Firstly it should be suitable also for Mum and Dad as well as the children. In the high maintenance age brackets say under 10 even more attention to detail as supervision and safety is a huge priority.

On a recent visit to the Gold Coast and trying out several Kid friendly accommodation styles here is a quick review of what was found.

I am in no way affiliated or associated with any of the mentioned  resorts.

Ashmore Palms Resort 9.5/10

This operation began as a humble caravan park many years ago. The fore sight and dream of the owner has turned this resort (now no Caravans) into a well worth a stay category

The cabins are well priced and varied to suit your budgets. The amenities  are pristine, this place is spotless. Clean and organised. The staff by far are the best we have encountered anywhere. Polite , Knowledgeable and organised. The pools again would have been the cleanest ever encountered. Our stay was during the Xmas break so it was expected due to volume that this park may have some glitches, well no Xmas day or any day staff were going about their duties. On big attraction Ashmore palms has their Macaws and other exotic birds that are kept in nice spacious cage  right in the middle of the park..

Feeding was great fun, A local  helps out with other kids activities  in the mornings and there are some terrific play areas.

Great value and if the kids are happy , so are the parents.

Look into this one.

The Paradise resort Surfers Paradise  8/10

This is a slick operation, heaven for the kids and not bad for the parents, The kids club is well laid out and supervised, the equipment was getting a bit worn but the kids loved it just the same. For the under 6's plenty to do. The restaurant is very kids friendly but not cheap. The pools are just the best .Mum and Dad can relax by the pool with the  focus on supervision. Older kids that need minimal supervision will entertain themselves very well here.. The amazing thing here was the floor show at the pool on Saturday nights. Great entertainment and memorable by all.

This resort is not far from Surfers beach and business precinct and has easy access to the theme parks. Parking is undercover. The staff are professional.

The down sides is the price is high for the small accommodations, be prepared to spend..

Gold coast Queensland offers many varieties of child friendly accommodation

Treasure Island Biggera waters (Near Southport)  9/10

This is a caravan Park with Three pools, jumping cushion, restaurant and small bar.

The accommodation types can vary from your own tent/caravan/mobile home to on site cabins in a array of sizes. Price will dictate to you what you will consider but in this environment with two under seven the mid range suited us just fine.

Inside we felt safe and the cabins were clean and tidy. Lawns and surrounds are pleasant and the pools suited most ages of children and adults. The restaurant was ok and for a caravan park the food was good, a child's menu also appeared but prices were just a little high. Our son of 7 made his way around the park well and made a few little friend. All pools are fenced by law and under supervision offered a reasonably relaxing time with the littlies. There is a mini golf, tennis court and pedal power go carts also for their entertainment.

These extras though are not free. $6 for golf, $10 1/2 hour on the pedal cars, $3 for tennis. I fell over backwards when they insisted on a $200 deposit for the use of their pedal cars. The stay here was just great and reasonable in price. However a mix up with the bookings the week prior  made it challenging to feel confident that the booking actually existed. To the credit of the manager he compensated us (after a heated discussion) to all satisfaction.

Biggera Waters on the Gold Coast is a drive away from Surfers but not a real issue as shops and eateries are close by.

Child friendly Accommodation that's not child friendly

Break Free Chevron Island Surfers Paradise 4/10.

It advertises itself as kids friendly and here is a good example of not believing what you read.

The room prices where reasonable and the room fantastic. mind you not much was working and we had no coffee cups. The pool area is very nice and for Mum an Dad a small gym with a sauna was of good standard.

Problem one was the management and staff, Check in was 2 o'clock , we were left sitting for over a hour and forty minutes with two young kids waiting for our room to be ready. When asked I was told that check in was after 2  and could not give a time that it would be ready. The staff were inept inexperienced and rude, the female manager about the same although she may have run a 10 room pub somewhere in the outback at some stage. No Apology, can I get you a drink while you wait,  no nothing in fact she made us feel in the wrong for getting there on time. The bar was not open, the restaurant opens at six o'clock. Not much fun with the littlies whom by 3.30 in the afternoon were becoming hard to handle.

In over 30 years of living out of motels and resorts this one had the worse front of house people in history.

The restaurant when open offered a good price range of food, But no kids menu!!

This part of the resort is obviously not run by the front of house manager as service once served was non existent but was pleasant.

I believe this has changed hands and will rename itself soon I will add this information when available. Couples will enjoy this place as not much happens and it seems like it was only quarter full but families give it a wide berth.

We did not even get a "did you enjoy you stay "upon returning the keys

 Family friendly accommodation is really word of mouth, expensive does not mean good. Remember its the families holiday too and the minimal amount of stress on all concerned will usually create the most satisfying and memorable family holiday