The Gold Coast’s newest five-star hotel is not where you’d expect

With nine hotels and counting, Mondrian prides itself on carefully chosen locations with cultural heart, its properties created to mirror the area they are ensconced in – a converted wine cellar in Bordeaux and a design-forward hotel in the vibrant Itaewon district of Seoul are among the properties in its portfolio.

The Mondrian has made its Australian debut in Burleigh Heads.Credit:

So it stands to reason that Mondrian’s entry into Australia on Queensland’s Gold Coast isn’t among the skyscrapers of Surfers Paradise, but further down the road at the once sleepy – now thriving – locale of Burleigh Heads, home to a renowned surf break and enviable lifestyle.

Perfectly positioned on the Esplanade, which is lined with brown-brick holiday lets from the ’70s and white towers of the ’80s, Burleigh’s first five-star hotel, just open, is an ode to the area first inhabited by the Indigenous Kombumerri people, who used its distinctive headland to spot fish and turtles for food, and a precious coastline once described by land surveyors as an area of “useless dunes”.

Designed by Melbourne-based architecture firm Fraser and Partners, the undulating profile of the striking 24-floor tower is a reflection of those dunes and headland.

Interiors by California-based Studio Carter and Sydney-based Alexander and Co offer an “easy tactility” that includes handmade tiles, exposed brickwork, leather banquettes, pink marble vanities and solid timber furniture.

Textured interiors and ocean views.Credit: Justin Nicholas

Moody terracotta-toned corridors lead to light and bright rooms of varying configurations, with views of the ocean or the equally appealing ridgeline of the Gold Coast hinterland seen through floor-to-ceiling windows.

At ground level, the discreet check-in area gives way to the breezy and social Lito restaurant and bar fronting the beach. Mediterranean-focused and led by head chef and Italian-born Andrea Morigi, it welcomes locals and hotel guests alike for all-day dining and also does a brisk takeaway coffee trade.

On level 3, executive chef Aaron Teece has returned to the area he grew up snorkelling and fishing in to oversee Haven and its hyper-local menu, which includes hand-picked spanner crab from Brunswick Heads and dry-aged yellowfin tuna from Mooloolaba.

Lito for all day Mediterrannean dining and drinks.Credit: Justin Nicholas

Here, too, on level 3 at the pool club of loungers and private breeze-block cabanas, guests can gaze across to the iconic Norfolk pines and ocean beyond.

Or better still, there’s a spiral staircase down to street level for an effortless dip or walk along the beach alongside others living the Burleigh dream.

Mondrian Gold Coast, 3 First Ave, Burleigh Heads. See mondrianhotels.com/gold-coast

The writer stayed as a guest of the Mondrian, Gold Coast.