The Iluka is great. It's basic, what-you-see is what-you-get kinda place. Unpretentious, no fancy overheads - just good quality, clean accommodation with all the prerequisites for a fun holiday. The Iluka scores points for:
* Price - we paid $130/nt for a double apartment w/ kitchen, including daily breakfast through wotif.com;
* Quality of rooms - our room was clean and modern enough with ensuite, kitchen, cable TV w/ movies; double sofa-bed, and a balcony with a great veiw;
* Facilities - secure undercover parking, a good pool & spa, sauna, gym (albeit a bit primative), and laundy;
* Food & drink - Billy's Beach House Hotel forms part of the Iluka, and comes complete with 2 bars, gaming room (not that I consider that a "feature"), pool tables, an outdoor terrace, function room, and bistro. The bistro has some great, simple pub meals at cheap prices. If your rate includes breakfast, you are provided with vouchers for breakfast at Billy's Beach House Bistro. The poached eggs with tomato & avocado on turkish toast are great - make sure you get some hollandaise sauce with it.
* Location - the Iluka is pretty much as close as you can get to the Surfers Paradise patrolled beach. The surf club is right across the road. Also across the road is Centro shopping centre, Cavill Mall, plus you're a short stroll from the Circle & Chevron shopping malls, Q1, and public transport.

Wow - sounds so good I hear you say - the price is too good to be true... Well, here's why - if you consider yourself part of the "precious" set, you need to know the following:
* Bedding - the bed was a tad hard. The Iluka probably had a bit of a rennovation about 5 years ago - but I suspect the beds were carried over. If you're not used to a hard bed, you might wake up a little bit stiff - nothing a dip in the surf won't fix though;
* Noise - the music from Billy's can be heard from rooms on the lower floors on Saturday and Sunday evenings. If you're an early sleeper and have trouble with noise, bring some ear plugs;
* Air conditioning - there wasn't any in our room - so to keep the rooms from getting hot, we had to leave the balcony door and bedroom windows open to let the breeze through - but this does make you a bit more susceptible to the noise issue on Saturday and Sunday nights if you're on the lower floors.
* Age - it's by no means a new property, and doesn't try to compete in that space - it is what it is.

Mind you, none of these "issues" were a problem for my wife and I - this is what you get for $130/nt this time of year - and we were really happy with the value that the Iluka represents. It certainly makes you struggle to justify spending twice as much to stay at a newer property with few additional features (if any), that you're unlikely to use - or unlikely to miss if absent.

I highly recommend the Iluka for couples (of all ages), groups, and families holidaying on the Gold Coast.