5 Queensland family resorts that pamper parents too

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These Queensland family resorts keep kids entertained and adults sane; it’s play time for the children and spa time for the adults…

1. Turtle Beach Resort Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast

2346 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach

 

Just 5 minutes’ walk from the white sands of Mermaid Beach on Queensland’s Gold Coast lives Turtle Beach resort. This tropical haven is celebrated for their apartment accommodation offering with plenty to do for the whole family. 

Family fun

Water babies will love this aquatic playground. Turtle Beach Resort has a waterpark with four waterslides, two toddler slides, a water dumping bucket and cannons. There’s also four separate swimming areas, spas and saunas. Play putt-putt, old-school arcade games, watch movies in the mini cinema and play tennis.

Adult time

When family time is over, check the ankle-biters into the kids’ club that caters to ages four to 12 for some art and craft, Xbox, music and dance, and movie screenings. Meanwhile, check yourself into the day spa, laze around the adults-only pool with cocktail in-hand or head into swanky Mermaid Beach, which is known as ‘Millionaire’s Row’.

2. Paradise Resort, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast

 122 Ferny Ave, Surfers Paradise

 

Renowned as a “Heaven for Kids…Paradise for Parents!", this is the kind of place that will make you never want to leave.

Family fun

Phew! You know the kids will sleep well after an action-packed day here. Paradise Resort has a water park, an ice rink, games room, rock climbing, laser tag, jungle gym, discos, and more.

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Adult time

The kids’ club accommodates tiny tots (aged zero) up to tweens (12 years) and has awesome activities such as a glow-in-the-dark space room, an underwater world, and lots of arts and crafts, including a dedicated painting room. Leave them to find their inner artist and head to the adults’ zone, where there’s a large heated spa and lounging area. Order an in-room massage or head into lively Cavill Ave for a taste of the night life.

3. RACV Noosa, Sunshine Coast

94 Noosa Dr, Noosa Heads

 

RACV Noosa Resort on the Sunshine Coast is surrounded by pristine beaches, rivers, hinterland and national parks.  It offers stylish accommodation surrounded by a conservation sanctuary.

Family fun

We suspect it’s not just the little kids who will love the many different pools (one with a beach-like entry, another with slides and a splash park, a toddler-sized one, and private plunge pools in some of the rooms). Plus RACV Noosa has bicycle hire, tennis courts and a playground.

Adult time

When they’re waterlogged, kids aged four and over can take part in the kids’ holiday program or you can organise a babysitter. Once they’re taken care of make a beeline for the luxe day spa, have a drink at the resort bar, or wander around Noosa’s lovely Hastings Street boutiques.

4. Heron Island Resort Great Barrier Reef

Heron Island

If you love nature, Heron Island is truly a very special place. As a natural coral cay located 72 kms off the coast of Queensland, and situated in the midst of the famous Great Barrier Reef, few places let you explore a fascinating marine ecosystem as Heron does.

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Family fun

Families who love the outdoors won’t get bored with Heron Island Resort’s guided reef walks, birdlife walks, snorkelling, turtle nesting viewing, swimming pool, kayaking, and semi-submarine tours. There’s also friendly trivia nights!

An aerial view of paradise

Adult time

No ordinary kids’ club, the Junior Ranges program offers mites aged between seven and 12 educational, nature-based experiences led by a team of marine biologists. While they’re busy nurturing a respect for flora and fauna, indulge in a spa treatment, enjoy a gourmet beach picnic, play a game of pool, or set sail on a sunset cruise.

5. Novotel Twin Waters Mudjimba, Sunshine Coast

270 Ocean Dr, Twin Waters

 

Located on Queenslands Sunshine Coast, the Novotel Twin Waters Resort is set in tropical gardens surrounding a central private lagoon nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Maroochy River.

Family fun

It’s on for young and old at Novotel Twin Waters waterpark with inflatable slides, runways, segway tours, laser skirmish, arcade games room and family pool.

Adult time

If you can lure them in from the lagoon, Kidz Cove caters to children aged two to 12; they host daily themed sessions in the morning and afternoon, and on Friday and Saturday nights, giving you the chance to head to the Lagoon Day Spa, have a drink at the lounge, play a round of golf, or explore the Sunshine Coast sans kids!

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7 wellness experiences on Hamilton Island for complete rejuvenation

(Credit: Riley Williams)

    Eleanor Edström Eleanor Edström
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    Conjuring calm and active adventure in equal measure, Hamilton Island is a tropical tonic for body and mind.

    Hamilton Island knows a thing or two about indulgence. There are long lunches to linger over, seafood towers to savour and poolside loungers designed for guilt-free idling. But for health-minded travellers wanting to feel energised inside and out, this sliver of the Whitsundays takes wellbeing just as seriously. Think yoga mats rolling out at dawn, kayaks skimming turquoise water, state-of-the-art fitness facilities and spa therapists working tropical magic. These Hamilton Island wellness experiences promise to restore, rebalance and leave you feeling brand new.

    1. E-Mountain biking

    mountain bikers on Hamilton Island wellness
    Follow Hamilton Island’s mountian biking trails. (Credit: Harry Gruttner)

    For travellers with an appetite for adrenaline, Hamilton Island’s new self-guided e-mountain biking experience is worth carving out a morning for. Start at HI Trails HQ, where you’ll be fitted with a full-suspension, pedal-assisted e-mountain bike and given a run-through of a nine-kilometre section of the island’s 25-kilometre trail network. The electric boost makes the ride more accessible (and the climbs more manageable), though an intermediate level of fitness is still recommended.

    As a first-time mountain biker, I start off wobbly – taking my time to get used to switching gears and electric modes – and wonder if I’ve overestimated my coordination. But soon something clicks. Suddenly we’re zooming through pockets of eucalyptus and out onto ridgelines with sweeping views of electric blue waters, catching our breath at hidden bays with barely another soul in sight. More than 70 per cent of the island remains untouched, so witnessing these lesser-explored pockets feels like a blessing. It’s the kind of adventure that leaves you buzzing, accomplished and blissfully tired out.

    2. HI Fitness Club

    HI Fitness Club reformer pilates
    Stretch out with reformer pilates.

    If mountain biking isn’t quite your speed, there are plenty of other ways to stay active on the island. One of the newest Hamilton Island wellness experiences, HI Fitness Club now has 24-hour access, offering a fully equipped modern gym, group classes spanning HIIT to yoga, plus two bubbling spas and a sauna waiting to loosen sore muscles.

    I drop in for a Reformer Pilates class. Each of the four machines has its own mini screen with a wide selection of high-quality virtual classes, meaning I can select one that suits my level and mood that day. Beyond Pilates, the virtual library is like a choose-your-own adventure for fitness enthusiasts: dance, Body Pump, Body Combat and GRIT Cardio are among the options. Or perhaps challenge a family member or friend to a hit of tennis at one of the three courts.

    3. Walking trails

    runners on hamilton island
    Get the blood pumping on a morning run.

    We set out early. By 6:45am, we’re halfway up Passage Peak, the highest point on Hamilton Island and widely considered its most impressive vantage point. From the Scenic Trail Entrance, the viewing platform takes around an hour to reach by foot, with moderate inclines that will get your heart pumping without feeling too punishing. The payoff at the top is immediate. Bush-clad Whitsundays islands scatter across the horizon in every direction, the sunrise brushing the scene with soft melon and gold tones. I take my time soaking up the 360° panorama, remembering how powerful an active start in nature can be for clearing the mind and energising the day ahead.

    While Passage Peak is one of the most popular hikes on Hamilton Island, Flat Top Hill Lookout and the longer Southeast Head Trail are also excellent choices.

    4. Spa wumurdaylin

    Spa Wumurdaylin on hamilton island wellness experiences
    Feel your worries melt away at Spa wumurdaylin.

    In a tranquil treatment room at Spa wumurdaylin, the world disappears. The space is all brown stone tiles, bamboo racks and lush garden views, setting the tone for my Soul Temple treatment. My therapist, Kass, begins with a full-body, exfoliating orange buff sugar scrub that feels divine. Next comes the vertical Vichy shower and underwater massage to knead out muscle knots. The sound of cascading water is reminiscent of a tropical rainstorm, and stress becomes a distant memory.

    It’s a prime example of the transportive power of the island’s spa, where guests can come to reset the mind and loosen tension in the body. The menu spans radiance facials to deep release rituals and mud wraps, all using products from pH-balanced skincare brand LaGaia Unedited. Concluding with herbal tea, I leave in a blissful daze.

    5. Sunrise yoga

    sunrise yoga session at the sundays on hamilton island wellness experiences
    Start your day on the right foot.

    Morning movement doesn’t get more surreal than sunrise yoga on The Sundays’ seaside terrace. As we roll out our mats, morning light spills across Catseye Beach below, turning the water into a sheet of molten gold. But the setting only does half the healing. I match my breath to the rhythm of the waves and feel my body gradually lengthen and wake as instructor Tyla Rae guides us through a slow, mindful flow.

    Available exclusively to guests of The Sundays, this session captures the spirit of wellness on Hamilton Island – immersion in nature, slowing down by the sea, recalibrating both body and mind. To round out the experience, the perfect ocean cool-off awaits just steps away.

    6. Getting out on the water

    people on sup boards at the sundays hamilton island
    Try your hand at a host of watersports.

    Speaking of ocean delights, Catseye Beach’s host of watersports delivers spades of fun and rejuvenation. Glide over the crystalline water in a kayak, test your sailing skills in a mini catamaran, spot schools of fish (and a turtle if you’re lucky) from a stand-up paddleboard, or slip into an underwater wonderland when you snorkel off the beach.

    Out here, the water is so clear it feels like floating in glass, and the green silhouettes of the Whitsunday Islands rise on the horizon. Half an hour on the water here is all you need to reset your entire mood.

    Guests staying at qualia, Beach Club, The Sundays, Reef View Hotel, Palm Bungalows and Hamilton Island Holiday Homes have complimentary access to all these water activities, making it easy to dive right in.

    7. Take a swing

    Dent Island Golf course
    Enjoy incredible views with a swing of golf.

    For others, mindfulness comes from calm concentration – and golf fits the bill to a tee. Designed by five-time British Open winner Peter Thomson, Hamilton Island Golf Club is perched along the scenic ridges of Dent Island. It’s Australia’s only golf course on its own island, making it one of the most scenic golf courses in the world. The experience is suitable for golfers of all skill levels, with spectator bookings also available for those simply wishing to take in the views. Follow the game with a well-earned lunch at the Clubhouse restaurant.

    Find out more ways to unwind in the Whitsundays at hamiltonisland.com.au.