Meriton Suites Southport — Hotel in Gold Coast City

Level 36, 1 Bedroom Balcony Suite, Hinterland Views.

Check-in 4* I was quite frustrated that I provided all my details (name, email, credit card etc) on booking, however I had to provide everything again for check-in. They also went to charge the credit card I provided on check-in the full amount instead of just a hold without saying anything. The credit card I provided in the booking was the card I needed charged.. Service was mostly polite. 1 swipe key didn't work. Kept saying "access denied". We spoke to reception, expecting a polite and simple fix. They checked their computer, gave the key back and stated "yes this key works". We had to convince the lady to come test the key to prove it didn't work. Next time, if a customer is expressing an issue, listen and navigate a way to assist.

Lifts 3* You have to scan your keycard to access floors above Lobby, and you can only access the facilities + your floor. Excellent for security purposes. There are 6 lifts and you are assigned 1 when scanning your card and selecting where you want to go. This might seem intuitive but it's not. Any other lift that becomes free you cannot use as there are no floor buttons inside any lift. We waited 20+ minutes for a lift 30 minutes before checkout. Spoke to the people in the lift and they'd waited 30+ minutes. We were ready to checkout at 9.35 however due to the slow and limited lifts, we didn't checkout until 10.25. We were all very unimpressed. Plus it appears at least 1 lift was being used exclusively by cleaners and not the public. And only 4 lifts went to our level and up.

Room - positives 5* Spacious rooms with very reasonable sized living areas, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Bedroom is on the smaller size but still very acceptable. Kitchen fully equipped with all necessary items. TV has ChromeCast in both bedroom and living area. Beautiful views of the mountains. Aircon works well. Walk in shower with a lot of bathroom storage space.

Room - negatives 3* PowerPoint in the laundry didn't work. Bed was hard, even with a mattress topper present. Sheets are AWFUL. We ended up purchasing brand new sheets to use and bring home. We didn't sleep our first night. Biggest disappointment about our trip as it was meant to be relaxing. The sheets are scratchy and stuff. They desperately need replacing. Towels were the same - rough, scratchy and stiff. We asked for a new set of towels and they were the same. They need to be replaced. Pillows were shocking, not comfortable at all. They're all very big and puffy - even too high for my husband. Our friends brought out pillows from home the next day. Showerhead isn't great. Honestly, it needs to be replaced.

Carpark 4.5* Parking was a bit odd - into the Woolworths carpark behind the building (so not at reception..), and drive down several levels to Meriton Parking. We did not encounter any issues locating the parking. We paid for parking on check-in and every entry/exit opened automatically for us.

Location 5* This was the reason for our booking. The location was perfect for the event we attended. Having Woolworths downstairs made for a much easier stay.

We viewed the sauna, gym and pools but did not use. The gym was super basic - don't expect to do much. Pools were sizeable and looked very appealing.

Future stays - BYO sheets,...

I booked Two-Bedroom Ocean Suite for 3 nights and it costs a total of $926 via Booking.com. However, there will be a small surcharge (it was around $16) if you pay with a debit card like I did. It’s situated only 200 metres from the nearest light rail station (Broadwater Parklands). Besides, they do also have the concierge services at the counter.

The front gate of the building is at the back of the building, which means it’s separated from the entrance for Sundale Retail Precinct, where there are Woolworth Metro, Chempro Chemist, a few cafes and restaurants. Moreover, the nearest shopping centre is Australia Fair, which is about one kilometre from here. One of the most popular park, Broadwater Parklands, is approximately 1.2 kilometres away. With that being said, you can simply take the light rail to Southport (2 stations) and walk to both of these places.

Having visited Gold Coast for quite a few times and stayed in Meriton Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, it’s my first time staying in a hotel/apartment in Southport. The check-in day was pretty doomed due to not only the rainy and gloomy weather but also the Wi-Fi login issue and I was allocated to the room 4907 on level 49. However, the Wi-Fi issue was quickly solved because they register my surname as my first name by mistake.

Most importantly, I did request for a southeastern oriented scenery and my request was completely met. In addition, it’s the most incredible room that has ocean view with Marina Mirage and distant obscure islands from the living room and landscape of city, hinterland, and river from the bedroom, respectively. I certainly enjoyed both the sunrise from the living room balcony and the sunset from the bedroom balcony as much as I could. Just love the great superiority of views this room has.

I would also like to share the problems I faced with other than Wi-Fi and how I got through them. To begin with, the room turns out larger than my expectation and there are a total of four TVs, each of them is in the main living room, small living room, and two bedrooms but somehow the TV in the inner living room can’t play anything. You need to connect to the hotel Wi-Fi and scan the QR code on the TV in the main living room to watch it via Google Cast, which is awesome that it can play Youtube videos and I did enjoy much of that. In my experience, the similar problem had already happened to me in Meriton Surfers Paradise last summer. On top of that, if you try to turn on the washing machine or dryer and they can’t turn on, try turning on the switch next to the light switch because that is the main power switch for both machines.

To top it off, if you want to request anything about the room, just do it because they will meet your request. Moreover, proximity to tram station and a versatile shopping precinct on the ground floor make the suites more valuable to stay in. I will definitely come back and stay here next time having a vacation in Gold Coast. Overall, it’s a 9.5 out of 10, one of my favourite hotels...

Wow! What an absolutely brilliant place this Meriton Suites is.

My holiday experience started off with Meriton Suites 5 star looking lobby where I was met by a very professional but so very friendly front counter staff member by the name of Alix. I was arrived earlier than my check-in time so Alix was more than happy to put my bags in storage while I went for a wee stroll around the local area while they completed their final check of my room before contacting me not long after that to say that my room was ready. :-)

They had me on the 48th floor which surprised me as I didn't realise the Meriton Suites building had that many floors. They give you 2 security access cards that gives you access into the lifts/suite floor which is handy if there's more than one person.

When you press your access card against the scanner, your floor is automatically entered (including access to the other building facilities floor such as the swimming pool / gym / spa if you wanted to partake of those amenities). You just press your floor number as confirmation and when you enter the lift, there's no other buttons for you to press because the lift has it automatically programmed. So there's no other lift buttons in the lift other than the open/close/phone for assistance.

I was stunned when I first entered my suite because I was expecting 1 large room with an en-suite attached. But this place is on a different level. I guess this is why the rooms are called a 'suite' because it comes with such huge spaces that it makes my 2 bed rental back in Melbourne feel small :-(.

1 bedroom with a King size bed, en-suite bathroom and balcony, A separate internal lounge with sofa / tv A fully equipped kitchen with fridge/freezer, oven/cook top, dishwasher, 2 sink basin, plenty of counter top space with a breakfast edge A separate dining area on one side with a work desk on the other wall A separate lounge area with 3 seat sofa and 2 single cushion chairs A balcony overlooking the lagoon/beach front And of course air conditioning through out

Surrounding the Meriton are a number of eateries ranging from your normal cafe (for your morning coffee / breakfast selections) to a Woolies supermarket and then restaurants (Vietnamese, Greek, Thai, Italian).

The staff (especially Alix {yes, I'm pushing for her to get a pay rise haha!}) are very knowledgeable with regards to local tourist attractions etc so be sure to chat with them.

I am definitely recommending The Meriton Suites as a suitable accommodation for anyone wanting to visit the Gold Coast for work or pleasure.

I will definitely be returning.

Thank you Meriton Suites (and Alix) for a wonderful stay...