The Best Holiday Apartments to Book on Australia's Sunshine Coast

What a fine setting these eight cottages enjoy, each with a spa, private barbecue space and fine views, right beside freshwater Lake Weyba. Stylistically they’re a triumph, built by hand using cedarwood, and elegant with ceilings of exposed beams, high-shine hardwood floors, as well as beds swathed in clouds of muslin. There are sumptuous gardens, laced with winding paths, where a pond ripples, peppered with waterlilies. Up for a little light activity? Nab one of the complimentary canoes, take a mountain bike or try fishing (the place supplies rods and bait). The lake is also perfect for lazy swims.

Standing proud on one of the photogenic canals in Mooloolaba, the four villas and three studios that make up this comfortable place provide all you need for a relaxing Sunshine Coast stay. Top tip: reserve a day-spa treatment to slow your pulse for a relaxing afternoon-into-evening reclining in your own private courtyard – or on the balcony. The blue-lit lap pool makes swimming lengths an atmospheric pleasure – or set off on a kayak. Back at the ranch, refresh, dress up and stroll to Mooloolaba’s cafes and beaches. Pets are also welcome – and the staff will look after yours with care and attention while you’re out.

Park the car in the underground carpark, drop your bags in your modern two-bedroom apartment (three-bedroom options also available) and make a beeline for the beach right outside. Or jump in the heated pool while the BBQ sizzles nearby. This is Mooloolaba beachfront luxury par excellence, slap bang between the beach and the river. For some brain-cell stimulation, nearby art galleries, bars and restaurants beckon. And there’s a date to make with amazing sea creatures at Underwater World. If you can drag yourself away, Australia Zoo is just 20 minutes’ drive away.

Nature seduces even the most stay-at-home type once they’re checked in here, among Noosa’s celebrated hinterland rainforest, which rustles with cute koalas at every turn. Open the door on the Hinterland Suite and you’re at home like a local – it’s on the ground floor of a textbook timber-clad, corrugated-iron-roofed Queenslander. Alternatively, there’s the Orchid Villa, which oozes Balinese atmosphere from its wood panels and its deck immersed among tree foliage. Pick either and you’ll have a self-contained retreat that’s eco-friendly (solar power, filtered rainwater). Sound out hosts Russ and Robert, who love to show guests the fruits of their tea and coffee farm. Later, get yourself down to Noosa and the Eumundi artisan markets – you’ll be there in 20 minutes for a good browse.

The rooftop terrace provides a perfect viewing spot from these modern apartments. You might spy a frolicking whale (in season during the winter months) out over the white sands of Marcoola Beach as you glance up from your book, poolside. Your host Doug has included everything you need, from contemporary styling and beautiful artworks to colourful dining settings and crisp white linen. Folding doors open to sheltered balconies, ready for sundowners and a tasty BBQ. And, some apartments have their own private plunge pool. You can’t really hope for more relaxing than that.

Timber doors and furniture, bright artworks, earthy tiled floors and stucco exterior walls evoke French Polynesia in this beautifully presented holiday house on the Sunshine Coast. By day, retreat to one of the grass-lined shade huts dotted around the garden – this is a genuine Eden, with photogenic water features, a swimming pool and a hot tub. With its setting on a quiet street, it’s perfect for singles or peace-seeking couples. Yet it’s only a 15 minute walk to Noosa’s Main Beach and the tasty kaleidoscope of food on offer in the cafes of Hastings Street.

If you fancy a rooftop flat with a private spa plus expansive views over the coastline – and who doesn’t? – form an orderly queue to book in at Osprey Apartments. Whichever space you pick, you’ll have a full kitchen and balcony. Just beyond central Mooloolaba, adjacent to beautiful Alex Bluff Foreshore Park, you will enjoy a dream setting, on a hill with views of the ocean and the hinterland. At night, watch the intermittent beam of the lighthouse at Point Cartwright. Or walk to Pier 33 and explore their modern seafood menu with a cocktail on the deck overlooking the water.

Sunshine Coast stays don’t come more deliciously strange than here at this remarkable property, where a timber-lined, restored Victorian-era train carriage is your base, with its own private deck, set among flowering fruit trees. Or lay your hat in the 125-year-old, high-ceilinged converted church, with its dramatic arched windows, discreetly screened loft bedroom and warming fire for the cooler months. What lies beyond is just as extraordinary: you’re surrounded by the astounding ancient volcanic peaks of the Glass House Mountains, 30 minutes inland from the Sunshine Coast. Take time to step out and explore.