Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel
Updated: Sep 6, 2021
A mix of apartments, studios and hotel rooms, the Stradbroke Island Hotel is part of a complex combining pub, restaurant, apartments, bottle shop and more. It has a bit of everything and you wont need to leave the complex for your entire stay if you don't want to. There are two Deluxe four bedders - both are super swish and relatively pricey , but with a group are more than affordable
The 3 bedroom, ocean view apartments are well equipped and generous, and you would do well to bring supplies in the car across on the ferry, lest you be willing to pay a premium for everything you want to eat and drink. The beds are comfortable and there is plenty of room to laze about in the apartment in between checking out the local haunts and touristy spots, which are many. On the eastern side of the Island, near Frenchman's Bay and Main Beach, there are some pretty good surf breaks, and a quiet kind of surfie crowd try and keep this to themselves.
Back to the hotel. Manta Ray bistro and bar is as much a pub for locals as it is tourists, (although they are not fond of you winning too many of the Saturday afternoon raffles). There is nothing overly fancy about the fare - its pub food on a pretty big scale. For those whose preference runs to a sea view dining room, you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner in there or you can wander over the large outdoor area, have a couple of cold beers and order from the outside food truck serving a limited menu of tacos, snacks and fries.
Mains sit around the $30 mark or if hunger strikes, a generous $65 seafood platter awaits, while you can enjoy a big brekkie for a lazy $25, which compared to mainland prices, is pretty darn reasonable. With a focus on what can be sourced locally and in season, it's good for those who want to support local economy and ecology.
Straddie is a ferry ride from Cleveland in Brisbane's outer east, accessible by train and shuttle, or you can take the car on the ferry so you have transport to look around the world's second largest sand island. (The largest is Fraser Island off Hervey Bay and nearby Moreton Island is the third largest).
Rooms from $190 per night
https://www.stradbrokehotel.com.au/