Gold Coast Hot Air Balloon with 5 Star Champagne Buffet Breakfast

Posted By : julietui
The whole experience was 5 star- breath taking views,got amazing photos. I'm scared of heights so wasn't sure how I'd go but I was fine with this - the basket was high n I felt secure. Definitely recommend this company - hats off to Paco our amazing pilot and crew Gary and Nick. Thankyou guys for the awesome morning !! PS breakfast at the Star was great too - Julie and Ben
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Posted On : 2023-10-25 03:37:27

Posted By : Laura K
The minibus was old and cramped and very full. At 5 ft 10 my legs couldn't fit in my seat. As other reviews state this was not a coastal flight. Before getting on to bus I asked the driver where are we headed and how long will it take. He said he didn't know. I already assumed as per other reviews we would head 60km inland and we did with one stop at dirty public toilets. Peaceful and calm flight but over barren desert farm land nowhere near coast. Pilot and bus driver both evasive when asked how often they fly over the coast. I suspect never and images of coast and advertising statements are just lies.

Upon returning champagne was offered at buffet breakfast but group dining experience in back corner of a crowded buffet was not 5* experience at all. Ballon was packed to maximum capacity. Once in a lifetime experience and if I had read reviews before booking I would have chosen somewhere much more scenic to do it.
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Posted On : 2023-09-18 21:03:29

Posted By : Christopher_A
It was great peaceful and stunning views . Tour guid was great and breakfast. Good was a great experience. Thanks to our pilot and tour bus and the rest of the crew.
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Posted On : 2023-07-18 05:12:26

Posted By : Rajiv T
It was a early morning start we were picked up at 4.15 am from our hotel
A total of 24 people max go up in a balloon divided into 4 compartment the balloon took off at about 6 just at sunrise
The view was nice and the breakfast served was very good
One only wished the drive time could be shorter
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Posted On : 2023-07-05 02:26:41

Posted By : shazzd65
Absolutely fantastic. Worth getting up super early in the am. Very seemless from start to finish. Had a great driver Bill, very friendly, easy to understand and a great driver. Our balloon pilot was Chris and he was fantastic, very friendly also and very knowledgeable on our flight about where the landmarks were and places of interest. The 'takeoff' and 'landing' was about as smooth as you could get being in a wicker basket attached to a giant balloon !! Loved that we got to help deflate and pack up the balloon (totally voluntary). Breakfast at Star Casino was amazing, great variety and quality. Would totally recommend the flight and breakfast to anyone.
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Posted On : 2023-05-14 21:01:13

Posted By : J9728SJbrucef
The ride itself was as expected. Knowledgeable staff. Our ride was in the hinterland so we missed sunrise, never saw the Gold Coast as advertised and due to the poor winds we were lucky to have travelled 5km in a straight line. The cost per person included a “FREE” $139 photo package although I am at a loss as to why they advertise this as you are still expected to fork out considerable money to have the images emailed to you. There was four of us so apparently there was $139x4 free photo packages but we got nothing for it! Be prepared to help pack away the balloon at the end. I’ve been lucky to ride in a balloon in Turkey previously so my expectations here were based on that. This ride wasn’t anywhere near as good. Awesome breakfast at the Casino.
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Posted On : 2023-03-30 18:32:40

Posted By : Ozhan06
DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE!!! DO NOT BOOK unless you don’t mind flying over Beaudesert and land on Cows’ paddock

Our Experience was terrible!!!
We were looking forward to our very first hot air balloon experience to celebrate my partner’s birthday.
Before I booked over the phone , I asked their staff Trevor where we would be flying over, he mentioned either the Gold Coast or the Hinterland, as advertised on their website. Either location would have been an amazing experience. My partner also called their office and was told the same information. No mentioned of possibly flying over Beaudesert.

On the day of the flight, we were collected from the Casino and left around 4:20am. The driver announced we will be departing from Canungra. We arrived at Canungra and was told we had to wait until we heard from the pilot as he was doing some testing. After waiting for quite sometime, we were told that we will be moving further and that we couldn't fly from there. We were then told that we had to wait for the trailer with the basket and balloon to drive past us and follow them and so we waited again! The driver did not mention where we were going. The trailer drove past and we started driving, it was quite a long drive and we didn't know where we were going until we saw the sign "Beaudesert". I understand that it’s all dependent on the direction of the wind on the day, but they failed to inform me this when I asked them on the phone. This is false advertising! This information should be communicated to their clients and they should mention this on their website otherwise I would never have booked it.

To make matter worse, at the end of the flight, they asked for volunteers to help pack-up the balloon and we had to wait again until it was done before they drove us back to the Casino. We had purchased the package that included Breakfast and Photos. By the time we left Beaudesert, it was after 9:00am and the driver was racing back. The buffet breakfast finished at 10:30am. At 10:15am, I advised the driver that we had purchased the package with the buffet breakfast which finishes in 15 minutes and asked him what happens then? He informed me that someone is speaking to the staff at the Casino and they will keep the buffet open.

We arrived at 10:20am, 10 minutes before the buffet finished. We were then being rushed to go in and grab some food quickly. Some of us needed to go the the bathroom as we didn't have the opportunity to go prior to leaving Beaudesert. We quickly grabbed some food - there were hardly any left. When we went back to get some more food at 10:30am, they had already taken all the food away as the buffet had finished at 10:30am. If we didn't have to wait until they had packed up the balloon and drove us back straight after the flight - maybe we would have enjoyed our breakfast. But instead, we had 10 minutes to have our breakfast with hardly anything left.

I contacted their office to raise my concerns and disappointment, it took them over a week to respond and didn’t address my concerns which were:

* No mentioned of flying over Beaudesert - why didn’t they inform us when my partner and I asked?
* We arrived back 10 minutes before breakfast had finished - totally unacceptable

Based on our experience, it was very disappointing and I would not recommend this company at all!
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Posted On : 2022-09-14 06:15:16

Posted By : DGP01
Really disappointed. This was going to be a very special flight for two members of our group of five people. However our flight on 01 July 2022 was cancelled due to weather so we were entitled to a refund. I rang them twice and also e-mails seeking a refund which they finally did, but they took a 5% fee out of our refund. Money for nothing! Check the fine print before you book with Balloon Aloft Gold Coast
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Posted On : 2022-07-22 00:48:31

Posted By : Peter D
Had a great flight which all started with the friendly bus driver. The crew were remarkable setting up the balloon. The pilot had so much knowledge and definitely loved his job. The breakfast at the end was amazing aswell.
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Posted On : 2019-10-06 20:02:58

Posted By : nickallana
Absolutely loved the experience. From the ground crew to the pilot flying the balloon, every crew member aimed to make sure you had the best day! Buffet breakfast back at the Mercure was exactly what you needed after an early morning, along with a nice glass of champagne. Bucket list item checked off! ✔️
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Posted On : 2019-09-22 18:03:46