Coolangatta is in Queensland, but it shares a border with New South Wales, so you can be in two different states at once if you place your feet right. Walk out the front door of the Oaks Calypso Plaza and turn left, and you can take a selfie with the sign marking the spot where the two states meet.

Oaks Calypso Plaza at Coolangatta is a low-rise resort with two waterslides and a shallow lagoon pool, making it popular with families travelling with children aged 12 and under. It is easy to walk pretty much everywhere once you’ve parked the car in the complimentary undercover carpark. 

There is no hotel restaurant but all Oaks Calypso apartments at Coolangatta have cooking facilities so this isn’t a problem. There is a Woolworths conveniently located just up the road at The Strand shopping centre if you need to pick up supplies.

You’ll also find some excellent dining options such as Baskk and Café Dbar nearby. When I used to holiday with my family at Coolangatta in the 70s, the closest thing to a ‘restaurant’ was a snack bar serving burgers with the lot. Things have certainly changed since then!

Our stay at Oaks Calypso Plaza didn’t get off to the best start when we were given a room which had been painted in the previous 48 hours or so. It looked great but the paint smell was so strong that we couldn’t stay in there. Fortunately the friendly staff were able to move us to another room.

This room was on level one and overlooked the street. It had a huge balcony and everything we needed for a one night stay. This road gets quite busy so a pool or ocean view room on the other side of the hotel could be a better choice if you are a light sleeper. We are heavy sleepers so it didn’t bother us.

Our room had a fresh, beach-inspired colour scheme of whites, taupe and soft blues. The kitchen flowed through to a living/dining area which had a dining table for four and a fold-out couch. The bedroom can be closed off from the living area which is a great feature for those travelling with kids. There was a washing machine and dryer in the bathroom in addition to the bathtub which included a shower over the bath.

Coolangatta offers plenty of things to see and do, from beautiful beach walks, swimming and surfing to catching a movie or having fun at Timezone which also has full-size tenpin bowling lanes.

Internet at Oaks Calypso Plaza is complimentary for the first 30 minutes, per room, per day. An additional 30 minutes costs $5 or $18 for 24 hours. It is worth checking the Oaks Hotels website for promo codes. At the time of writing a promo code offer included 10% off room rates plus free internet.

Members of the free MyOaks club receive early 12pm check-in and late 11am check-out subject to availability on the day. If you aren’t a member of MyOaks it costs $30 to extend your checkout time from 10am to 12pm. An extension until 10.30am is sometimes available free of charge on request.

Oaks Calypso Plaza offers plenty to please young families, especially kids who love swimming and slipping and sliding down waterslides. Not even a chilly wind could keep children (and a few parents) out of the attractive heated lagoon pool at this resort during our winter visit.

Disclosure: The writers stayed as guests of Oaks Calypso Plaza.

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