We have been completely getting lucky in the accommodation department recently so I wanted to share with you our most recent success. I visited beautiful Trinity Beach in far north Queensland in the September school holidays sans husband with my three little kids. I know, I know, coco bananas me to think that a holiday on my own with my little ones might work – except guess what? It did.
Trinity Beach is fifteen minutes north of the Cairns CBD and one of a chain of northern beaches, each with their own character. Trinity Beach is very much a family beach and a favorite with Cairns locals. It is patrolled by lifeguards, has an inflatable water playground in situ during the weekends and a stinger net up during stinger season so it is accessible all year round.
A major reason for the success of the trip was our accommodation. As Trinity Beach beach is where the locals live, or head to on weekends, so I chose accommodation where locals live. Marlin Cove Resort is part residential, part holiday rental. We stayed in a two bedroom apartment which reminded me of many apartments I have lived in in the tropics. It was practical, comfortable and just what we needed – without being glamorous. What sets Marlin Cove Resort apart, particularly for families with young kids are the facilities, specifically the gorgeous sandy lagoon pool.
Marlin Cove Resort pool
Trial and error has taught me what sort of pools work best with little kids. By “best” I mean safe, and where I will have a chance to relax too. The picture above, our pool at the Marlin Cove Resort is pretty much the prototype best pool for little kids. There is sand for sand play, it is shallow meaning I could watch while the kids swam and as an added bonus it was quiet – we had it to ourselves most mornings. There are only a handful of hotels and resorts that have sandy lagoon pools in Cairns and they tend to be in the top price range, as opposed to Marlin Cove which is more modest. There was also a lap pool (equally as quiet) at the back of the resort.
Lap pool at Marlin Cove Resort
Lounge room Marlin Cove Resort
Bedroom Marlin Cove Resort
As you can see from the above photos, the interior of the apartment was functional, with not so much effort placed on decor. To be honest, that is fine by us, as I was less worried about my kids traipsing sand into the apartment than I would have been if it was picture perfect interior design.
Marlin Cove Resort is a ten minute walk from the beach and a ten minute walk from shops including a reasonable sized grocery store, so you can get away with not having a car.
A few extras that made my stay that little bit more enjoyable with my kids – they have both a DVD and book library that includes children’s titles. There is also a well maintained tennis court where the my boys will tell you they played tennis but where in reality they ran around after tennis balls. There are also two playgrounds an easy walk away.
So, in summary would I recommend this resort to other families? If having a spectacular pool for your kids to enjoy is a priority I would say a big “Yes” to that, you can’t get much better. If however, you are after a glamorous high end tropical getaway, you would be disappointed by the quality of the resort’s interior decor.
And finally, just a photo to remind me that I did this trip on my own with the kids:
I traveled on my lonesome with these young monkeys to Trinity Beach. In our hotel pool at the Marlin Cove Resort
Where have you stayed in far north Queensland that you would recommend for our next trip?
Bubs on the Move provides tips and advice for parents traveling with small children including attraction and accommodation reviews. You can join us on Facebook or Twitter to receive updates to your news feed.
Danielle what a great review! We are ‘almost’ locals from the Tablelands and it is great to have a recommendation for somewhere awesome to stay with kids if we manage to wrangle a weekend away from the farm! Thanks for sharing.
No worries Jess. There are so many great places to stay on the Cairns beaches but a sandy lagoon pool is always a huge drawcard for me. It worked beautifully on this trip too.
This is a good one to bookmark for future trips. As you know I had my teens with me so the Novotel in Central Cairns worked well for us. For a quieter stay with wee ones this looks good. So glad I’m not the only solo mama wandered.
We are heading back to Cairns in May and after seeing your Novotel post I am considering staying there. I’m glad you head off alone with your kids too Seana. It is manageable and I would rarely travel if I had to wait for my husband’s vacation time. For really big trips though I need an extra pair of hands for child wrangling.
You are the bravest mother I know. Well done. I’m losing my mind with 2 kiddies, not sure how you do it with 3 and do it so well. In awe and respect.
This looks like a perfect little getaway, the resort pool is a winner!
Heading to Sydney solo for a couple of weeks in January, I have your image of 3 happy kids and solo mum poolside etched in my mind for inspiration. xo
Heading to Sydney has to be awesome. Gorgeous town particularly in summer. Really hoping we can catch up with the three of you while we are there. Traveling with the three kids by myself was almost the scariest thing I have ever done. Completely loved it though and will definitely do again sometime soon.
I love your blog, thanks for sharing so much info. This resort sounds lovely, the only thing I worry about is the unheated pool for children aged 4 and 6. I’d appreciate your thoughts or any recommendation for accomodation in far north QLD with heated pools. Many thanks
Hi Alison, Thanks so much for the kind words. The only time of year a non-heated pool may be a problem in far north Qld is in winter. The rest of the year you don’t need a heated pool. I think you will need to ask the resorts directly if their pool is heated. My favourites are Peppers and Coconut Resort (very fun for kids). We are heading up to Cairns in a week and staying in a holiday house with heated pool that we found via Homeaway