Penthouse perfection

It’s certainly easy to understand why one lucky family has held on tightly to this exceptional two-level Main Beach residence for three decades

IT’S not often a property of this calibre hits the Gold Coast market.

In fact, it has been 31 years since the De Ville Apartments penthouse in Main Beach has been for sale. During those decades, the four-bedroom residence has been a holiday haven for the McEniery family.

The late Denis and Eileen McEniery bought the property on levels 26 and 27 in 1986. The couple had bought the subpenthouse in the building five years earlier.

“I was told my grandfather went upstairs to the auction in the lift just wearing shorts and no shirt and ended up winning the auction,” said grandson Will Griffin.

The north-facing property has great views from sunrise to sunset of the ocean, marina, Hinterland, parkland and the city lights.

“On a clear day you can see the Tower of Terror at Dreamworld,” Mr Griffin said.

“My grandparents’ favourite thing to do was have a scotch while looking out to the Broadwater and up to the marina.

“Every afternoon at sunset you would find them on the deck on the lower level.”

The two-level penthouse stands out with its rooftop pool, sun-lounging deck, two wet bars, sauna, spa and expansive formal and living areas.

“Upstairs is basically operated purely for entertaining while the bedrooms are on the lower level,” Mr Griffin said.

The apartment has been extensively renovated and transformed from its ’70s look to a modern abode.

“We’ve tidied it up and made it a lot more modern,” he said. “It’s been painted, had new flooring and new electrics and the bathrooms, kitchen and pool have all been refurbished.”

Mr Griffin said the penthouse had plenty of family memories associated with it.

“The major thing that stands out is the number of family Christmas gatherings we had there,” he said.

“There were 12 grandchildren and six great grandchildren and we spent a lot of Christmases at The De Ville.

“With the pool on the rooftop it was like out own little beach house.

“There were kids everywhere. Because it is so big, you could have a lot of people up there and there was still plenty of room.”

He said the family was sad to be letting the property go but the time had come to sell.

“We just can’t make use of it like we used to,” Mr Griffin said.