The Star Grand – Hotel Review

That famous Gold Coast glitz is on full display at The Star Grand, where ritzy rooms and fabulous facilities lure guests like moths to a flame (or, in this case, a neon light). Where else can you have your pick of some of Broadbeach’s best restaurants and be within strolling distance of an all-hours entertainment precinct? Read on for the full review. 

With high-tech rooms, on-trend speakeasy-style bars and a glamorous rooftop pool, the property captures the best of The Star complex in an on-trend little package that can turn a night (or a week) here into an event to remember.

Where is The Star Grand Gold Coast?

Footsteps from the Gold Coast Light Rail –  a tram service shuttling people to Brisbane via its more northern beach suburbs – The Star Grand is just a 90-minute drive from Brisbane and only 25 minutes’ drive from the Gold Coast Airport. 

What’s near The Star Grand Gold Coast?

Overlooking the buzzy bonhomie of Broadbeach’s entertainment precinct, The Star Grand is nestled within The Star Casino complex – a grown-up’s playground that, as well as keeping the punters happy, glitters with some of the brightest jewels in the region’s culinary crown. Just over the Gold Coast highway is the sparkling Pacific, 300 metres to the east, where the sands of Broadbeach stretch in one continuous line of white towards Main Beach in the north and south to Burleigh and beyond.

Room types

Automatic blackout blinds, button-touch climate control and thoughtful, luxe touches – like a collection of pillows that vary in firmness and height to suit every (sleepy) head –  extend throughout all 596 refurbished rooms. The five-star accommodation options here include seven unique room styles, from the Superior Deluxe Room through to the jaw-dropping Ocean Terrace Suite, an exercise in opulence with a private terrace, nightly turn-down service and Executive Floor privileges that include canapes and drinks nightly from 5pm to 7pm.

Restaurants and bars

Packed with a host of award-winning restaurants, The Star Grand offers nine food destinations. For the city’s sleekest Japanese, Kiyomi –  and specifically its spicy tuna crispy rice – is worth booking ahead for. Harvest Buffet serves breakfast, lunch and dinner (which on weekends is a dizzying seafood extravaganza), while hidden speakeasy Veladora shakes up the best tequila and mezcal cocktails on the coast. Find the red palm tree next to the buffet doors then text the phone number on the tree for entry - the fun and secrecy of it all makes that first cocktail even more delicious. 

Sustainability

The Star utilises a recycled water-management plan created in response to a drought experienced in 2002. A custom, onsite reverse-osmosis water treatment plant treats and utilises wastewater from neighbouring suburbs. 

Travel for work

From a 2300-person event space to the more intimate Isoletto Privé, which holds up to 250 standing guests, there are a stack of options for any event or conference. Fast wi-fi, four independent meeting rooms and state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment make working here a breeze. 

Spa, gym and pool

The Azure Spa and Fitness centre not only offers personal training options, boxing, spin and Pilates, there’s also a decadent menu of wellness treatments. Our pick? The signature three-hour Absolute Renewal Ritual. You’ll also want to stretch out poolside in a cabana - either at the Amalfi-inspired rooftop Isoletto Pool Club at The Star or at The Grand’s main pool and hot tubs.

What you need to know

The dazzling rooftop Isoletto Pool Club was the most-hyped opening on the Coast in 2022 and for good reason: a laid-back lunch spent people-watching from a chic, Amalfi-inspired cabana, house-made spritz in hand, is the perfect end to any day here.

SEE ALSO: 12 Luxury Gold Coast Hotels for a Five-Star Stay