30 October 2023
5 mins Read
A gateway to K’gari (Fraser Island), but also a destination in its own right, the small Queensland city of Hervey Bay (population 54,674) has plenty of hotels, motels, resorts and holiday parks to choose from; but not all of them are worthy of your hard-earned holiday dollars. Here are seven of the best.
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If you’re after modern, bright, airy and spacious apartments, this Hervey Bay resort is your go-to. Situated on the esplanade in the Marina precinct, the Akama offers a range of different room configurations, which sleep up to a maximum of eight, and showcase views of either the Great Sandy Strait, the pool or the garden. Each and every apartment has a furnished balcony that leads out of the lounge with bifold doors: ideal for an al fresco dinner, whipped up in the full-size kitchen, or a sundowner or two before heading out to explore the coastal city on foot. There’s also a heated outdoor pool.
Take a holiday park, but make it boutique. In late 2020, this NRMA resort added a new accommodation option to its offering that ups the ante a little: safari tents. Sleeping up to four between a four-poster queen bed, and two singles tucked away in a cosy timber nook, it’s great for families. Each tent also features an ensuite bathroom, and a kitchenette/lounge space, not to mention a private deck with barbecue and outdoor furniture, plus a clawfoot outdoor bathtub hidden behind some paneling. If glamping doesn’t float your boat, the park also has beach houses, cabins and villas to choose from, as well as sites for campers and caravaners.
The holiday park isn’t strictly in Hervey Bay (it’s actually a one-hour drive north, in Woodgate, a township that’s known for its sweeping 16-kilometre-long stretch of protected beach), but we reckon it might just be worth the drive.
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If lazing by (and in) a pool is your holiday priority, then book a room at the Oaks Hervey Bay Resort and Spa. There’s two rather large heated outdoor swimming pools surrounded by loungers, plus a shaded kids’ pool area, to exploit here. Other resort facilities include a day spa, a gym and a cafe. Located just steps from the Urangan Pier, the one-, two- and three-bedroom hotel suites have a bit of a corporate feel to them, but they all come with sizable balconies or private patios (some with ocean views), plus full kitchen and laundry facilities.
A modern, minimalist villa with ocean views, this two-bed, two-bath Hervey Bay Airbnb offers lots of thoughtful little extras: a beach bag and Turkish towels for trips to the sea, pool noodles and buckets and spades for the kids, a portacot and feeding booster seat for little ones set up on request, and a patio with a double hammock that’s perfect for a postprandial snooze. This Urangan property can also accommodate small dogs on application.
This family-owned Point Vernon holiday park is a 10-minute drive from town, but the payoff is spacious, quiet grounds and an easy two-minute walk to the Esplanade’s cycling and walking track. The pet-friendly site has some petite yet super economical cabins on offer that feature a full kitchen plus air-con, a dining area and a TV, which sleep up to four. Campers and caravaners are more than welcome here too, and can take full advantage of the park’s camp kitchen, saltwater pool, playground and TV/games room.
Heart set on water views? Breakfree might be known as the budget arm of hotel chain Accor, but this Urangan property is the only one in Hervey Bay that is an ‘absolute waterfront resort’, featuring direct beach access. Every last studio and apartment offers uninterrupted views of the ocean or marina, and amenities-wise, it’s not to be sniffed at either, with two outdoor swimming pools, two full-sized tennis courts, a barbecue area, a sauna, and a games room, to enjoy. You can even hire a bike from the resort. It’s also within walking distance of all of Hervey Bay’s main attractions. But holidaymakers beware, there’s no free wi-fi at this property.
Among the more upscale options in Hervey Bay, this beachside aparthotel is in a plum spot right on the Esplanade, overlooking Shelly Beach. It’s home to a 22-metre heated outdoor pool, plus a gym, sauna and tropical gardens, but the real standout here is the range of room types, particularly the two-bedroom swim-up apartments: wake up and plunge straight into the water from the privacy of your own terrace. Alternatively, plump for one of the courtyard apartments, which boast their own outdoor four-person spa, or perhaps one of the ocean view apartments, which feature expansive balconies and impressive vistas.
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