Suite Spot: Mondrian Gold Coast is an Australian Twist on the Californian Dream

First Impressions

Approaching Mondrian Gold Coast, Burleigh Heads’ new five-star hotel, you’ll first spot its pair of glass towers. The southern of these boasts a traditional rectangular form, containing rooms for hotel guests, while the northern one is a residential building with a comparatively bulbous profile.

As the street-level architecture comes into view, it offers a clearer sense of what the hotel’s all about. With a white concrete facade featuring soaring arches and punctuated by a variety of vegetation, including palms and Monstera Deliciosa (otherwise known as the Swiss Cheese Plant), it evokes a charmingly laid-back Californian air. This is fitting given that the Mondrian brand was first established in Los Angeles in the mid-‘90s.

Strolling under the arches and through the entryway’s glass sliding doors, I was greeted by the warm staff who promptly provided me with my room key, advised on guest parking (provided in the underground parking lot), gave me a rundown on the local area, and just generally made me feel very welcome. I found this to be the case throughout my stay; you can often sense when the politeness of hotel staff is barely masking their deep feeling of being, well, over it (and who can blame them, really?), but I found Mondrian Gold Coast’s staff to be consistently and authentically kind and accommodating.

The Suite

My 14th-floor, one-bedroom suite was a meticulously appointed and generously proportioned home away from home. Far larger than the “one bedroom” would suggest, it featured oversized living, dining, and bedroom spaces, and a full-sized kitchen with all the amenities you’d expect to find in your own home (although, I imagine few of our homes match it for polish and style). As for the bathroom, it was beautifully realised in soft pink hues, with dual basins and a cavernous shower with an excellent rainfall showerhead that largely made up for the absence of a bath.

Both the living and bedroom spaces featured balcony access and that million-dollar view of the Pacific. The living room was decorated in a fashion very much aligned with the Californian aesthetic; furnishings in shades of stone and terracotta, while a large cactus provided the perfect accent. Tastefully restrained yet far from lacking character, the space allowed for the sparkling ocean outside its floor-to-ceiling sliding doors to remain the star of the show.

Organic curved shapes featured heavily across much of the living room’s furniture, a trait that carried over to the bedroom, allowing the spaces to feel linked while remaining well-defined as separate rooms. Further, televisions were mounted in both spaces. These were modest in size, but if you were to spend much time using either, I’d say you’re probably squandering your visit anyway.

Food & Drink

If time squandered is an outcome you’d like to avoid, allow me to suggest a visit to either of the hotel’s restaurants. I first tried LiTO, located on the ground floor. With its contemporary take on Italian fare, you can drop by for lunch or dinner and expect bold, seasonal flavours and a warm atmosphere. It also proved the ideal place to grab a pre-beach breakfast (I can recommend both the bacon-and-egg focaccia and the wood-fired beef meatballs), or you can simply order a coffee and go.

As I walked through the lobby and into the restaurant for dinner, the bright rays of sunlight that had spilled through its enormous windows a few hours earlier had been replaced by moody lighting that matched the restaurant’s soothing, low-voltage hum of activity.

Perusing the menu, I selected a number of dishes (truth be told, I overordered, but I like to be thorough). The undisputed highlight of these was the porchetta. Made with Bangalow sweet pork, sage, and garlic, it was rich and hearty with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and I missed it once it was gone. I paired the pork with the potato al forno, seasoned with confit garlic and rosemary, as well as the jumbo asparagus with pickled eschalots, goat’s curd, and parmesan. While I enjoyed both, I imagine the latter won’t be for everyone, as it was served cold.

I also tried the wood-fired whole calamari with trapanese pesto and smoked almonds (outstanding!), and the Byron Bay burrata, which was my favourite side of the evening. Finally, I ordered the lamb ragu saffron pappardelle. Disappointingly, it was quite dry, but the preceding dishes left me so satisfied that this provided a welcome excuse not to overindulge further.

Where LiTO offers the kind of warm, communal environment that’s the perfect backdrop for an Italian feast, Haven has a more beach-casual atmosphere, perfectly soundtracked by distant waves crashing. With a leisurely view out over the hotel pool, it’s a great place to crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy a few small plates made using local produce from sea and land.

Having somewhat overdone my calorie intake at both LiTO and my friends’ wedding, I took it a little easier at Haven and simply ordered a pair of wood-fired scallops and a pizza adorned with Ballina prawns, nduja butter, and Aleppo peppers. I can firmly recommend both. The scallops were paired with chilli and garlic (at the risk of sounding like a glutton, I could have eaten several more), and the pizza offered fresh flavours and a welcome touch of heat on the palate. Reclining in a booth and watching the early afternoon sun creep around the pool, Haven’s laid-back atmosphere made this meal the most leisurely of my time away.

Whether you’re a local or simply paying the Gold Coast a visit (as a Mondrian guest or otherwise), I would suggest adding both LiTO and Haven to your list of dining destinations. In terms of menu and atmosphere, the former is a better fit for those with kids in tow, but no matter the makeup of your party, you’ll be warmly accommodated. Put aside between AUD$150 and AUD$200 as a couple, and you’ll eat well at either. Naturally, if you’re enjoying drinks, you can expect the bill to climb steeply.

Pool & Gym

Before departing Mondrian Gold Coast, I couldn’t overlook visiting the gym facilities and the hotel’s pool. I decided to build up a sweat first, so I headed into the bowels of the hotel and found a small but well-equipped gym. It featured a wider range of equipment than I’ve often found in hotel gyms (these frequently feel like an afterthought or are merely filled with a row of treadmills and little else), and while I did find myself waiting for a couple of pieces of equipment, all too often the machines you’re after are not even provided, so I call that a win.

I should also note that, alongside the gym, Mondrian offers the CIEL Spa, but time did not allow me to take advantage of its services. According to the Mondrian Gold Coast website, it offers “touchless treatments designed to harmonise the body’s energy, enhance vitality, improve quality of rest, and support regeneration at a cellular level.” I hope to discover precisely what that means next time.

The Mondrian Gold Coast’s pool was more my speed anyway, so I set up camp on one of the surrounding sunbeds with complementary towels. From there, I ordered a drink from the nearby bar and sat reading until it became absolutely necessary to seek refuge from the Queensland heat in the deep end. This process, on repeat, made for a perfect afternoon.

Before we wrap up, I should address one small gripe. Accessing the pool, gym, and restaurants could take longer than it reasonably should, as the elevators seemed overburdened on several occasions. This appeared to be due to an influx of people visiting the restaurant bars who weren’t necessarily guests at the hotel. On a handful of occasions, there was a wait of up to 10 minutes for an elevator, which is longer than it sounds and could be frustrating when all you want to do is get back to your room to wash off the sand. I suspect there may have been a minor elevator malfunction during my stay, so I’d say this would be the exception rather than the rule, but it’s worth noting.

Who’s Mondrian Gold Coast For?

While there were certainly families present at Mondrian Gold Coast, I feel it’s a stay that’s better suited to couples looking for a romantic weekend away or groups who like the idea of spending a week splitting their time between the beach and the bar.

The rooms and the rest of the hotel are decorated in a way that will be appreciated by those with a taste for subtle sophistication, while the menus of both restaurants offer an elevated selection without veering into snobbery. Families should note there are no kids’ menus, so little ones might need to be in an adventurous mood.

Essentially, anyone looking for an escape with a touch of luxury will find that this spot ticks all the right boxes.

The Verdict

Mondrian Gold Coast deftly pairs a taste of California with one of Australia’s most iconic pieces of coastline. It’s the perfect spot to watch the sun rise over the Pacific, enjoy a poolside cocktail, or explore deliciousness in a wide range of forms.

The hotel’s design, which balances a strong sense of character with a certain restraint, feels cultured in a way that’s reflective of the evolution of the Gold Coast itself. Once little more than a tourist playground, the Gold Coast has slowly transformed itself into a sophisticated cosmopolitan city, and is now the kind of place where a high-end hotel like this can feel right at home.

In that light, Mondrian Gold Coast is easy to recommend. With studio rooms starting from around AUD$550 per night, it’s a luxury stay: stylish, comfortable, and welcoming in equal measure. As a place where today’s good times and tomorrow’s fond memories can be conjured with ease, Mondrian Gold Coast offers a California-tinged getaway I hope to experience again.

Disclaimer: The author of this article, Rob Edwards, stayed at Mondrian Gold Coast as a guest of Mondrian Hotels for this review.