear-old, not us).
But remain here we did, and we came away fully recharged yet entertained, having only scratched the surface of what this hotel has to offer.
Our ocean-view room gave us all the connection to the beach we’d need, as our eyes were quickly drawn from our balcony to the vast lagoon swimming pool below, complete with its two beaches and multiple waterfalls that virtually transport you to some far-flung tropical island.
Then, upon closer inspection, once we’d managed to tear ourselves away from the fully refurbished room with all its smart technology, intuitive lighting and space, we discovered not only the scale of this saltwater lagoon, which gets to 4.2m deep in parts and even contains fish, but also a second pool that snaked its way along the canal-front boundary of the property and offered hours of fun for our little one courtesy of its whirlpool.
Mealtimes with a young child in tow can often threaten to undo any sense of escapism, but when dinner comes in the form of a large-scale buffet containing cuisines from almost every corner of the globe – including the pasta and pizza all children seem to crave – our only real issue was trying to restrict her to just one handful of the seemingly infinite choice of desserts.
But we weren’t left entirely to our own devices as we dined, with attentive waitstaff never far away to offer suggestions for wines to match our fresh Moreton Bay bugs, roast pork belly, gnocchi or any other of the countless dishes on offer, or even delivering little sideshows to keep our girl entertained – she ended the night having been presented with two pieces of colourful stencilled icing sugar art, an origami crane and even a laminated page containing the Japanese characters of her name.
As part of an entire family-friendly program, there was even a kids’ sushimaking class for her to enjoy (there’s a “junior mixology” class available, too), which ended up buying us time to enjoy a cocktail beside the pool.
While the spa was unsurprisingly fully booked throughout our stay – our fault for not planning ahead – as nearly all of the 223 rooms had been snapped up by grateful Queenslanders making the most of the absence of interstate and international tourists, we still ended the weekend feeling as rested as if we’d had a child-free break. Not once did we feel a jot of guilt for never setting foot outside the boundaries of our inadvertent self-isolation.