It’s 2019 and hotels just aren’t the same as they used to be. Slowly yet surely, more hotels are adopting experiences and creating their point of difference and here at the towering voco Gold Coast, they go one step further to sweeten the deal – honey included.
This trendy, upmarket hotel is a world first for the newly-established voco chain. The voco is part of a bold new ambition to appeal to modern professionals and liberty chasers by the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) with having a strong focus on creating an overall vibrant experience and sustainability. Enter the beehive.
The check in was swift, simple and sweet. Upon entering what used to be the Watermark Hotel & Spa Hotel Gold Coast, I was treated to honey shortbread baked in-house using the hotel’s very honey from its’ very own onsite beehive. A very notable point of difference indeed.
My receptionist informed me that they would be my host for my stay, adding that extra touch of personalised service and to contact if need be – already from the warm hospitality received, I felt like my host Taylah and I were mates already.
Not long after the sugar rush kicks in, I headed to my room to check out my hive for the weekend.
Recent upgrades have seen the 20-storey hotel give the flick to tired old decor and welcoming the slick – 389 contemporary rooms oozing Scandi flair with its’ bold artworks, funky designer furniture and lush creature comforts; refillable soap dispensers, mounted TV, a sleuth of comfortable pillows and a bed that you can easily fall asleep on. (You can forget that hard mattresses in the world exist!)
After giving myself a grand tour of my Deluxe Ocean View Suite (including soaking up views of the Pacific Ocean), I spotted a small care package in the room. It’s evident that the hotel is keen for you to adopt a sugary diet as a welcome macaroon awaits on the table with a greeting card. I read my welcome card and munched on my macaroon while laying on my day lounge bed. Ah, simple pleasures! Again, this hotel is pulling in all the sweeteners.
The hotel also boasts a sizable outdoor pool, spa and gym for those who want to sweat it out before a coastal swim or to show off their bods at the Gold Coast’s famous Surfers Paradise. Unfortunately, on this trip, I would not be one of those as I was lapping up the hotel too much for the things that would do the contrary to my body…
There are two restaurants on the premise – moderately-priced buffet restaurant Waves and fusion chic dining Clifford’s Grill & Lounge – to help you get over the sugar rush. The former will see seafood lovers giving it the big thumbs up for its bountiful fresh rock oysters and prawns on its dining menu. I gave it the big thumbs for its breakfast buffet, complete with an omelette marker and tropical fruits galore.
Meanwhile, Clifford’s seems to attract those without a watch as sipping on liquid dishes (aka its fabulous cocktails) and feasting on Australian-Asian fusion share plates, both big and small in its lounge dining can morph into an epicure event. (Trust me, I got stuck into two-hour plus sessions that included getting my fork into seared Canadian scallops sitting on dollops of pea puree and sipping on a salted caramel espresso – a cocktail of course!)
A low-key meeting-point in the form of Social House Café is also on premise, giving guests (like myself) that extra modern space for relaxing within the realm of the hotel or as a place to fire up the laptop and plug away. The hotel offers events for guests and members of the public to join along.
With sweets, socialising and sustainability being at the forefront of voco Gold Coast, it’s a hotel hive that you would find yourself happy to nest in.
Photo credit: voco Gold Coast
Julia travelled as a guest of voco Gold Coast and all thoughts and opinions are of her own.