Couran Cove Resort Gold Coast
Readers Reviews
Fiona
October 2007
We had four nights with our 3 & 5 year olds and found it a highly suitable resort. The kids' pool is brilliant and the ease of riding everywhere was enjoyed by all. Eating out is not a highlight as nothing other than the pizzas is pitched at families with young children. Yes, there are buffets but to spend close to $100 for a half hour dinner (restless kids!) is a bit much. The boardwalk cafe quality is poor and their lunch menu would have been more suitable for us for dinner. We cooked for ourselves a couple of nights but the kitchenette facilities in the marine suite are minimal. The two room suite worked very well for us and was clean and modern. Although the lagoon water level was low, and hence the outlook was not as picturesque as the brochures, kayaking was fun. We found the leisure areas a touch run down but we still had many activities untried. Great playground. Great pristine beach. We must have hit the jackpot with mozzies - no bites, no repellent for the whole trip! We'd readily return.
L Smith
September 2007
Obviously a lot has changed since last reviews in 2003, my husband & I plus our 4 1/2 year old arrived to an appallingly dated room (not to mention musty smelling) overlooking a 'cove' dirtied by boat engine oil, etc. Due to the fact that many staff had been recently 'let go' the service was very slow, the staff were trying to
do their job but under extreme pressure, we moved rooms and tried to enjoy our stay - but that was not to be, on the first day we hired bikes and rode down to the beach planning on catching the 'scheduled' buggy train on the way back as our little boy would be tired - after waiting 1/2 hour it did not arrive, when we finally
rode back (5kms) we were told that 'oops' it doesn't always run on the times shown in the 'train stops' at the moment - not all restaurants/cafe's were open, the kids club had cut down most of their activities so in the 5 days we were there we could only make use of 1 spotlighting adventure at night - there was nothing else
planned despite them advertising other activities (they were all cancelled, which you were only advised on when ringing them to book). Whilst you are always captive on an island the prices for the restaurant food was
exorbitant for the quality of food and the lack of service - we won't be going back unless they have a major makeover
Kaylene
October 2003
We stayed with our 2
children on Couran Cove for 5 nights in a Marine Suite at the end of October
2003. We found it an excellent family resort as there was so much to do here. It
was perfect for a family of 4 as we had our own King size bedroom & the kids had
sofa beds. In house movies were a great option at night & family/kids movies
were only $6. We hired bikes to get around as the general store & laundry were
located at some distance from our room. Although we ate out every lunch &
dinner, there is a kitchen in your room but I would recommend a grocery shop
beforehand as the general store prices were a bit over the top. We enjoyed The
Restaurant for dinner. Great service and delicious menu. The poolside cafe was
great for lunch snacks & light dinners. However, a little disappointed with the
Boardwalk Cafe as we found the dinner menu very limited. The Surf Beach Cafe was
closed weekdays & only open on Sat/Sun. Our children (7) & (10) highly enjoyed
the "Kids Club". We were fortunate to be there for Halloween & they had a great
time dressed to thrill Trick or Treating! There were plenty of activities to
keep them amused. Mini golf, trampolines, basketball, baseball batting cage,
tennis, gymnasium, high jump, long jump & running track, adventure playground,
rock-climbing, beach volleyball, bocce, golf driving nets, games room & canoes.
We paid for an hours fishing in calm water with Ray the local fisherman. He took
us to one of his spots in his boat & were successful in catching 2 decent size
whiting. The Restaurant then cooked it for our son for dinner that night. They
charged $15 & it was absolutely beautiful. We also took a champagne sunset
cruise which was a great way to end the day. I would highly recommend it and it
is such a great break from the busy Gold Coast. Do what we did & spend a few
night on the GCoast & catch the ferry to Couran Cove for a relaxed holiday!!!
Amanda
June 2003
David Richardson's review was certainly very accurate of this resort - it was great. The service,
accommodation and activities are all first class. The bike riding is a
highlight, and a great way to get around. We stayed for 8 nights in June 2003 in
a Marine Deluxe room for $200 night through travelonline.com but chose not to
use the meals package. 2 adults and our almost-3 year old spent about $100 day
on food, including snacks from the general store. BTW there are cooking
facilities in the rooms, if you get bored with the gourmet food on offer!
On top of all the wonderful things there are to do on the island, there was also the opportunity
to soak up some of the Surfers Paradise atmosphere, and this was the big bonus
for us. Choices, choices, choices! We took a day trip to Surfers for Shopping,
and the resort organised a fully-cheaffured trip to Dreamworld.
Being winter it wasn't really beach or pool weather, though we did do both and the kids pool was great.
Heated just enough for winter swimming, and the depth nicely graded from 30cm to
90cm. Our almost-3 year old spent most of her time between the 60cm and 90cm
section. The mosquitos weren't such a problem for us; they were really only out
after dark, and mainly in the rainforest area, but with the cool evenings we
tended to be dressed in long pants anyway. Being pregnant I didn't use the repellant offered by the resort, and only got bitten twice for our whole stay.
The rainforest is definitely worth putting up with a couple of mozzies!
All up it was a great holiday, and I'd recommend it to everyone. If you get bored here, you'll get
bored anywhere. The only downside was having to leave our bike ride-everywhere,
fun-filled patch of paradise.
David Richardson
March 2003
My family stayed at Couran Cove Resort for 5
nights during March 2002. We found the resort to be excellent and that it was a
most enjoyable holiday. The whole layout of the resort is excellent (very
environmentally friendly) and facilities and service to be of a very high
standard. Have a look at their website to see the full range of activities.
(They boast as having the most free activities in Australia at a resort - 33 in
all). We stayed in one of the eco lodges and had a meals package which proved to
a excellent combination. We booked a package thru sunlover travel and the
accommodation and meals package, and free kids club sessions for under 12's came
to just under $400 per day for 2 adults and 3 children. If we paid normal prices
it would have been $555 per day. I would recommend the meals package as there
was more than enough food available with a choice of 4 outlets. The only trap
was that the surf beach cafe is not open Mondays or Tuesdays.
We basically went to the beach in the mornings
and the pool in the afternoon and fitted a few activities around this. Two of
the children attended the kids club and they enjoyed this and the range of
activities. I would recommend booking activities one day in advance as even
though it was not overly busy when we were there we missed out on the sailing
due to bad weather in the afternoon (if I had booked the day before I would have
been able to get a morning session when the weather was good).
We stayed for 4 days and didn't find enough time
to do all of the free activities. There is also a great range of other paid
activities to choose from.
There are no laundry facilities in the rooms (to
save water) and only limited hanging space. Beware of the mosquitoes as my wife
ended up with over 80 bites on her legs despite using sprays.
One of the highlights was that you can hire bikes
(actually I think it essential) to ride around the island. Our lodge was 0.5 km
from the main facilities and 1.2 km to the beach and walking or using the free
train would have restricted us in our movements, or you waste too much time
waiting fro the train or walking. It is great to ride around to facilities
especially with the kids - they thought it was great. We even rode to the surf
beach cafe at night for tea as the roadway is well lighted after dark.
For fans of the movie Jurassic Park there is a
interesting feature to the island. My 13 son loves the movie and the gas fired
power plant on the island is set in the rainforest quite close to the road -
when you go past it emits a humming noise and has a smell of gas - it looks just
like some of the scenes from the Jurassic Park movie. I joked with my son that
if he entered the building he would find some dead bodies and a couple of
Raptors.
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