Athletes weren’t the only ones with performance anxiety in the run-up to the Gold Coast’s Commonwealth Games this month. It was also a race against the clock for The Star Entertainment Group to complete The Darling Gold Coast, a luxe 57-suite hotel in a 17-storey tower on Broadbeach Island, in time for the Games.
Opening in late March, the oval building, designed by Steelman Partners, of Las Vegas, is shaped, aptly, like a stack of giant surfboards, or perhaps a massive superyacht. “We knew the designers would create something beautiful, but this really embraces the Gold Coast,” says Geoff Hogg, The Star Entertainment Group managing director for Queensland. “Even the shape of the hotel reflects the setting.”

Freestanding bath with a view
The Darling has a rooftop pool, bar and restaurant, and roomy suites and penthouses ranging in size from 78 to 328 square metres. Bathrooms feature freestanding tubs and skincare products by Lalique, butler service is on tap and the penthouse deluxe suites have the choice of a billiards, media or exercise room.
Feeling lucky? A bridge connects The Darling to The Star Grand casino.

Artwork at the entry to a guest room
The rooftop restaurant, Nineteen at The Star, is a joint project for local entrepreneur Billy Cross and restaurateur Simon Gloftis, who owns popular Greek eatery Hellenika at Nobby Beach. Despite its name, the 110-seat restaurant is on the 17th level, not the 19th; the numerals four and 13 are inauspicious in Chinese culture so there are no lift buttons for these levels or for 14. Updated daily menus will include the likes of Royal Miyagi oysters, toothfish and wagyu.
The Darling Gold Coast, Broadbeach Island, Qld, 07 5592 8100, thestargoldcoast.com.au