The Le Plunge pool deck at the Cheshire Cat Motel at Palm Beach. Photo / Jack Phillips
Palm Beach is one of Queensland’s treasured holiday destinations, Angela Saurine checks out whether it’s as hot as everyone says
Matty Roberts was riding his bike along the footpath beside Gold Coast Highway when he noticed a “for sale” sign out the front of The Cheshire Cat Motel. Built in the 1960s, the Palm Beach property had been housing tenants during the Covid-19 pandemic and had seen better days. But it was just the project the TV producer - who has travelled the globe making food and travel series with everyone from MasterChef Australia’s Andy Allen to Rick Stein’s chef son, Jack - and his interior designer wife Monique Luchterhand had been looking for. Roberts had grown up just down the road, but the couple had been living in Sydney before deciding to return to Queensland to raise their young family during Covid.
Buoyed by the success of the retro revamp of the nearby The Mysa Motel, the pair set about restoring the motel to its former glory. Each of the six rooms has been uniquely decorated, with individual prints and vintage and second-hand products, while the former manager’s residence at the front of the building has been reimagined as a stylish two-bedroom apartment, The Bungalow. A deck and plunge pool were also added, with palm trees and cacti dotted throughout.
A similar story is being played out across Palm Beach, which lies between Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta on the NSW border, with the suburb experiencing a post-pandemic revitalisation thanks to the many talented Australians who returned home from interstate and overseas.
Read more: What to do on the Gold Coast? Discover the real surfer’s paradise - Burleigh Heads
Around half an hour’s drive south of the skyscrapers of Surfer’s Paradise, Palm Beach’s original blonde brick holiday units and beach shacks are slowly being knocked down and replaced with contemporary apartments. An architecturally-designed hotel with a rooftop pool and in-house restaurant is also set to open in 2025, while hip restaurants, cafes and bars are also popping up.
Perry Scott, who previously ran award-winning Brisbane noshery Lark Food & Wine and the backstage VIP bar at the Splendour in the Grass music festival, opened New York-style diner Scott’s Luncheonette & Bar, also on Gold Coast Highway, in 2021. Take a seat in one of the old-school booths with laminated tables or perch on a bar stool as you nibble on the mouthwatering Philly cheese steak sanga melt, which is made with marinated rib fillet, American cheddar, mozzarella and mayonnaise, which you can wash down with a cold beer or Scott’s signature Splendour cocktail, The Strummer. Named after legendary British musician – of The Clash fame – it consists of vodka, falernum syrup with fresh lime and passionfruit, topped with ginger beer and Angostura bitters.
Lovers of American culture can also get a fix at UE Bagels, which opened in 2020 when owners Mitchell Barling and Emily Hugo had to return from overseas quickly during the pandemic. Its offerings include cream cheese or pulled pork bagels and the delectable S’mores French toast bagel. Neighbouring The Collective is like an upmarket food hall where you can choose from a mix of cuisine, including woodfired pizza from Italian Job, Asian fusion from Unami and burgers, sliders and mac and cheese from Luckie’s Diner. There’s also an uber-cool Mediterranean-inspired rooftop bar, The Lemon Lounge, serving spritzes, sangria and classic and creative cocktails. Try the Palmy Sunset, made with gin, passionfruit liqueur, mango, strawberry, lemon and tonic.
Margaritas are the tipple of choice at stylish Latin American eatery Las Palmas Bar & Restaurant, which offers an interesting array of dishes from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Cuba, with ocean views to boot. Whisky aficionados are also well catered for at The Scottish Prince restaurant and whisky bar, which is named after a ship that was wrecked off the coast.
Read more: In the new world of whiskeys, Australia strives to stand out
Tank Bar & Dining, which opened in 2022, is a craft beer lover’s dream, with 10 rotating brews in a laid-back venue with a menu featuring pork belly bites, cauliflower wings and pub favourites such as fish and chips, pizzas and a hearty cheeseburger.
But it’s not just about trendy bars and eateries. Palm Beach has everything you need for a beachside holiday — a fish and chip shop, an old-school Chinese restaurant and Thai and Indian offerings, as well as yoga and Pilates studios.
You can also grab a surfboard from Action Outdoor Hire and hit the waves, hop on a stand-up paddleboard or in a kayak to explore Tallebudgera Creek to the north or Currumbin Creek to the south, and peruse the Palm Beach Farmers Market, held in the grounds of the local high school every Saturday morning.
Standing with my feet in the sand as I look out at the Surfers Paradise high rises on the horizon as bronzed locals stroll by with their canine companions, I know where I’d rather be.
Air NZ, Qantas and Jetstar fly direct from Auckland to Gold Coast Airport.
The Cheshire Cat Motel is located 200 metres from the beach, around 10 minutes’ drive from Gold Coast Airport. Visit cheshirecatmotel.com
For more information, visit destinationgoldcoast.com
Some domestic regional flights have been affected.