Retro motels are having a moment: here are the Gold Coast's 8 best

If you only pick one retro stay on the Gold Coast, choose this one; it's the original, and best. It took the owners six months to overhaul a motel built in the 1950s and turn it into a likely setting for any Quentin Tarantino film. It's mid-century glamour at its zenith, complete with garish pink paint and neon signage. Each room feels like a curated set piece - think Scandinavia meets Palm Springs; there's even a grand piano in one of them. There's substance about this place; from a moody rooftop bar looking over Coolangatta's Greenmount Beach, to a secret cocktail bar (The Janitor's Closet), which takes some finding (its name should help). thepinkhotelcoolangatta.com

The Mysa Motel mirrors the life of the neighbourhood it's located in. Palm Beach was little more than a seedy hangout for Gold Coast unfortunates. Now it's one of the Glitter Strip's coolest emerging tourist 'burbs. Likewise, the Mysa Motel was once a cheap, ugly motel on the Gold Coast Highway, then local 30-somethings Jason and Eliza Raine transformed it into Palm Springs in its heyday. You'll notice a lot of references to Palm Springs on the Gold Coast, but this might be the best of them. Each room (there are seven) has its own individual layout, with lavender, peach, carnation and mint painted walls. But its crowning glory is a kidney-shaped magnesium pool encircled by pink sun loungers where the rat pack come each day for sundowners (hmm, okay, it's not quite that Palm Springs-esque). You're also 250 metres from a fairly private beach. themysamotel.com

Want a sea view with your journey back into the past? Book an ocean room and you'll stare out of your piece of '50s nostalgia at blue ocean, beside one of the Gold Coast's quietest beaches, Bilinga. Tessa's on the Beach has to be the Gold Coast's best-kept secret accommodation. It's less than two kilometres from the airport, and there's only a shared walking/biking path between you and a very dreamy beach.

Expect peppermint-green walls and really quirky layouts - and a magnesium pool for sitting beside (because you'll want to swim in the ocean). Occasionally an acoustic guitarist plays songs on the faux-lawn beside the beach. Sounds dreamy, right? It is. tessasonthebeach.com.au

Forget the high-rises of Surfers Paradise on the Coast's north side; retro motels like The Shores are like visiting here in the 1970s, but with the conveniences of 2026 (The Shores, for instance, is Australia's first AI-powered customer service hotel).

Located 250 metres from the beach and a short walk to restaurant Mecca, Burleigh Heads, The Shores channels nothing but the best of the '70s with a modern minimalist design featuring more burnt orange than a panna cotta, plus garish green. But these rooms aren't cramped as they were half a century ago, they're bright and airy, though with nostalgic touches like '70s-era furniture. By night, party lights transform the pool area out back into a retro-chic hangout zone for fellow nostalgia nuts. Go catch Saturday night fever. shoresmotels.com/miami

It's what these retro motels offer travellers that's really special. The Cheshire Cat Motel is a completely remodelled version of a very average 1960s Gold Coast highway motel. It's affordable and trendy as hell; staying here feels like you're in a very cool retro-era movie starring Leo di Caprio - and the best part is: hardly anyone knows to stay here, and you're 150 metres walk from one of the best beaches on the coast - Palm Beach.

What's more, walk up the narrow little laneway out back and you'll find great locally owned cafes, French bakeries and restaurants. Each of its seven rooms is designed with individual touches - with colour schemes of burnt orange, eucalypt green and creams. What's extra groovy is it's owned and run by a young local couple. cheshirecatmotel.com

It's not tough to imagine you're holidaying in the 1960s at La Costa Motel - a time when families didn't have climate change to worry about, and kids liked to play with other kids, not text them. La Costa Motel stays closest to the original Gold Coast motel spirit, back when the region was only just emerging with its new name (it was once called South Coast). With white picket fences, vintage bicycles and a mint-green-coloured beach-shack aesthetic, you can disappear entirely into the past here. It's also brilliantly located, barely 50 metres from Bilinga beach - one of the Gold Coast's widest ... and quietest. lacostamotel.com.au

Another virtual beachside secret far away from the skyscrapers, Blue Heron Motel harks back to a time when the old-fashioned Aussie road trip holiday was what we looked forward to (not Bali). The Gold Coast's identity was built around these mid-century simple beach holidays. Like the rest of the motels on this illustrious list, Blue Heron Motel is right next to the beach, offering convenience that should cost more than this. It's not as colourful as the many others, but it's spacious and its 1970s-era surf shack vibe still takes us back 50 years. Hire a vintage bike and a picnic hamper and holiday at the beach like it's 1976. blueheronmotel.com.au

If you suspect by now Palm Beach might be the retro motel capital of Australia, you'd be right. There are few hotels here to choose from, so the best way to access this hip neighbourhood and stunning beach is by returning to the '60s. Originally built in 1967, Crystal Pacific has been transformed into a sleek white-toned retreat, with many modern-minimalist touches. Instead of relying on bright colours, it focuses on texture and space - think daybeds, soft linens and airy interiors. It doesn't just copy retro aesthetics, it reinterprets them, for our very own version of 1967 that's cooler than the original. It also has the bonus of being close to the family-friendly Tallebudgera Creek, offering calm swimming for families. crystalpalace.com.au