Promotion for Paradise Resort Gold Coast
The Gold Coast has always been one of the top Australian destinations for holidaying Kiwi families. It’s a short three-hour flight away to the white sands of Surfers Paradise where we can slip into shorts and tees and enjoy a relaxing break away under the Queensland sun.
To help you find family-friendly accommodation and activities on the GC, we sent a Kidspot family away for a fun time exploring the award-winning Paradise Resort Gold Coast. Read the review here …
Paradise found!
What I’ve always found great about the GC is that it’s not just a chilled-out family holiday destination to unwind with surf, sand, swims, sun, and chilled beverages but there are also plenty of places to play and shop too.
We were given the chance to experience a short stay at Paradise Resort Gold Coast. Located centrally in Surfers Paradise it’s a short walk to Surfers Paradise Beach North where you can catch the tram to Cavill Rd. Tap on and tap off with your credit card – two stops and you’re where the tourist spots are. You can visit Ripley’s Believe It or Not, wander the shops, walk the promenade (with a lively beachfront night market on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings), take in the ocean view and sea breeze, feel the sand between your toes, take a dip between the flags, book a surf lesson, book the Aquaduck, go to the top of Q1 to the highest view of the city or hire an electric bike for a fun cruise!!
Accommodation
Set on five acres close to beaches and attractions, Paradise Resort Gold Coast is renowned as the number one destination for families travelling to the GC! The Resort’s 360 rooms are sectioned into quarters – Astro Alley, Dusty’s Digs, Cleo’s Castle and Captains Castle – providing many options to meet your family requirements.
Top tip
- For an extra charge, you can book a late checkout. If you’re like us and struggle to get anywhere quickly or have a later flight or ongoing travel later in the day, it’s a very worthwhile option.
Fun facilities for all ages
Paradise Resort is bursting with fun! It’s not just a family-friendly resort, it’s a FUN FAMILY-FRIENDLY resort. You could fill a daily planner with things for the kids to do – games, competitions, activities … the excitement and energy spent playing should surely see them all asleep by 9pm … you’d hope!
My kids made a beeline for the two impressive waterparks! There’s a smaller one designed for the under-fives, though there didn’t seem to be anyone stopping the few older kiddies, probably siblings, who wanted to play there too, so long as it was still “under 5 friendly” play. The big waterpark was where the 5 – 12-year-olds were squealing down big slides and waiting for a water dump from the filling bucket above.
We swam in the lagoon pool tepid enough to take the chill off but cool enough to plunge into after we’d worked up a sweat lying on our lounger doing nothing … maybe sipping, eating, talking, reading … watching the kids. Reminder; like a lot of resorts there are no lifeguards on duty at the pools so please watch your children at all times.
I can tell when my kids have had enough water play, they go submerge themselves in the spa warming themselves up again. The spa at Paradise Resort is big enough to fit even the biggest of family groups … and all the whānau were getting in … nannas, mummas, dads, the kids … and it was all good fun.
When the kids are done being wet there are a couple of tramps to keep them expending their energy and a small playground for the little ones.
Awesome activities
The fun doesn’t stop with the waterparks and pools … there’s more! There’s a weekly planner choc-a-block full of family activities to get involved in. Scheduled each week is a bunch of free activites the family can enjoy like Sunday Horse Racing for the kids (Hobby Horses), Tug ‘o War, water balloon and hula hoop competitions. “Finish that Lyric” played out on the main stage where mainly mums tested their lyrical knowledge of old and new songs … the vocals are not what mattered here! Prizes are dished out to winners and we won at Family Musical Bingo! Some Dusty Dollars to use towards a paid activity, ice creams and a couple of winning medals were well received prizes.
Extra activities
You can also book activities for a fee ranging from $5- $35. There’s a Teddy Bear workshop, masterchef class (bake your own cookies or pizza making), muffin decorating, slime or bath bomb making, lazer tag, a VR Roller Coaster simulator, ice-skating lessons and cocktail tasting for the grown-ups.
My boys took a ride on the Safari Miniature Train with their Dusty Dollars. A short and very exciting toot-toot tour on a cute miniature train took them looking for wild animals planted in the bush.
They were each given spending money to use in the Games Room to play games and try for prizes, unexpectedly winning too!
Planet Chill and Pamper Palace
We were thrilled to give Planet Chill a whirl. Planet Chill is a cool room with a mini ice rink, disco ball and music to skate to, if you can skate. Don’t worry if you can’t, you can grab the plastic penguins like we did to steady our slippy feet. There’s a number of sessions available costing $10 for a child, $20 for an adult, or it’s free to watch but under fives must be accompanied.
Pamper Palace says it all. Offering various options of braiding from $20 and other sessions to enjoy like Mummy Time Pampering Hand and Nail Treatment, Mummy & Me packages and a Daddy Daughter package coming soon.
Top Tip
- Bookings are essential for Pamper Palace and Planet Chill, and activities for a fee
- Check out the schedule on your arrival. Highlight the activities your family would like to do. Book the sessions that require bookings and payments. Set reminders so you don’t forget
- Coming soon – Dusty’s rock climbing wall and an Adults Area
Kids Club
Kids Rule at Kids Club … and there are two Kids Clubs at Paradise Resort. One for 0-3 years and the other for ages 3-12 years. They also have a teen club session. You can book a morning, 3pm or evening session which are three hours long. Each session has a host of age-appropriate fun activities designed just for kids – pyjama parties, arts n crafts, pedal-powered space buggies and disco nights are just some of the fun to be had. We booked into the 3pm session which the boys couldn’t wait to get to, giving us a child-free break for just a couple of cocktails before dinner!
Top tips
- Paradise Resort has a number of packages that include a complimentary Kids Club session when you book direct
- You might not realise how much you might need just a few hours to yourself. Think about booking at least one session if you can
- You can also book lunch or dinner for the kiddies at the club for an additional cost
Eat & drink
At the Resort you can eat and drink till 9pm at Deb’s Pizza Shack, Jerry’s Burgers and Poolside Café & Bar. Or seat at a breakfast, lunch or dinner session at Penguins Restaurant. Deb’s Pizza Shack makes the best Margarita pizza in town (with ham added for us) – it was that good! The top burger for our family was taken out by the Chicken Burger at Jerry’s. Spaghetti Bolognaise took the winning spot at Penguins Restaurant for our kids’ dinner. Prices varied from $16 for pizza to $12 for the kids’ meals and $20+ for adult meals. We had the continental breakfast included in our package and I let the kids have 500 pastries (they would never normally have) and ordered bacon as an extra. The best cocktails were an Espresso Martini and Lime Mojito, if you’re wondering!
Food is served fast. There’s not much waiting around. But while you’re at dinner the kids loved playing at the soft play jungle gym in the foyer which I could see from the dinner table through the glass wall. I think we all seriously need to consider one of these for home.
Top tips
- Mix the continental breakfast with items off the menu
- Take advantage of the soft play jungle gym while waiting for food to be served
- If you want to take a bottle of wine to your room, some cereal or chocolate, some extra milk for tea, an ice cream, buy a towel or a keepsake, there’s Splashes Boutique with those convenient things
Even more things to do
The tram line can take you to Pacific Fair Mall in Broadbeach where you’ll find all the shops you’re probably wanting if you’re looking to take an extra suitcase home full of shopping!
You can always hire a van or a car for your holiday too. A car park is located at the resort for $20 per space per day. Pile into the people-mover and get to Pacific Fair Mall in 20 minutes for that shopping day, where there are five hours of free parking. Twenty minutes in the other direction gets you to the popular retail outlet, Harbour Town.
Village Roadshow Theme parks – Warner Bros. Movie World, Wet’n’Wild, Paradise Country and Australian Outback Spectacular – are about a 30-minute drive. Or further along, is Dreamworld and WhiteWater World.
But if the family want to play closer to home, ride on carnival rides, and learn about sea creatures and their conservation, Sea World is a short 10 minute drive from Paradise Resort.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is about a 30-minute drive to get up close to some incredible Australian animals and learn about wildlife conservation.
Family-friendly holiday
Paradise Resort Gold Coast is in a great central position to stay and play or get out and enjoy all of what a Gold Coast family holiday has to offer. It’s hands-down a super relaxed family-friendly holiday resort, focused on fun with the kids. Every family was friendly and considerate – we were all there for the same reason with the same chip dropping, drink spilling, super loud, super excited kids.
Top Tip
- Be a relaxed friendly-family
Our review family was provided with complimentary accommodation, food and beverages, and activities by Paradise Resort Gold Coast for the purpose of the review. Views are those of the reviewer.
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