A Broadbeach weekend for two is one of the easiest grown-up escapes on the Gold Coast, and from our front door at Boulevard Towers the whole thing runs on foot. This is a two-night shape: cocktails and dinner on Friday, a slow Saturday building to a degustation and a rooftop bar, then an unhurried Sunday morning. Four venues, all within about a 12 minute walk.
Where do you start a couples’ weekend on Friday night?
Start with a cocktail somewhere that sets the tone. The Roosevelt Lounge on the ground floor of The Oasis is about an eight minute walk from us, a 1920s speakeasy-style bar doing molecular-theatre cocktails, French Champagne and a long gin and whisky list. It is dim, glamorous and firmly an adults’ room, so it is the right first drink of the weekend. Expect to pay mid-range cocktail-bar prices, and arrive before 7pm on a Friday if you want the good seats.
From there, dinner is a short walk to Social Eating House and Bar near the Oracle, a modern Australian room built around share plates and a serious cocktail list. It suits two people grazing across several plates rather than committing to one big main, and the bar seats are a good option if you have not booked. Keep Friday relatively easy, because Saturday is the big one.
What do you do with a child-free Saturday in Broadbeach?
Spend the day doing very little, on purpose. This is the part a couples’ weekend is actually for. The patrolled Kurrawa Beach is 30 metres from our door, so a long morning swim and a walk down the foreshore costs nothing and clears the head. Back at Boulevard Towers, the heated indoor pool, spa and sauna are quiet on a Saturday afternoon while the family crowd is out at the theme parks, which makes them a genuinely restful couple of hours.
Late afternoon, take the beach walk south along the Oceanway or wander the Victoria Avenue shops. Book a dinner table for around 7:30pm and keep the afternoon deliberately loose. The point of the day is to arrive at Saturday night unhurried rather than ticking off a list.
Where is the big Saturday night dinner in Broadbeach?
The Star Gold Coast is about a 10 to 12 minute walk from our door, roughly a kilometre along the highway, and it holds the two best special-occasion tables in Broadbeach. For the showpiece, Kiyomi runs a ten-course Japanese omakase at $175 per person with a two-guest minimum, plated in front of you across the evening. It is the splurge of the weekend and needs booking a week or two ahead.
If you would rather something warmer and less formal, Cucina Vivo does an Italian degustation around a giant wood-fired oven, with an open terrace over the pool, and it sits a price band below Kiyomi. Either way, finish upstairs at Nineteen, the rooftop bar and restaurant on level 19 with an infinity pool and a full sweep of the Gold Coast skyline. A nightcap up there with the lights below is the natural end to the night, and it is a two minute walk from there back into the Broadbeach streets and home.
How do you spend a slow Sunday morning for two?
Keep Sunday gentle. Walk back down to Kurrawa for an early swim while the beach is still quiet, then head to breakfast without rushing. Elk Espresso on Albert Avenue is about an eight minute walk and one of Broadbeach’s most reliable brunch rooms, so it is the easy Sunday pick, though it fills by mid-morning on weekends, so earlier is better.
If you would rather not go anywhere, your Boulevard Towers apartment has a full kitchen and a private balcony with ocean views, so a slow breakfast in your own space with the doors open to the sea is a fine way to end a weekend for two. Check-out is a relaxed 10am, and reception can arrange a later departure if no one is checking into your apartment that day.
Broadbeach weekend for two: your questions answered
How far is The Star Gold Coast from Boulevard Towers?
About a 10 to 12 minute walk, roughly a kilometre along Broadbeach Boulevard and Gold Coast Highway from our front door. It is an easy stroll home after dinner, or a two minute taxi if you have made a big night of the rooftop bar. No car needed for the whole weekend.
Do you need to book restaurants in Broadbeach on a Saturday night?
Yes, for the marquee rooms. Kiyomi and Cucina Vivo at The Star book out on Friday and Saturday nights, so reserve a week or two ahead. Roosevelt Lounge and Social Eating House take bookings too, though a couple can often find a spot at the bar on a quieter night.
What is the Kiyomi omakase and how much is it?
Kiyomi at The Star runs a ten-course omakase for $175 per person, with a minimum of two guests, so it is built for couples. The chefs plate it in front of you across the evening. It is the special-occasion choice of the weekend and worth booking well ahead.
Is Broadbeach walkable at night?
Yes. The Oracle and Oasis dining precincts, The Star and the beachfront are all lit and busy after dark, and everything sits within about a 12 minute walk of Boulevard Towers. The area is well populated on weekend nights, so a walk home after dinner is easy and pleasant.
The reason a Broadbeach weekend for two works so well is the geography: a glamorous cocktail bar, a degustation and a rooftop nightcap all sit inside a short walk of a quiet, ocean-view apartment. When you are ready to plan yours, book direct with us for our best rate, and see our one bedroom apartment for the couples’ pick with a wrap-around balcony.
Image credit: Philip Mallis, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
