Sands Turtle Beach Resort Gold Coast
Readers Reviews
Renee
July 2010
Absolutely fabulous place to stay!!! Highly recommended for families, the apartments surround pools, tennis courts and playgrounds. Lush green tropical gardens all thru the resort, making it feel like your in a rainforest. The only thing i was dissapointed in , the apartments arent serviced, so you need to do it yourself. But they have a washing machine, dryer, vaccum cleaner, mop + bucket, clothes airers, brooms in each apartment. We stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment, which has an upstairs with the 3 bedrooms plus an ensuite and a bathroom. Downstairs was another toilet, handy when you have a big family. The rainforest cafe was OK, we only ate there once, i didnt think it was well priced. The woodfire pizzeria was really nice, they were ok priced but the service and surroundings make it a really enjoyable experience to eat there. Staff are friendly and helpful. Its very close to Pacific Fair shopping centre and around 25-30 mins from seaworld. Highly recommend hiring a car to get around but there is a bus stop directly out front of the resort. Its
extremely secure place to stay, you need a security card to get into the resort, the carpark and your room, making you feel very safe.
Sid
March 2007
We had a fantastic stay. We were in unit 204, a ground floor unit opposite the pool but far enough to be away from the noise - ideal location. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the beach was only a short walk away. Cant wait to go back.
Tanya Watts
August 2007
Great place to stay with kids. The staff are very friendly and caring. Can't wait to go back again. Close to beach and all main attractions. Rooms, Pools and BBQ area's all clean and well maintained. Cafe food is great and not too pricey!
Thankyou for a wonderful holiday!
The Jacobs Family
January 2007
What a sensational time !! Firstly we booked through B Accommodated who seem to manage some apartments there and therefore we did not need to use the onsite management for check in, etc. This did not hinder our experience, and may have actually been better as minor issues were resolved quickly with a call to B.
The kids (7, 5 and 1) all loved the pools - we tried them all. The resort was packed but you never felt crowded as you just chose a different pool each time. Waiting for a BBQ was understandable, but if its an issue, eat earlier.
We had a ground floor, 2 BR apartment at the back - it was clean, fairly quiet and there were no major issues. We had a hire car so the location did not matter - it was 5 minutes in the car to Pacific Fair or to friends. The undercover security parking was great.
I'm trying to book for next summer but its already booked out - that's how good it is. Truely great for kids of all ages, and parents as well.
Sue
October 2006
We stayed at this great resort again this year {this being our third time} and again was not disappointed. Our 5 year old just loves Turtle Beach and always says when can we go back? The staff are friendly and very helpfull. I arrived at the resort with my 5year old in tow at midnight after travelling from New Zealand, my day started at 9am, and there to met us was the night guard who took all our luggage up to our second story appartment turned all the lights on and checked the place to make sure all was in order before he left he did ask there was anything else we needed and to ring if we needed anything. Our time spent here was just wonderfull and in 2007 when we go back our friends and their 2 children are coming with us and im sure they are going to love it just as much as we do. I must point out that we go it is Indy week and we seam to hang around the resort while the males go to the car racing and always find lots to do {or in our case little to do} with there being a few food places over the road and the cafe at Resort we don't have to go far to find something to eat. The rooms we find to be of good size and clean. With the added bonus of being able to book all theme parks and any other attractions we want to see also they do your transfers the hassle out of having to wait in line at the place you go to. Would recommend to any one who has a family and difinitely recommend to spa and health club to any mum. Can not wait to go back counting down the months as is our girl. SEE YOU SOON :}
Suzanne
November 2005
We stayed at Turtle Beach in November 2005 and have very mixed feelings
about the resort.
THE Good: The pools were great and the landscaping was beautiful. The
resort looked great and the apartments were quite nice. We had a very modern
kitchen. They supplied a clothes airer in the bathroom, which was handy for
drying our clothes.
The Bad: the location didn't really impress me- it was on the highway,
not on the beach side! you could walk to a few restaurants but we found them
a little expensive.The ceiling fans only worked on high which sounded like a helicopter
taking off above your head.
BBq's- not enough- you had to just about sit in line and watch someone
cook to claim it after them- its a good way to meet people- but you had no
way of cleaning off their fat afterwards unless you had your own paper
towel!
If you like a bit of a sleep in - forget it! other people's kids got up
at 6am and the parents took them for a walk and run outside. They talk
loudly and they run through the hallways- the paper thin walls let you hear
every detail!
The best part of the trip was when....we got up in the middle of the
night for a glass of water and we discovered 5 gigantic cockroaches in the
kitchen. We were shocked- they were running all over the benches, all in the
cutlery draw and crockery cupboard. This was a huge let down for our
holiday- The staff really didn't care as they are very common in resorts
with palms and lots of bark chip ground cover!
I would definitely request a 1st floor unit to get away from the
cockcroaches!! We had to wash all our dishes etc and keep everything wrapped
in plastic bags- We had to buy surface spray and every night they kept on
coming! We really freaked when one was in our kettle!! The pest control man came out and squirted around but he said you just
cant keep them out!! Quite a few other visitors had them too!
* My advice: stay somewhere cheaper- you just need a great pool as you
are out all day and don't need somewhere expensive to sleep. I would rather
stay Mari Court or Diamond Beach which are very family friendly and cheaper
too!!
Kurrawa Surf club was a lovely place to dine especially out on the
balcony! treat yourself to a few meals out rather then spending it on an
expensive apartment!!
The Baty family
November 2005
What a awesome resort!!! we have just had 10
wonderful nights with 2 very active boys (10 & 7) and can say with all our
hearts that we would stay here again!!!!! Its safe and clean, the rooms are
great plenty of space (2 bathrooms) good kitchen with all you need - go to the
supermarket and stock up on snacks etc Kids are always starving after non stop
swimming - we could sit back and relax with a drink after a long day at the
theme parks or sit in the Spa and the Kids just played in the pools until
bedtime - we will recommend this resort to all our friends for a great family
holiday!!
The Sedlar family
We have just returned from our third stay at
Turtle Beach Resort in Gold Coast's Mermaid Beach which only cost us $745 for 7
nights for a 2 bedroom, ground floor apartment. The apartments are privately
owned and have different layouts, some being more spacious than others. This
time we stayed at Mark 2 in which the pool/playground area are in the central
quadrangle, ideal for our 3year old and 1year old. This resort originally
appealled to us because of the "self-contained" concept. However, this time we
found the beds to be very worn (springs kept "springing" at night), kitchen with
mismatched crockery, broken utensils and no frypan! Fortunately, our apartment
was carpeted - a must with little bare feet, though they are slowly replacing
all the carpet in the ground floor apartments. The sofabed/couch was pretty
grubby and uncomfortable. We think the resort is over 5 years old now with some
updates/refreshers needed. You can hire a DVD player for the kids for $40 per
week. Nights can be quite boring for the little people so pack activities for
them. There were no spare blankets and the linen provided for the baby portacot
was inadequate and it took some convincing to get an extra blanket for the baby.
Most of the staff are obliging and very friendly. The computer system (or use
there of) is pretty poor in that we had prepaid our stay on arrival and were at
checkout asked to pay for our stay again. They extended our checkout to 3pm for
an additional $50, but couldn't confirm this until 5pm the day before our
checkout which had us nervous with 2 little people in tow. The gardens are
immaculate with ground staff constantly cleaning and pruning. The spa situation
is a little different and whilst we were there, it broke down almost every 2nd
day. (There should also be a NO Children after 6pm in the spa policy, as other
people's children would use it as a pool so you couldnt have uninterrupted R&R
in the spa without some kid throwing a ball at your head!). The apartment walls
are quite thin so you will hear people moving about, opening doors and using the
loo above you which can be a bit frustrating. It wasn't so apparent on our first
visit, and you have to go outside to use your mobile phone as reception is
marred by the concrete in the ceilings. The cafe is quite good with reasonably
priced basic meals, but it is only open during meal times. The staff are very
friendly and accomodating. As too are the masseur and beautician - you must go
and pamper yourself and they're very reasonably priced too. Though be prepared
to be ripped off by the local take away shops, (we paid $30 for 2 large pizzas
on the night we arrived). By far our biggest tip is to take a cab ($8 one way)
to Coles supermarket at Pacific Fair, stock up on your groceries for the week
and save a packet! Make sure you buy toilet paper, coffee, sugar as the resort
sells it for much more. (We met a family from NZ who didn't know about the Coles
supermarket and spent $1100 on takeaway for the week!!!!!!) Avoid catching the
bus as most of the drivers are rude and disrespectful to families with babies
and strollers/prams. The security at Turtle Beach is awesome, with a security
guard patrolling the grounds at night and gates and security doors during the
day. We really feel safe there. Although it is a little removed from the city of
Surfers, it is a location which is much quieter, particularly during the day and
not surrounded by many highrises, but wide open spaces. Thrifty will bring hire
cars to the resort and collect them from there which is such a bonus for your
day trips, the rates are good too. The reception can arrange this for you which
makes it so easy. The beach across the road is so clean and not as busy as in
Surfers. The views are breathtaking. Our children loved it and so did we. We
would certainly recommend TB to families seeking a great time on a budget and
give it a rating of 7.5/10.
Joanne
December 2003
We have just returned
from a stay at Turtle Beach Resort on the Gold Coast and what a pleasure it was.
With a five and nine year old this was kids heaven. All families and not one for
the honeymooners. It is also one of the cleanest resorts we have ever stayed
both inside and out. The layout is great with excellent pools and other
recreational activities. The resort also offers two reception desks during the
day to relieve congestion with checkouts and tour bookings. Although west of the
highway we did not find this a problem at all. It only took two minutes to the
beach and Broadbeach itself with the huge Pacific Fair shopping centre only a
short walk away. There is a small cafe onsite which serves all meals if required
and there are shops just outside the complex with a full array of shops across
the road including a convenience store, bottle shop and restaurants of all
value. We were also able to book all tours from the reception desk which also
offers a refund if the weather is inclement. Inside our two bedroom apartment
was all the mod cons and it was spotless. The kitchen in particular was stunning
with all stainless steel appliances. We stayed in a ground floor apartment in
Turtle Beach Two and it was perfect. These units look out onto two pools, the
kiddies playground, tennis courts and BBQs making it was effortless for the kids
to enter and exit the apartment. Also the resort is fully gated so if little
ones escape they can't go far. The afternoons were particularly enjoyable when
people return from their day tours. The BBQs are cooking and the kids are all
swimming with the adults enjoying some cool drinks. My nine year daughter is
extremely shy but it still only took her ten minutes to make friends. The resort
usually offers a movie in the cinema nightly however this was not available at
the time of our holiday. Nothing bad to say and we will look forward to
returning to Turtle Beach Resort in the future.
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