Guest reviews Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast

by AlessPickings Greenwich, Australia

An Ageing Icon

Given the glorious aesthetics, even the short wait in the lobby for check-in felt like part of a museum tour. However, when we got to my room, I called the bell desk about our bags. Then I waited, and waited, and waited…. The rooms are definitely showing their age. The furniture looks a little dated and I noticed lots of dings and chips on the dresser and the bedside table. Another sign of the ageing room — not enough easily accessible outlets. I had to move the bedside table to get to an outlet so I can charge my phone overnight. Food service via pool...shocking.

by patriciaw9 Melbourne, Australia

LOVE THIS HOTEL

We loved Palazzo Versace hotel we stayed for 5 nights in March and cannot wait to go back. Our room was excellent with juliette balcomy overlooking the pool and resort. Service was excellent. The buffet breakfast was amazing with great choices and the seafood buffet was very good. The speciality restaurant was one of the best dining experiences I have had and the food being superb. Will visit every year. The Marina shopping complex is right next door with some restaurants on the marina. Loved it.

by 155manikm

Poor service, poor hotel, poor experience - do not recommend

We were excited to go to the hotel to celebrate a special experience. It was January 2020. Their description and boast of 5 star is extremely misleading. It is everything but 5 star. We booked the Superior Suite with breakfast and also booked a Cabana separately. Where do I begin? It was one of the most disappointing experiences of my travel life. On arrival, no-one greets you at the door. You have to unload your own bags. Not a great start. Then, the room is not ready. So we wait in the Le Jardin Cafe in the lobby. We ask some questions about the menu, drinks, wine and food. No-one has any idea. They read the menu back to you as their guide to inform of you of their offering. The room, when eventually ready, was grubby, bathroom was not clean (honestly, the toilet had not been cleaned, which I cleaned myself), there was no power in half of the suite (which was fixed the next day after I complained and was advised that their switch had tripped in their mains room, sorry!), no hot water (had to have cold showers - they advised their hot water system was broken for that afternoon and evening), iron board was ripped, bed sheets were torn, I asked for restaurant menus to be sent to the room, they did not arrive, booked a table at Vanitas (which table was not ready at the allotted time - even though no-one was in the restaurant), food and drinks was overpriced as the hotel does not deliver the service you would expect for that price bracket (I have stayed in many, many 5 star hotels around the world and do not mind paying the prices where the service is on par - no, not here). The interior walls and exterior walls are dirty and grubby, some areas have cobwebs and grime that you cannot ignore, try as you might, Cabana was a disaster, they tried to charge me for the prior guest's bill (which in the end they realised was not me after we pointed it out to them several times, really?) then our drinks go missing, we wait for half an hour, I enquire, they realise they have sent it to the wrong Cabana, ok, but then I am advised they will re-order them and will not charge me for the drinks I did not get, I despair). I cannot list all the litany of failures here as I do not have enough space. But when I complained to management on the morning of day two of our long weekend stay, they listened and apologised for the inconvenience. But wait for it, that was it. They did nothing but fix the power. I could have fallen off my chair. In the end, I grinned and bore it. I actually dined and drank with my wife at the Sheraton Hotel across the road for the remainder of our stay - the Sheraton was superior in every way, their service was professional, their food and drinks were delicious, their staff were well trained and knowledgeable and they made our experience there most enjoyable and highly personable every time we went, which was every morning, afternoon and evening of our remaining stay at Versace!

by 00BCK Noosa, Australia

No luxury here, only disappointment!

We had the misfortune to spend a long weekend here, expecting a five star luxury escape. I will start with the positives. The staff in all areas were absolutely outstanding. Nothing was too much trouble. Lunch and cocktails in the bar, although expensive was excellent. The buffet breakfast was also excellent, although I wouldn’t pay $50 per person if it wasn’t included. Even though the place was empty rooms were not available at check in. We were told they were still being cleaned. When we asked about other rooms as there were very few guests we were then shown other rooms. Surely front desk staff should be able to work that out. Luxury escape customers, be aware that the superior suites are the most basic suites in the hotel. They are small and dark, with no view. We were shown two options. One looked over the main road and the other looked over the loading dock of Marina Mirage. I would cancel, get a refund and stay anywhere else. Don’t waste your money. We eventually paid an upgrade to get a larger room overlooking the pool. This was better but still disappointing. Furniture was run down and chipped and scratched, there were holes in the sofa and the sun lounge cover was shredded and turned upside down to hide this. Housekeeping did replace this. The air conditioning outlets were filthy and full of dust and cobwebs. This could be simply solved by regular maintenance. The seafood buffet is average and not worth $95 per head. Vanitas restaurant is overpriced and I had the worst steak I have ever eaten. Two small strips of meat about the size of a index finger, were under cooked and had the texture of a kitchen sponge. It could have been anything, but it did not taste like steak. A rip off at $56. The cheapest glass of wine was $20. I met with one of the managers, Donna, who did take our concerns seriously and we were not charged the room upgrade fee. However she could not explain why the hotel was generally grubby, when many of the problems could have been solved with general maintenance. We looked out at a roof area covered with weeds that could have been cleared in 15 minutes. The paths around the entrance were dirty and needed pressure washing. All the internal walls of the building facing the pool were mouldy and needed pressure cleaning. Other guests made the same comments five months ago and yet nothing has been done. This could be achieved in a couple days if management were serious about dealing with problems. The pool was cold and we were told that it was heated to 22 degrees. That is the temperature of an unheated pool. Donna told us that all the rooms were to be renovated and refurbished, but they were being completed one at a time. Avoid disappointment and stay somewhere else. Ocean view suites at Peppers Broadbeach is a much better option

by spiesw Melbourne, Australia

Excellent stay

I was a bit sceptical after reading all the negative reviews from the TripAdvisor community. We bough a package via Luxury Escapes and thought we will give it a go over the long weekend. What a pleasant surprise. The hotel was stunning as always. The service friendly and efficient and the rooms impeccable. We have really enjoyed our stay thoroughly and the Palazzo most definitely is up there with our most enjoyable stays. The breakfast is fantastic and I can recommend the seafood buffet at Il Barocco. I very big thank you to Liezel who organised a surprise birthday cake for my wife. Kudos to Liezel for great table service.