Turtle Beach Resort GC QLD
LOCATION AND GETTING THERE
What do you look for when planning the perfect family holiday? Is it the location? Is it the room size? Is it the convenience of having restaurants, transport and activities at your door step? This is EXACTLY the things we look for in an ideal family holiday! For the convenience of predictability, we (like many) are guilty of staying at the same resorts on the Gold Coast! From these same (somewhat safe) experiences I decided this time around we would do the research and experience somewhere and hopefully something new. Turtle Beach Resort was always a popular option in my search results and had received a 4 star rating from traveller reviews... so that was it, we booked our 4 nights!!
If you're wanting a holiday on the Gold Coast but you don't want to be amongst the hustle and bustle of Surfers Paradise, then this is the ideal resort for you. Conveniently located between Surfers Paradise and Burleigh Heads (10-15 minute drive to each), just 300m walk to the patrolled Mermaid Beach, 5 minutes’ drive from Broadbeach restaurants and night life, and also centrally located for a day trip to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary or fun thrilled theme parks. It’s worth noting however, that throughout our stay, with all that Gold Coast offers, we only left the resort once or twice – now that speaks volumes for an active family of 5.
STAY
Set upon a massive 4.5 hectares of land, Turtle beach resort offers a large range of fully self-contained one, two and three bedroom apartments across three zones; TB1, TB2 and TB3. Each zone offers a slightly different atmosphere based on its surrounding facilities i.e. TB2 is a very active social zone as the accommodation is set around the Splash Zone Waterpark, the two pool areas and the Deck Restaurant & Bar. We booked 4 nights in a 2 bedroom superior apartment and landed in TB3. TB3 is the quietest of the three zones which certainly had its pros and cons. We loved that once it was time to wind down and put the boys to bed it was quiet enough to do so without any distractions. However on the other hand, it would have been a little more convenient had we been closer to the waterpark with all the back to room visits we made throughout the day - not a big deal though!
The apartment itself was spacious enough for the boys to run laps and not bounce off each other, it contained full kitchen facilitates, air conditioning, washing machine, dryer, bath and Foxtel - it was decked out with beautiful bright paintings and coastal decor. Our room was on the ground floor with its own private patio surrounded by beautiful lush gardens which was where we spent most mornings eating brekky and enjoying a late evening drink!
TIP: The patio isn’t enclosed, just in case you have any 1 – 3 year old runners; we have two!!
We paid around $180 a night through Agoda which we felt was great value for a young family of 4 or 5. However I think next time we would need to book a 3 bedroom apartment as Ariel will be needing his own room and we may book directly through the resort website in order to select the zone we want to stay in closer to the waterpark.
With no elevators throughout the resort, the underground carpark, apartments, pools, restaurants and activity rooms are all accessed via stairs. Whilst by no means a deal breaker, getting from TB3 to TB2 can be challenging if you have young ones in a pram. Dad got a good work out getting all the bags from the car park up to the apartment too!
PLAY
As mentioned above, we really didn't feel the need to venture outside the resort too often and we made the most of all the Resort had to offer!! To start with, Splash Zone Waterpark, the centrepiece of the resort, features 6 waterslides - 2 super fast slides, 2 winding tunnel slides and 2 toddler slides, (the latter was a life saver given Osher, our two year old, wasn’t quite ready for the other slides). The water park also has a large dumping bucket zone – Who doesn't get a laugh from watching their kids get dumped unexpectedly! For piece of mind, there are two lifeguards patrolling the waterpark at all times and for those parents who just want to sit back and relax whilst their kids run amok, The Deck Restaurant & Bar overlooks the waterpark. On the other side of the deck there are another 3 swimming pools and a spa - one of which is a toddler pool. This area was full of screaming kids jumping into the pool and splashing about – fair to say we had no trouble blending in. A word of caution, the kids did slip and slide on the concrete around the pools a few times!
With constant sunshine, our young water tribe never actually made it to the cinema or games room and weren't quite old enough yet for tennis however we did have a family game of putt-putt (this consisted of mum chasing the younger two) but a heap of fun for Ezra, our 4 year old, who was having his first go at “golf”.
If you're keen for some adult time, book the kids into Club Turtle Kids Club (age 4-12) for 3 hours at a very reasonable $25 (per child), this will give you enough time to hit up the fitness room or one of two saunas, treat yourself at the Chelonia Day Spa or relax in the Adults only retreat. Unfortunately this wasn't really an option for us given the age of our younger two.
TIP: Some accommodation packages include a complimentary Club Turtle session!
EAT
The Deck Restaurant And Bar is a casual pool side 'pub' feel restaurant which offers generous sized meals at a reasonable price and is open for lunch and dinners. The Woodfired pizza is a must that fast became a family favourite followed by the “choose your own” Streets ice cream flavours. The Ice cream was a huge hit with the kids (and an excellent bargaining chip to ensure a peaceful dinner) The menu had enough variety to allow us to eat there most nights.
The ‘Fresh and Tasty’ Convenience Store is super handy for those little bits and pieces you may have forgotten to pack, and unlike most convenience stores we found this one to be quite reasonably priced! The store is slightly hidden but you will find it located within TB2 next to the resort reception and is open from 7.00am till 7:00pm daily. I bought my coffee there every morning and they always treated the boys with a babycino. They also have a limited selection of everyday necessities and groceries like bread, milk, cereals and fruit as well as floaties, sunscreen and the usual pool toys.
There are 8 barbecue areas set up around the gardens and a large choice of delicious restaurants literally outside the Resort door - Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese just to name a few as well as a BWS and a much larger convenience store/fruit shop on the corner. TIP: This was where I bought fresh bread and eggs most mornings a well as half a delicious watermelon for just $2.50 DAILY!!
We find that eating breakfast and lunch in our apartment or by the pool starts our day feeling a lot more relaxed and free of time restraints and stress. Yes, if we are travelling by car I always bring my blender so we can make Smoothie and Açai bowls 😂. There was plenty of room in the kitchen to cook/prepare your own hearty meals for the day so this was a huge bonus!
TIP: The resort offers great deals on food and beverages orders for example Breakfast packs, discounted food and beverage vouchers, fruit and cheese platters as well as white, red and sparkling wine! Sounds perfect right!!!!!
Overall, @turtlebeachresort was a great spot for our family! We were able to utilise our yearly Theme Park passes and enjoy an afternoon trip to our favourite beachfront market in Surfers Paradise! Next visit we will probably upgrade to a 3 bedroom apartment as the boys will need a bit more space.
If you find any of this helpful or you have any questions please comment below, and if you stay at any of our recommended holiday spots PLEASE tag us @wannabe.nomads we would love to hear all about your family travels!!