Chevron Renaissance Surfers Paradise – A Review
Nov 14
A couple of months ago, we had a beautiful beachfront holiday on the quiet Palm Beach stretch of the Gold Coast. As a lifelong local of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, I have always opted for the beaches that are off the glitter strip – the “touristy” areas of Surfers Paradise. In fact it had been so long since I had walked along the Surfers Paradise beach or through Cavill Avenue that I actually couldn’t even quite remember what it had to offer. Isn’t that terrible!! People fly in from all over the world to spend time here, so I decided it was time to re-aquaint myself with this very popular holiday destination.
We stayed smack bang in the middle of Surfers in the Towers of Chevron Renaissance. This is a massive resort, consisting of three huge towers, all surrounding a lagoon/barbeque/recreation centre.
We had a 3 bedroom apartment which was plenty big enough for all of us. One of the reasons I am usually hesitant about staying in highrises is that I am paranoid about balconies. However I was so thrilled to find that each balcony door had a safety chain which was positioned high enought to be out of reach of little hands.
It meant we could let in the cool ocean breeze, but not have to be stressing out about the children sneaking out on to the balcony. Could you possibly imagine a better view from your bedroom?
The views were just incredible. Being up high, I felt like we could see forever. There is an amazing energy in Surfers Paradise – everything feels so “alive”.
After seeing the lagoon in pictures, the kids were very keen to get downstairs and have a swim.
The water was lovely and clean with a great little sandy beach entry which meant that Lucy could splash around in the shallow water. It was a very stressful afternoon, with soooo much relaxing to do!
And if you get tired of the lagoon, you can always pop over to the other pool in the resort!
The Towers are right above a gorgeous shopping mall that has many many cafes and restaurants. You will never run out of dining options when staying here!
And with a fully self-contained kitchen in the apartment, and Coles right downstairs, you can also whip up a cheap and easy meal in your room (one night I bought a pizza and garlic bread for all three kids for just $5!!).
The next morning, we wandered out to the beach (just a 2 minute walk), and found a fabulous waterfront buffet breakfast – almost a holiday tradition for us!! It was great to enjoy a relaxed meal and then wander along the beach, checking out the sights that has made this place so famous.
It’s very easy to get tempted by the beautiful shops that are everywhere you look – not sure Louis Vuitton would have been too happy with me bringing the entire tribe in for a quick visit!
With so much flat ground and massive paths, this is the ideal spot to bring scooters or bikes.
You can travel in any direction, stopping whenever you like for a rest, or a picnic under the trees.
The next day, we decided to test our skills on the mini-golf course just around the corner. The funny thing is that the kids did better than us on some holes so they had a brilliant time!
As the sun sets, a glorious light settles over the water. There are so many options when you are staying here – everything is so close that it’s not hard to decide to do fun things on the spur of the moment.
That night we decided to duck downstairs for a special treat – Gelato! Yum yum yum yum yum!
Our little holiday escape went far too quickly. The kids would have been more than happy to spend their days in the lagoon pool, and there were so many more little cafes that I would have loved to enjoy. But I am so glad to have taken the opportunity to discover more of the incredible delights that Surfers has to offer – even for a local!!
The key to it all is the fantastic location of Chevron Renaissance – nothing is more than a stone’s throw away. And the rooms are so spacious and comfortable, it’s easy to just sit back, relax and take it all in.
There are so many room options available, you are sure to find the perfect apartment to meet your needs. I am now very tempted to organise a shopping long-weekend away with “the girls”!!
You can book your next Gold Coast holiday with Gold Coast Holiday Rentals (GCHR) – mention Mummy Smiles for a super special deal! Or check out some of the other fantastic Gold Coast accomodation options that are available on the GCHR website.
I will be continuing to re-discover all that the Gold Coast has to offer, and I’d love to hear your feedback! What do you want to know about Gold Coast holidays? And what do you think would appeal to your family?
Wonderful review Natalie! We stayed at the Chevron Renaissance when we recently made our first ever trip to the Gold Coast. You have made me so sad reading this though, as I feel like we didn’t make the most out of it now! We did absolutely SMASH the theme parks and Australia Zoo though. Those locks up high on the doors are a brilliant idea, we didn’t book through the same place that you did. How fantastic that they think of that, I really found relaxing hard, even though my children knew not to open the doors. Oh I am so hanging to get back to the beautiful Gold Coast. You are very lucky to live a nice driving distance away
Sarah – I am certain you made the most of it. I think many people would do the theme parks, and it’s great you made the drive up to Australia Zoo! We are very lucky – I am realising now how complacent I have been so it’s been fun to explore it all again!
We stayed there the last year and loved it. We had two weeks at the gold coast, and spent one week in another resort a few blocks away. The other resort had more modern apartments, and was much more flash, but you just can’t go past the location of Chevron Renaissance. It was so nice to just be able to wander downstairs to grab some milk at coles, and we became very regular customers at that gelato place downstairs!
I also love hotels with lagoon style pools when you have little children, as they can paddle at the edge and play in the sand without mum or dad having to get fully submerged. Another positive for me was the indoor heated pool as sometimes the lagoon was a little chilly, so it was nice to have the option.
I’d definitely stay there again, and earlier this year when a friend was asking on facebook where to stay, it got my vote – she ended up staying there and loving it too!
Oh no! Now you have made me want to have a holiday! Such happy memories
It’s so funny that you mention Coles and the Gelato place! I felt so spoilt having them right outside our door! I love that you have such happy memories – this is exactly what holidays are all about
i wish i had read this earlier, i just got back from 4 days on the gold coast, i had never been before and i took my 3 yr old (i left the big kids at home with dad) they’ve had enough holidays already.
I had a fantastic time, will definatley go back for another visit, i stayed at the Club Watermark, which was a great location however the pool was not child friendly (no shallow end) and there was not playground. It was a very nice clean hotel though and was fine for 4 nights but next time will go to a more child friendly hotel/apartment.
Lots of very cheap restaurants and beautiful beaches. All in all a great holiday
Jo I am so pleased you had a great holiday- and what a wonderful bonding experience for you and your 3 yr old! There are just so many options for accommodation these days, so it’s often half the fun to try out different hotels and resorts. Maybe next time?
We stayed here on our recent trip to the Gold Coast too and absolutely loved it!
It was so great having bedrooms rather than a regular hotel room, our little guy could have his nap and we didn’t have to worry about waking him up. Eating out is quite tricky for us because of allergies so we were really happy to find somewhere with a kitchen too.
Can’t wait for another Queensland visit!!!
Oh so this is where you stayed!! Great choice! I think bedrooms for the kids are a must – definitely needed for those afternoon quiet times.