Saturday, June 13, 2009

AU2009 - Gold Coast: Day 3

Today, we met up with our friends from our New Zealand Contiki tour where they took us shopping at Harbour Town before visiting Sanctuary Cove, a gated community in the suburb of Hope Island in the Gold Coast.

 

Luxury waterfront residences

 

Sanctuary Cove provides a completely self-contained residential environment with its own shopping centre and entertainment facilities, with the addition of many of the facilities of a holiday resort, such as boating marinas and golf courses.

 

Boating marina

 

While there, we had lunch at George’s Paragon Seafood Restaurant, claimed to be Gold Coast’s best seafood restaurant, overlooking the pristine waters at Sanctuary Cove marina. 

 

Restaurant overlooking the marina

 

Playing around with the camera while waiting for food

 

Our lunch

 

After lunch, we walked around the marina and checked out some of the boats for sale …

 

Marina

 

… before having dessert at Mövenpick, a famous Swiss premium ice creamery.

 

Ice Creams at Mövenpick

 

Arriving back at Q1 at about 3pm, we bade farewell to our friends before proceeding to QDeck, the observation deck of Q1.

 

QDeck

 

Located on levels 77 and 78, it is one of the world's few beachside observation decks. With a height of 230 metres above the Surfers Paradise beach, it offers viewers a 360 degree view of Brisbane to the north, …

 

Can you see Brisbane?

 

… the Gold Coast hinterland to the west, …

 

The Hinterlands

 

… Byron Bay to the South …

 

Can you see Byron Bay?

 

… and the Pacific Ocean to the east.

  

The Pacific Ocean

 

Check out the video here:

 

Besides the spectacular views, there are also information plates about Q1 below every glass panel in the observation deck.

 

Get to know more about Q1

 

Thanks to the glass panels, we can also clearly look through the glass roofs to check out the clear blue sky.

 

Glass roofs

 

Located on the same floor is also the QBar. 

 

QBar

 

The QBar allows visitors to enjoy coffee and cakes, evening cocktails and live music whilst soaking up the amazing panoramic views.

 

Breathtaking views from the bar

 

Live music

 

Staircase up to Skylight function room on the 78th floor

 

Our cocktail from QBar

 

After sipping the cocktail with the breathtaking views, we head back down to our apartment for a rest before going out again for dinner.

 

Night views of the beach and the resort pool from our apartment

 

I guess when you are in Gold Coast, a visit to the beach is a must. So, with the brightly-lit moon outside, we decided to go down to the beach to check it out, while walking along the beach to the mall.

 

Surfers Paradise beach at night

 

Arriving at the mall through the beach, we then had dinner at Bistro Lamp, a Japanese bistro.

 

Our Okonomiyaki and Teriyaki Chicken dinner

 

Since we could just hop on and hop off any public bus on the Surfside network with our Freedom Pass, we decided to catch the bus to Palazzo Versace for coffee.

 

Entrance of Palazzo Versace

 

The Palazzo Versace (meaning Versace Palace) is a luxury hotel located at Main Beach on the Gold Coast. It is also the world's first Versace hotel, with more Palazzo Versace Resorts planned for Paris, Dubai and two more around the world. Extending the signature label into a landmark hotel, both classical and contemporary designs could be seen in the hotel.

 

Palazzo Versace pool area

 

The interior was also luxuriously designed with a classic elegance.

 

Hotel lobby

 

Lobby bar, Le Jardin

 

Unmistakably, every piece of furniture is also a Versace by itself.

 

Versace sofa

 

Versace cushion

 

Versace vase

 

 Versace table lamp

 

Versace washroom signs

 

Versace taps in the washroom

 

Versace bill holder

 

I guess the only non-Versace items are the serviettes, glasses, spoons and saucers.

 

Ice chocolate

 

Hot chocolate

 

All in all, it was a luxury after meal treat ($6 for a coffee is not really that bad. I am sure Starbucks can be more expensive than that) in a chic, cosmopolitan meeting place fused with the Versace theme.


George's Paragon Seafood Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Bistro Lamp on Urbanspoon

Le Jardin on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

Ethan Mark said...

the pictures are really fantastic to see..really had a fun there....

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