Hundreds of guests were evacuated from a Gold Coast hotel, early Friday morning, after part of the roof caught on fire.

At around 2am, an explosion erupted at the top of the Hilton Hotel in Surfers Paradise, causing parts of the building to catch alight.

Video footage captured flaming debris raining down, as onlookers watched on in shock.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app:

“The H on top of the Hilton building just started to catch on fire, and then it all started to explode,” Tammie Klosterman, a guest staying at an apartment across the road, recalled.

“Parts of it started to fall, which caught other parts of the building on fire.

It was quite intense.

“The first 8 floors from the top, actually their balconies started to catch on fire from the fallen debris — so yeah, it was quite scary”, she told 7NEWS.

As the fire spread, six fire trucks arrived at the scene, and guests in 186 rooms across 34 floors were evacuated.

Crews responded to the rooftop fire and a second blaze on a lower level after falling debris set alight the hotel’s pool deck.

Of the 432 people who were evacuated, no injuries were reported, and guests were allowed to return to the building around 5:30am.

Dimnici Yong-Gee, the owner of a nearby restaurant, said some debris had fallen into his outdoor area, damaging tables, chairs, and umbrellas, but he was fortunate that there was no major damage.

For Alan Locklyn and his wife Lindie, the fire was the second evacuation during their holiday on the Gold Coast with their grandchildren.

They were already affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred crossing the famous Queensland holiday destination.

“We moved from the Paradise Resort as they had some issues with the cyclone, so they relocated us here — so we got issues here,” Alan said.

The family was staying on the 28th floor, and once they heard the evacuation orders, they quickly took action.

“This was more frightening than the cyclone. We knew the cyclone was coming and we could talk to the girls about what happens or what could happen.”, Lindie said.

The fire has caused significant disruption in Surfers Paradise, a busy tourist area, but it’s still unclear what caused the explosion.

Emergency services were quick to respond, but for many, the terrifying ordeal will be a holiday they won’t soon forget.

Wendy Carlyle, who was with her toddler, described the frightening moments as she was evacuated.

“About 2am in the morning, we got an announcement saying there was a fire in our apartment.

“I woke to smoke filling the room and moments later the police came barging into the room screaming, ‘Fire! Out! Out! By the stairs!’”

At that point, there was thick smoke everywhere and she did not know where the stairs were.

Despite the quick response from emergency services, many guests were left feeling abandoned by the hotel staff during the chaotic evacuation process.

“We were outside for 3.5 hours, not knowing what to do,” Wendy said.

“I feel like they didn’t take responsibility for the people staying, safety wasn’t their priority.

“They were nowhere to be seen and it was the emergency services that came to our rescue.”

Wendy’s frustration summed up the experience for many others:

“I’ll never stay with Hilton again.”