Posts tagged: travel

Over the weekend we got to stay at the newly refurbished, The Star Gold Coast. If any of you were following our insta-stories, you probably saw what the new rooms look like, and you may have a fair idea of what the amazing buffet has to offer. Okay, so first things first, let me start off with the accommodation and then work by way down to the food.

The Star Grand

Most of The Star Property has been under renovations for some time and there are still a few areas where work is being completed off (but nothing that gets in the way with your actual stay). It was the face-lift that the hotel needed to bring into a new dimension of luxury. The 596 rooms within the Star Grand were all refitted with the newest of technology, think touch screen everything. Oh, and they actually work. There’s nothing more frustrating than paying for a hotel where the television doesn’t turn on. We got to share one of the Superior Deluxe Twin Rooms which was amazing! And I am not saying that cos I have to, but here are some of the things that I was impressed with:

• The complimentary macaroons on arrival – I am a foodie, of course I am going to froth over these babies. They were freaken delicious and the hotel was not stingy with their serving sizes. It wasn’t just 2 macaroons dropped on a plate, there were a total of six, sandwiched in lots of two and placed on top of this gorgeous slice of chocolate. Ahhh sigh, the memories.
• The complimentary chocolates – Yassss queens, you get a whole box of goodness that you can stuff your face with, and they make an excellent photo prop too (no, I didn’t do that at all, who do you think I am?). It’s always nice when hotels throw in a few extras, but when they are of great quality, it sets the entire venue apart from the rest.
• The bedding –  Yeah, the bedding. I just typed that twice, I know. Cos it is amazing. That is the stuff you need to have a good nights sleep. It’s luxury, you won’t want to get out of bed, but when you do, you will be relaxed and refreshed.
• The make-up/beauty mirror in the bathroom – Praise the Lord, someone finally answered all our prayers. What is up with hotels which don’t have these? We put on our make-up and then walk out looking like we got ready with our eyes closed. So, thank you for adding this to the room.
• The dual rain showerhead – I was so thankful that I didn’t have to fight with a hand-held showerhead that doesn’t sit on the bracket properly. That’s all imma say.

You can view more on the room here.

Cost: Don’t quote me on this, but it works out to around $214 per night (2 pax) depending on the time of year.

Harvest Buffet – Dinner

On to the food. One of the great things about staying at the casino is that you don’t even have to leave the property throughout your stay. If you want to eat food, they have many restaurants. If you want to party, they have Nineteen at the Star. There’s no shortage of bars either. It’s an entire experience. Back to Harvest, they were previously Food Fantasy, and had closed with all the renovations. We were lucky enough to be amongst the first to try out the new buffet which was incredible.

First things first, here is the pricing:

Monday to Thursday prawn buffet

Adult $52.90
Child 5-12 years $28.90*
Child 0-4 years free^

Friday to Sunday seafood buffet
Adult $74.90
Child 5-12 years $28.90*
Child 0-4 years free^

The weekend seafood buffet, even though it’s superior in price, it is worth every dollar. You make up the value by filling a plate of oysters alone, and they have both fresh and Kilpatrick ones (which I love). So, we got there, told the extremely friendly staff of our reservation and they proceeded to have us seated. We usually have a buffet strategy but that’s only for breakfast buffets. So for this one, we both had a walk around first, sussed out what they had, and then filled our plates. Here’s what to expect:

• The carvery  – I have one regret from this buffet, and that’s not loading up a plate of fried chicken. Typing this out as a life lesson so you don’t have to make the same mistake. So they have perfect ham, and the most delicious roasted pumpkin. There was also a whole fish in this section, but I kind of had the plan of saving space for oysters.
• The Asian section – Given that live in Sunnybank, you would think that I would lay off the Asian food at a buffet, but na. It was the best. They had sweet and sour pork, and i love that!! It was actually really good and we both shamelessly went back for seconds. Obviously we paired it with the fried rice. Amazingly, there was also an array of fresh sushi and sashimi, if you are after a lighter option.
• The seafood section aka my favourite side – Everything you need. If you only take prawns and oysters from this side, you will still leave the happiest person alive. Oh. and they had crab too!! I was not brave enough to actually get some. Not that I didn’t want any. But if you have ever seen me at a dinner, I eat like an unsupervised child and was trying to save myself from embarrassment. Also, I had a new dress on.
• Pasta – If spicy food isn’t your thing, they do have an assorted range of pasta on offer. Personally, I didn’t go for this, but I did have the Kilpatrick oysters from this section. I actually may have eaten like 10, maybe more. You will never know the truth.
• Pizza – I will admit to having a piece of garlic pizza from the range, but in my opinion it’s usually best to stay clear of carb dishes at a buffet. It’s perfect for kids and fussy eaters, but personally it’s not something i go for.
• Kid section – So there is an entire selection of food for kids, so lots of nuggets and fries. Basically all the stuff that kids want to eat at a buffet.
• Dessert – We messed up really badly with this. So they have this amazing chocolate fountain that is from the ceiling but cos we had eaten so much, we didn’t have enough room for dessert (we did make the most of the fountain for breakfast the next day though). In addition to the chocolate fountain, they had a range of hand made desserts and pastries. It was almost a bit of dream. I ended up having the baked cheesecake which was so good.

Harvest Buffet – Breakfast

Again, the pricing first:

Adult $34.90
Child 5-12 years $19.90*
Child 0-4 years free^

I think the breakfast buffet is cheap as chips. Let’s keep in mind that a piece of avo and toast at a regular cafe is about $15 – $18. So a whole buffet where you have open creativity for $34 is freaken great value.Hotel breakfast buffets are my favourite, we even have it down to a strategy. One of us fills a plate with all the fresh fruit, whilst the other fills a plate with croissants and baked goods. We then take one of muesli or yogurt options. We keep a plate for bread and toast before we go in for our main. So here’s what to expect/what we ordered:

• Eggs cooked fresh, just the way you like them: Fried, scrambled, poached? They make it fresh for you whilst you wait. So don’t feel shy, load up.
• Room for creativity: I am adding this as a point, and I will elaborate. Buffets are great for the creative mind, especially when they have a chocolate fountain. Grab a waffle, top it with ice cream and then run the plate over the fountain. Voila, sweet breakfast. Want something more savoury, grab a waffle again, add bacon, use their maple syrup dispenser (yass, they had one of those), and you have the perfect greasy breakfast. Or you could be us and make fruit skewers with chocolate sauce. It’s only as limited as your imagination.
• Asian breakfast: Absolutely loved that they had an Asian breakfast. We threw in a few dumplings to our breakfast, had tasted them the night before and decided we wanted some more. Don’t judge us haters.

You don’t have to make a booking in advance, you can pay when you get there. However, it’s better to be safe. All bookings can be made through their website here.

Written by: Aliyah Ravat