Qantas Club Gold Coast review

On the way home from the Gold Coast to Melbourne, as I had some time left over, I visited the Qantas Club at Gold Coast Airport. Unlike the bigger , major airports, Gold Coast Airport does not have a separate business and Qantas Club lounge. I'll give some pros and cons of my experience there.

Pros:

My boarding gate (Gate 3) was across the lounge so didn't have to allow time to walk, helped further by the fact Gold Coast Airport has a single level for departure gates.

Nice contemporary decor. This is important to me as it shows the lounge is keeping updated

Overview of the lounge

Cons:

My biggest complaint was that the lounge did not have any windows overlooking the tarmac/ natural light coming in, worsened by the fact the lounge is small in size.

Bench seats at the back. Too bad there wasn't a TV.

Limited food selection: It was lunchtime and there wasn't proper meals, only bits and pieces to tie you over. There was various assortments of bread, savouries, dips, salads and toppings for sandwiches.

Breads

Salads and toppings for sandwiches

To sum up my review, if you don't have much time before your flight, come to the lounge , where the time spent can be doing work or checking social media (free wifi). That said, it isn't a place to spend awhile in.

Rating 2.5/5 stars

Sofitel Gold Coast (Broadbeach) Review

For my birthday, I took a trip up to the Gold Coast and stayed at the Sofitel Gold Coast, in Broadbeach. The name “Sofitel” is synonymous with French luxury and elegance. From Coolangatta Airport, it is about a 30-45 min drive depending on traffic conditions. To the beach, Sofitel Gold Coast is about a 5 minute walk.

Sofitel Gold Coast is in a prime location, within walking distance to many top notch restaurants/cafes and shopping boutiques, as well as Woolworths.

Now, I have stayed here before, but when I was much younger , coming back to a refurbished place.

Arriving at the hotel, there is a sweeping entrance, and a spacious , stylish and contemporary lobby that greets you. The lobby has ball like lights hanging overhead, leather seats and is full of incredible Indigenous Australian art . It also has a corner with comfy leather armchairs to sit in and kill time watching TV or reading from the selection of magazines available on the rack. Check in was quick and efficient. My room (#913) was the Superior Ocean View room with Double Beds. There is a lovely balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean, perfect for having a tea or coffee and taking in the amazing ocean views. There’s a sizeable flat TV screen attached to the wall

The bathroom is filled with granite, and comes with Les Notes De Lanvin shampoo, conditioner and body gel products. . There are also other complimentary beauty products.

There are two outdoor pools, the lower which is heated, the upper which isn’t , and a spa. There’s also nice sundeck chairs to unwind and get some sun. Bistro on 3, located just before you get outside to the pools on Level 3, also delivers food and drinks to poolside patrons. I indulged in a nice Pina Colada (lets be honest, who can say no to one) Service was prompt and fantastic. Check out was hassle free as well and I ultimately enjoyed my stay at the Sofitel.

Rating 4/5

The exterior of the Sofitel Gold Coast

The luxurious lobby of the Sofitel

Huge display board of the iconic Eiffel Tower

Decent sized flat screen TV :)

Indigenous Australian art in the lobby

Granite bathroom

Some of the items on offer from the minibar

Qantas Airways: Boeing 737-800 Business Class Review 1/08/2018

I will be reviewing the flight home from the Gold Coast to Melbourne, having stayed in Broadbeach, Gold Coast for 4 days.

My flight with Qantas was at 12pm, and having arrived at 20 to 12, I had some time to kill before boarding Qantas Flight 881. Gold Coast airport has a Qantas Club Lounge, so I went in and snacked on some savouries, before heading to Gate 3 where my plane “Fremantle” / VH-VXN, a Boeing 737-800 , was waiting for me. The 72 strong Boeing 737 Next Generation are the backbone of the Qantas fleet , so it is most likely you will fly on one getting around Australia or crossing the Tasman or South Pacific Islands. I had a dead on 2 hour flight ahead, which is quite short .

We pushed back and departed on time (off Runway 14) which is what you always want. In business class on the 737-800, it is 2-2 configuration, whilst economy is 3-3 configuration. I had aisle seat 1D which I feel is the pick of the bunch because: 1. I had direct aisle access 2. I got served meals/beverages first 3. I was the first on and off the plane and 4. I had no one in front of me. The red leather seats are wide and plush . There are no individual entertainment TV Screens , however there is a centre one stuck to the wall for all to view . In making up for this, there was wifi which did work effectively throughout the flight.

As i left at close to 1pm, the meal to be served was lunch. I had two options for lunch, braised lamb or chicken with rice and a mini cake. I chose the latter. It was a delicious meal which went down nice with white wine originating from “Clare Valley”.

I also thought service was fantastic, with attentive flight crew helping put away my on board baggage to put away in the overhead bins. They also came to refill my wine regularly, and informed other business class passengers with connecting flights where they needed to be for the next flight and what time we would get in, so they could go straight from the plane to the next plane. We landed on time on Runway 27, and got out without delay.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my business class experience with Qantas .

Rating: 4/5

My plane back to Melbourne as QF881

My lunch

My seat 1D