Easter is the perfect time of year to gather the family, spend some quality time together, and…eat… a lot. Especially chocolate because calories don’t count this time of year and yes, our noses just grew considerably. Well one luxurious five-star resort is providing all of the above under, all under the one (eggstravagantly decorated) roof – and we’re all ears! You guessed it, the team at JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa have eggcelled once again with their Easter offerings, guaranteed to delight every bunny.

Easter Sunday Seafood Buffet
Start drooling because Citrique’s award-winning seafood buffet lunch will feature a decadent Easter twist! Enjoy a glass of Chandon sparkling on arrival, live entertainment, and the very finest local produce straight from the ocean and paddock to your plate. Treat the tastebuds to Lobster Thermidor, Baked Whole Salmon with dill cream sauce, Prime Rib Beef Carving with peppercorn sauce, Crispy Pork Shoulder with cinnamon apple compote, and Seafood Paella with saffron aioli and fresh herbs. Then, embrace the hoppy occasion with Chocolate Egg Smores, Speckled Egg Rocky Road, Caramel Egg Ice Cream, Hot Cross Buns and Easter Cake Pops. Available on Sunday 9^th April from 12pm until 3pm. $69 – $139 per person and reservations are essential. Purchase your tickets here.

Easter Egg Hunt
The famous JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa Easter Egg hunt is back! Open to in-house guests only, it’s the perfect excuse to book a little Easter vacay with the family! The Easter Bunny will be hard at work hiding eggs for your little ones, creating unforgettable memories, photo opportunities a-plenty….and priceless content for your socials! A crowd favourite at the resort, only one thing could rival the excitement of eating chocolate eggs and that’s finding them! The hunt is locked in for Sunday 9^th April from 11.30am until 12pm. Bookings are essential via [email protected] or by phoning 07 5592 9800.

Easter Egg Decorating
Another activity involving Easter eggs (there can never be too many), Easter egg decorating is also a crowd favourite at the resort. Extending the invitation to both guests and non-guests, JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa’s culinary wizards will teach your mini-me’s the fine art of chocolate making and embellishing. Taking place in Tamborine Gallery, be amazed by their creativity and delight in their eggcitement as they craft their very own edible masterpieces! Sessions will be held on Monday 3^rd, Wednesday 5^th and Friday 7th of April from 3pm until 3.45pm. Tickets are $25 per child (in-house guests only).

Family Holiday Package
Nothing says Happy Easter like a family getaway! Escape the daily grind, reconnect with your loved ones, and enjoy a luxurious 2-night stay at the stunning resort. To make it extra special, breakfast for two adults and two children is included, as well as complimentary snorkel hire to explore the tropical fish in the breathtaking lagoon. Plus, you can also choose between a JW Garden herb planting experience, or a kids culinary class! This amazing package is available for stays between 3^rd February and 30^th June and can be booked here. Our tip; make sure you enter the promotional code HO9 when booking.

So hop to it folks and put all your eggs in one basket this Easter at JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort and Spa.

Where: 158 Ferny Avenue, Surfers Paradise
When: Various activations as detailed above

Words by Bianca Trathen.

STORY SPONSORED BY JW MARRIOTT GOLD COAST RESORT & SPA.

Can you guess what our fave thing about Easter is? Besides the obvious (consuming our body weight in chocolate and the fact that we get a 4-day weekend), it’s also related to eating and this will surprise absolutely no-one.

Hot cross buns are an Easter tradition we wholeheartedly get behind….even if they expand our behind. These bad boys may have been around since the Christmas puddings left the shelves, but this doesn’t make them taste any less spesh over actual Easter.

If you’re like us, we prefer our HCBs freshly baked using top-notch ingredients and not mass produced #SozColes&Woolies. That’s why we’ve made a list of the Coast’s best places to get your bun on this year, curated from north to south.

Franquette
Colour us egg-cited because Franquette, Tambo’s newest kid on the block, is whipping up Traditional Hot Cross Buns and Chocolate Hot Cross Buns like a boss. Available from today until the end of Easter, the French do a HCB like no-one else – particularly Founder and Head Baker Jérôme Favier. Already a GC fave, be sure to pick up some other artisan carby goodies while you’re there. You’re welcome.
Where: 159 Long Rd, Tamborine Mountain

5B2F BakeHouse
Tucked away in the northern ‘burbs is an exceptional bakery creating artisan woodfired sourdough goodies that’ll knock your socks off. Their hot cross buns are as good as it gets, all glazy and soft and flavoursome and yeah, we’re literally salivating #PassAHankyPls. Our tip: get plenty coz you won’t want to share. Do.Not.Miss!
Where: Shop 55 Brooke Avenue, Chirn Park

Horners of Sorrento
Born from a passion for the smell of freshly baked bread, naturally GC bakery icon Horners is all over the almighty Hot Cross Bun! Sticking to the original and LBH, the best variety; the Traditional HCB, these Euro baker gurus never disappoint. This goes for all their other baked goodies and yes, we have tried them all #TenOuttaTen.
Where: 20 Bundall Road, Bundall

Bam Bam Bakehouse
Bunny, I’m home! Pre-orders are open for four primo HCB flavours, made with Bam Bam’s signature pillowy brioche dough. There’s Traditional Hot Cross Buns with dried apricots, cranberries and sultanas, Traditional Piped HCBs with their divine vanilla custard, Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, and Chocolate Salted Caramel HCBs. Or, wrap your mouth around the new Custard Bomb Drop elevated with vanilla custard AND the Easter Bomb, AKA a supersized hot X bun. Holy buns Batman!
Where: 2519 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach

Paddock Bakery
No bunny compares to Paddock Bakery, making their two fave ‘ole ye faithfuls, OG Fruit Hot Cross Buns and Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, both wood-fired and made with semi-sourdough.

But wait there’s more Easter goodness to be had, with the Dippy Eggs making a comeback!Available now, these crowd pleasers feature two Cadbury chocolate eggs filled with vanilla whipped cream and a salted caramel ‘yolk’, served with Paddock’s Cinnamon Doughnut Dippy Fries, fresh strawberry, mini marshmallows, malted chocolate soil and pretzel cookie crumb.  Lick dip dunk we say!
Where: 20 Hibiscus Haven, Miami

Tarte Bakery & Cafe
Available from this weekend, run don’t walk to Tarte to get your paws on their famous HCB’s! With an improved recipe (like, how is this even possible?), they’re fluffier and better than ever before and we’re egg-static! In addition to the traditional tried and tested Dried Fruit Hot X Bun variety, they’re also doing a Dark Lindt Chocolate Chip version! You had us at Lindt….
Where: 2 West Street, Burleigh Heads

Burleigh Baker
Yummy Sourdough Brioche Hot Cross Buns, come at us! En masse preferably. Available throughout the Easter season, they’re made daily using their signature sourdough brioche, free range eggs, grass fed butter, organic sultanas and raisins, spices, and their special secret ingredient. They’ll never tell – we’ve already tried…. Secret squirrel rabbit mode activated.
Where: 13/50 James Street, Burleigh Heads

Custard Canteen
The crew at Custard Canteen on Talle Creek are certified HCB experts according to absolutely everybody who has ever sampled their HCB sorcery. Get ready to wrap your laughing gear around one of their decadent Hot Cross Brioche Bombs and we are “mmm-ing” at the mere though. Think housemade brioche charged with Easter spiced fruits and silky mousseline, and if we were stranded on a dessert island, we’d take a bunch of these…that is all.
Where: 1525 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Fuel Bakehouse
Okay so the Currumbin legends are doing a couple of hot cross bun varieties this year, which is obviously eggcellent news. Whipping ‘em up by the thousands (#NoExaggeration), the Fuel folk certainly give good bun(s). Choose from their Fruit Hot X Buns or decadent Chocolate HCBs and if you can’t pick, do what we do – get both #MoreIsMore. Available in store from Monday 3rd to Monday the 10th of April.
Where: 44 Currumbin Creek Rd, Currumbin Waters

The Bread Social
So it’s totally worth a drive over the border to hook yourself up with some of our region’s most flavoursome HCBs. The Bread Social is a destination in itself, so naturally their Hot X Bun prowess is 100% on point. Lovingly prepared with saffron, cardamom, ginger and a dreamy spiced glaze, they are the bomb diggity. (Hot) Cross our buns hearts! While you’re there, pick up some signature naturally leavened ‘Bread Social’ Sourdough and their famous extra-large custard tart.
Where: 12 Bay Street, Tweed Heads

Not many sleeps left until the easter bunny bounds into town Gold Coasters, which means there are mere days between us and some of our very favourite Easter rituals – namely feasting, more feasting, festivities, and bulk quality time with the fam. If you’re looking for a spot to combine all three this Easter Sunday (March 31) don the bunny ears and rally like you haven’t just consumed your body weight in chocolate, because the GC’s beloved annual Easter bonanza is back again at Sanctuary Cove.

Not simply content to be the Coast’s premier destination of boutique shopping and marina-side fine dining, the luxe locale is also known for their ability to bung on a spectacular, family-friendly bash – and this year’s Egg-stra Special Easter at Sanctuary Cove will be no exception.

This Sunday between 10am – 3pm, the typically tranquil surrounds of The Marine Village will again become a warren of bunny-fuelled activity choc-a-block with fun, activities and entertainment galore. Round up the little tackers and burn off some of that frenetic, choccy-fuelled energy with a most egg-cellent lineup including all the kid-approved classics from train rides, face painting, interactive stage shows and more.

Of course – no Easter fest worth its sugar would be complete without an egg-citing encounter with Mr E. Bunny. So be sure to let the rugrats know to keep those magical creature radars on high alert as you explore the array of entertainment and eateries on offer, for your chance to meet, mingle and snap a pic with the famous rabbit of the hour himself!

The munchkins will also be happy as pigs in mud taking their pick between everything from Pony Rides, an Animal Petting Zoo, Craft Activities and Face Painting… just so long as they can agree about the best place to start.

If they truly can’t decide, what better to kick off the fun-fest than the kryptonite of kids everywhere – no, not more chocolate (not yet, anyway) – why, a train ride, of course! The whole fam will delight in climbing aboard to chug about the The Marine Village, soaking up the million-dollar views all while you plot your next move (and buy the digestive system some precious time to work its way out of that chocolate coma).

And if you’re not quite done swanning about aboard your personal chariot, take it to the water for a leisurely scenic loop on board the Kilkie ferry as you mill about the tranquil waters of the marina.

And content as we’d be to fang about picking out hypothetical yachts all day, you’d be hopping mad to miss the action going down in the main stage, so be sure to swing by and catch one of the interactive shows!

If after all that action you find you’re a little famished, parched, or the rugrats are ready to riot for some tucker, you’ll rather fortuitously find yourself surrounded by Sanctuary Cove’s stellar array of cafes, watering holes and waterfront dining destinations. Grab Parisian-inspired goodies from Rise Bakery, tuck into Mexi-eats and margi’s at Pablito’s Mexican & Tequilaria, or perhaps one of the Coast’s best steaks at Red Steakhouse, you’ll find something on offer to please every-bunny… is anyone else suddenly no longer in the mood to cook Easter dinner?! (Us too).

Hoppy Easter indeed!

Where: Sanctuary Cove, 4601 Masthead Way, Hope Island
When: Sunday 31^st March

Words by Kellie Leader.

STORY SPONSORED BY SANCTUARY COVE