Review / Inside Mondrian Gold Coast, the new luxury hotel in Australia with a stylish pool club and ocean views

It’s a Friday afternoon and I’m suspended in a warm tank of water. What’s slightly discombobulating is that I am completely dry.

The dry float – you lie in a sort of inflatable cocoon – is just one of the “touchless” therapies on offer at the Mondrian Gold Coast’s Ciel Spa.

I think I might be crying. The experience, with meditative music piping through headphones combined with the sensation of floating in warm water, is surprisingly emotional. The sense of peace captured in this moment is something I will hold onto throughout my entire stay at the Mondrian – particularly with coconut margaritas by the pool.

Oh yes, a holiday on the Gold Coast in Australia is not what it used to be.

Opened in mid-2025, this is the first Australian outpost for the Mondrian, a see-and-be-seen place by hotelier and Studio 54 co-founder Ian Schrager since its first location opened in West Hollywood in 1996.

Marking the hotel’s first property in Australia, this 24-storey, 208-room sculptural, undulating tower in picturesque Burleigh Heads – right across the beach and a short walk to the wellness- and artisanal-pastries-heavy main strip – is a vibe.

The hotel

Designed by Australian architectural firm Fraser & Partners with interiors by Madrid-based Studio Carter, the hotel is the ultimate in laid-back, beach-inspired luxury, where every whim is taken care of.

We check into a two-bedroom Ocean Balcony Home suite, and the first thing to note is the floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light to flood the space and the sound of the Pacific Ocean.

Beyond details like the sleek travertine kitchen and custom boucle couch, and an earthy colour palette and curved shapes that help the suite feel immediately soothing, perhaps the most striking part of the space is the sense that the ocean is part of the room. The vastness of the horizon – with a balcony to take it in from – proves that nature is always the best design. The hotel, while undeniably chic, knows to pay homage to this rather than try and compete; it integrates into its surrounds.

It’s also the kind of design that makes you think that with the right coffee table books and play on textures, you might be able to recreate it at home.