Foul play was most likely behind the death of a 35-year-old man inside a Gold Coast hotel room on the weekend, detectives have revealed.

Detective Inspector Mark Mooney said the man’s cause of death was not immediately obvious, but a post-mortem confirmed that he died from significant head injuries.

Police were called to the hotel on Station Street in Nerang at about 11.15am on Saturday.

The man was found by staff who had entered the room to clean it.

Mooney said the man was lying on his back beside the bed, with a small amount of blood visible, but no obvious injuries. 

A post-mortem revealed the man had suffered significant head and internal injuries.

Police are now searching for another person, who they believe was involved in the death.

“The scene itself was quite clean, there didn’t appear to be any obvious struggle within the room,” he said.

“There were no clear visible injuries… At the point in time, it was unknown if it was some sort of medical episode, or as it turned out to be, a third-party intervention.”

Police are now asking anybody who stayed at or visited the hotel on Station Street between the evening of Friday, May 23, to Saturday, May 24, to contact police.

“We believe the incident has occurred within one of the rooms, [he was found in] room seven,” Mooney said.

“The rooms at the hotel are quite spread out with thick walls… It’s not only [guests] may have heard, but anyone they may have seen coming or going.”

Mooney also revealed the man was last seen in the hotel lobby at 6.20pm.

He checked in with his mother at 2pm on Friday.

She left the hotel at 5pm and did not return.

The man was spotted for the last time in the lobby an hour and 20 minutes later.

He had court-ordered conditions that meant the man was not able to drink at home.

He had attended the hotel to drink, Mooney said.