Riviera B & B Hosts

Caroline and Robert Marchesi are the proud owners and hosts of one of the Gold Coast's great Bed & Breakfasts, the Riviera B&B, near Nerang.

Riviera B&B (formerly Gilston Retreat) was built in 1837, then consisting of just 4 rooms, the current kitchen and dining room as well as 2 bedrooms.

In 1953 the rest of the house was built (upstairs only) with an outhouse and laundry sink underneath the house.

The iron lacework on the bottom of the verandah was made in a foundry in Melbourne, Victoria and has been dated to have been made from 1955-1969.

This Queenslander was located in Paddington, Brisbane.   An office block was planned for the site where the Queenslander stood solid and an offer was made on the house and secured for the sum of $14,000.

An arrangement was made to have the house cut into two portions and trucked to the Gold Coast for a cost of $20,000.

Caroline is a Queenslander, having been born at Bundaberg and having lived in two Queenslanders as a small child.

Robert originates from the Mediterranean, Nice being his birthplace.  For him, food has always been a family affair - his father was a wonderful French cook, and Robert fondly remembers his Italian grandmother rising at 5 am to make homemade gnocchi, and teaching him to cook over their old family wood stove.