The Sofitel in Broadbeach on Australia’s Gold Coast was comfortable and the staff were fantastic but the hotel is definitely showing its age and looking a little tired in parts. The good parts that truly reflected a 5 star image: the staff, the wonderful coffee service at breakfast, the facilities (good swimming pools, a decent gym). The not so good that drag down the rating: worn furniture in the breakfast restaurant, bathrooms that need updating (including a very small shower cubicle). The fact that the hotel has a gaming machine lounge off the main lobby also detracts from any attempt at an upmarket atmosphere. The hotel is well located - immediately above a shopping centre with Woolworths and a large choice of cafes and restaurants. It is also about a 15 minute walk to the huge Pacific Fair shopping centre and close to the beach ( a few hundred metres)

It was kind of basic though our room was large and spacious. Amenities were OK. Gym was small. The location is good. There were shops and restaurants around. The river view was beautiful. I suppose you can view the sunset from here, but the clouds were blocking when we were there. Will we book it again? Maybe not.

We arrived very early and were made so welcome and given an early check in which we appreciated so much . Room was spacious , comfortable, clean with a great view. All the breakfast staff are so professional and friendly . Chloe is the best hostess and brilliant at her job and greeted us so beautifully every day . Also a big thank you to Eko ,Claudia and Hayley and Vadim who never stops working ! The concierge boys are so friendly . Thank you we had such a beautiful stay and can’t wait to be back at the end of the year

This hotel is desperately in need of maintenance and renovation - it must have been a star 30-40 years ago, but now it is a rapidly ageing senior citizen. Sticky balcony doors, poor water pressure, the bubble tub in the room had no bubbles, I could go on... I booked my room at a 24% member discount, which made it a reasonable value, but it would not have been such a good value at the regular price. The other thing in need of significant improvement is the organisation of the service. During our stay there was a round of smoke detector replacements, and the notice was slipped under our door only at 8 pm the night before. Room access for this was non-negotiable, but the notice didn't provide any floor-specific time windows, just "between 8 am and 5 pm" - not great if you want to plan your day and make time for some quiet time in the room. On our last day the housekeeping knocked on our door at 10 am offering to make up the room, apparently unaware that we were checking out in 2 hours' time. Makes you wonder whether this hotel is run by professionals or amateurs.

Well appointed rooms very clean and tidy. Professional courteous staff that provided excellent service breakfast was nice and plentiful. A very pleasant stay overall. absolute cracker location. Pools and spa area very comfortable but the first step into the main pool is a doozy!