Peppers Pier Resort, Hervey Bay review: Wallowing in idyllic nothingness

Our son's bedroom, with mirrored built-in robes and plasma TV, has two beautifully dressed king-single beds and is similarly furnished in dark wood with red decorative highlights.

I unpack at leisure, gazing at the clean lines of the upholstered armchairs, black-wood dining table and writer's desk in the adjoining living room. I can't wait to fill the spa tub, open a bottle of bubbles and toast in absentia a friend's 40th birthday.

From the balcony, a palm frond dances in the lightest breeze.

When a shooting star soars across the black backdrop, the holiday fairytale is complete. Almost.

The only dark cloud lining the apartment is its orientation. Light penetrates the back of the building but barely makes an entrance on the balcony, let alone the living quarters. While this is a negative come sundown, the shady spaces would provide a welcome retreat in high summer.

And a solitary telephone at the writer's desk makes for a mad dash to answer calls. This habit is mildly irritating when queen bees must rise from an afternoon nap to field a phone call.

But these are minor niggles in the grand scheme of things, particularly when it's time to eat. The on-site Bayswater Bistro and Bar offers well-priced fare in a relaxed, open-plan setting.

Jude's so-called child meal is adult sized: four grilled flathead fillets, crunchy chips and garden salad ($9.50) are super fresh and tasty. Ross's mile-high hamburger with the lot ($14.90), including obligatory Queensland pineapple, is precariously secured with a cellophane-tipped toothpick and comes with a mountain of crisp, salty chips.

And the bright and breezy Salt Cafe serves breakfast, lunch and other housemade treats until 5pm daily. Staff are young and cheery and make a mean long black, which I regularly savour in the afternoon sun.

Gourmet hamper packs, including magazines, fresh flowers, sparkling wine, strawberries and Swiss chocolate, courtesy of Concierge@The Bay, can also be arranged.

But back to that view - and Peppers Pier Resort is pure hydrotherapy. The magnetic allure of the wide bay tops any jet spa treatment, although the latter is achievable at the in-house Botanica Day Spa.

I indulge in a hot stones massage with the aid of 1200-million-year-old petrified algae, otherwise known as Gubbera rock, which is affiliated with water and depth of emotion. Completing the treatment with a customised facial that makes my skin sing, I "float" back to the apartment.

Apart from day trips or overnight stays to Fraser Island, there is little left to do but dream, gaze at the mesmerising waters, stroll along the bay or toss a line in from the picture-perfect Urangan Pier.

It's a Queensland escape far removed from the chichi culinary reputation of Noosa and pleasure playground of the Gold Coast: surely the very reason to venture that two-to-four hours further north, to wallow in such idyllic nothingness.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Virgin Blue and Qantas have airfares from Melbourne to Hervey Bay from about $179 each way and include a connecting flight from Sydney. Fares from Sydney start at about $125.

Staying there

Peppers Pier Resort, The Esplanade, Urangan, Hervey Bay, 4655, Queensland. Phone 07 4194 9700 or central reservations on 1300 987 600; www.peppers.com.au/pier-resort; email: pierresort@peppers.com.au Rates start from $175 for a one-bedroom suite. Extras include 24-hour reception, child minding facilities, in-room dining, cable TV, pay-movies and high-speed broadband internet access.