Turtle Beach Resort Gold Coast

We had no trouble finding the resort which is located on the Gold Coast highway at Mermaid Beach. For shoppers the good news is the resort is only a couple of minutes drive from the Pacific Paradise shopping centre (a huge complex including Myers and Target as well as the normal selection of smaller shops but it also features an outside area with activities and rides for the younger kids).

The resort location is not quite as good for beach access as other resorts we have stayed at (such as Kirra Beach and Swell) as it is around 3 or 4 blocks back from the beach and you have the extremely busy Gold Coast Highway to cross as well - families will probably need to drive for beach outings.

The resort check-in was quick and efficient and we were soon winding our way through the huge underground carpark to our room - no problems with parking here. The resort consists of a number of three story buildings arranged around a central area which contains two pools (a lagoon style for family fun and a lap pool for the more serious swimmers), tennis courts, gym, barbeques and a playground.

The buildings have no lifts so the resort is not suitable for disabled access and gives the rest of us a workout carrying the family bags up three flights of stairs! An interesting feature of the resort is a small cinema room where they show movies on a daily basis - we didn't have time for a movie this time but a quick peek looked inviting with very comfortable looking chairs and a large projection screen.

The resort also has a cafe and renovations are now underway to add a pizza bar and a convenience store - although there are a couple within a few minutes walk anyway and quite a few takeaway food options.

The room itself was comfortable with everything we needed but not quite up to the standards of say the Worldmark resort at Kirra Beach. The master bedroom was a bit on the small side so only had a queen sized bed (we purchased a king size bed around 2 years ago and now anything else feels small!) and the ensuite also had a very small shower.

For some strange reason they have put an LCD television in the lounge area that was very small and looked completely out of place - a larger conventional TV would have been much better if they didn't want to put in a decent sized LCD. Similarly the pictures on the walls were also small and out of place (according to my wife who is the expert on these things). Of course none of these were serious problems and the room was definitely functional and comfortable for our short stay.

One thing I did find surprising was when we came to do a small load of washing I discovered there was no complimentary washing powder (again all Worldmark units are supplied with at least one or two sachets) so I had to take a walk to reception and pay $1 to get some.

The walk to reception proved to be a bit of an adventure as the path through the resort is not well signposted (luckily they gave me a map) and for some strange reason you cannot get through the gate to the reception office as the keys they provide only open the gates on one side of the resort (and the reception is on the other side). It seems you have to go out the gate on one side, around the front of the resort and walk to the reception through the main entrance.

By the way don't forget your key when you leave the room as you will need it to get anywhere in the resort as many of the doors are kept locked. Also don't lose a key as they charge a key replacement fee of $100 if you misplace one - actually the list of fees is quite scary and includes a late checkout fee and excess room cleaning fee if the room is left excessively dirty (not sure what they mean by this).

Overall the resort itself was very well maintained with nicely landscaped gardens and all the facilities looked to be in good condition. We didn't have time to try out the pools but there were a few people swimming so I am guessing they weren't too cold.

A longer stay would be necessary to try out all the facilities but for APVC members with kids it is a good option for a Gold Coast holiday. Unfortunately there are only a dozen two-bedroom units available at the resort for members so early bookings are essential as they book out very quickly, particularly in school holiday times.