Beat the end-of-year burnout with a blissful weekend at Mondrian Gold Coast
When November brain fog hits, there’s only one sensible solution: escape. Luckily, you don’t need a passport to reclaim your sanity. Mondrian Gold Coast delivers beachside luxury, coastal cuisine, soothing spa rituals and an instant mood shift.
Every year, there comes a time, usually around mid-to-late November, when our brains stop functioning like they should. Call it what you will – the pre-summer slump or the festive season fuzzies, for example – but end-of-year burnout tends to come for us all.
The best solution to beat the funk? A mini holiday, of course! We’re not talking about passports and plane tickets here – we’ve found that the trick to fighting the November lethargy is a simple weekend away to recharge, recuperate and realign. If there’s one place ideally suited to this exact purpose, it’s Mondrian Gold Coast.
Positioned along The Esplanade in Burleigh Heads, Mondrian Gold Coast is the newest five-star luxury hotel to open on the Gold Coast. The striking 24-floor hotel, designed by Fraser & Partners, is Mondrian’s flagship Australian destination – beachside luxury and coastal cool encapsulated in 208 spacious accommodation options.
I was fortunate enough to visit Mondrian Gold Coast at a time when the weight of 2025 was threatening to topple me. Packing an overnight bag, I made my way southbound, arriving at the hotel just before check-in time. After passing my keys to the valet, I beelined for the front desk. Once the usual formalities were completed, I was handed a key to my abode for the night – a one-bed ocean suite, located 14 floors above terra firma.
In addition to 132 studio rooms, Mondrian Gold Coast boasts 63 suites, a number of two- and three-bedroom homes and the hotel-crowning Sky House – an expansive 320-sqm palace with space for six guests.
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My suite, however, was palatial in its own right. Stepping inside, I was greeted by incredible views of the Pacific Ocean, visible from a balcony that stretched across both the open-plan living area and the adjoining bedroom. The suite also housed a full-size self-contained kitchen, spacious ensuite bathroom and laundry amenities. It’s the kind of room you can comfortably spend your entire stay in, but the weekend held other plans.
After freshening up for dinner, I made my way down to level four, where Mondrian Gold Coast’s podium-level restaurant and pool club, Haven, can be found. Though the sun was setting, guests could still be spotted soaking up the day’s final rays, while colourful cocktails were being ferried to poolside cabanas. I pulled up a stool at the bar and ordered a Moda Fuego (a smoky concoction boasting Teremana Añejo tequila, maple and walnut) while I waited for my table to be prepared at the restaurant.
Once seated, I wasted little time reaching for the menu. Executive chef Aaron Teece and his kitchen brigade (including sous chef Lauren Kinne) have been turning out some phenomenal woodfired fare since Haven launched, responding to the seasons with produce-driven dishes that look to redefine what we consider coastal dining. I opted for the premium set menu, which kicked off with the Tweed Coast Platter – a Poseidon’s bounty of seafood, including fresh oysters, Australian bay bugs, Ballina king prawns, Tweed Coast spanner crab and accompaniments.
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I couldn’t resist adding to my order, tacking on a plate of jumbo prawns bathing in ’nduja butter and the vegetable tartare – a flame-licked medley of grilled vegetables with green goddess dressing. Following this interlude came the main event – a Kidman MBS 5+ bone-in sirloin, served with Currumbin Valley leaves and shoestring fries. Despite being in a state of glassy-eyed contentment, I managed to save room for dessert in the form of woodfired Basque cheesecake with coastal honey.
The meal left little room for anything else except sleep, so I shuffled back to my room and promptly collapsed face-first into the cloud-like bed. Before nodding off, I pressed a button to close the block-out blinds and bid the day adieu.
Waking up the next day, the first thing on my mind was coffee. Down on the ground floor, Mondrian Gold Coast’s lobby bar and restaurant LiTO is where guests can break their fast, nab a post-beach flat white or wind down with a sunset aperitivo. Coffee, granola and scrambled eggs on toast fuelled me up for further exploration, as I went to scope out the remainder of the hotel’s amenities before check-out.
Mondrian’s in-house bio-wellness retreat CIEL Spa offers a number of science-backed holistic healing remedies to help guests feel like themselves again. Eschewing wellbeing trends, CIEL’s treatments transcend the traditional spa experience, with infrared saunas, cryotherapy dry floats, hydrafacials and microneedling just some of the signature experiences on offer.
For me, it was the magnesium plunge pools I sought out. While nothing beats a good sleep, the salts and minerals in Mondrian’s twin pools helped lift the tension I was carrying in my muscles. Feeling zen, I spent a few hours relaxing in my room before, sadly, packing up my things and checking out.
But my weekend wasn’t over – positioned close to Burleigh’s bustling epicentre, those visiting Mondrian Gold Coast will find that there’s plenty to enjoy if you can peel yourself away. Before heading home, I paid a visit to some of my favourite Burleigh spots – Two Yolks for a bite, Rosella’s for a drink and Al Bacio Gelato Naturale for something sweet.
The writer was a guest of Mondrian Gold Coast.