Gladstone Hotels with a Pool Worth Booking
Gladstone sits just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, and its summers are long, hot and humid, so a pool is one of the most useful things a hotel can offer here. The eight properties on this page cover very different styles: a rooftop pool at Peppers Gladstone, the city's five-star address, an outdoor lap pool with a hot tub at Gladstone Central Plaza, garden pools at Harbour Sails Motor Inn and CQ Motel Gladstone, and central hotels such as The Gladstone and Highpoint International Hotel, close to the marina where ferries leave for Heron Island and the southern Great Barrier Reef.
Gladstone is a working port city, one of the busiest in Queensland, with coal terminals, an alumina refinery and the LNG plants on Curtis Island across the harbour. It is practical rather than touristy, and many visitors come for work. Yet it has a good waterfront, with the marina and the East Shores parklands, and it is the gateway to Heron Island and the southern Great Barrier Reef. The climate is warm most of the year, which is why the pool is often the most valued facility in its hotels.
Rooftop, Lap and Garden Pools Compared
Many visitors to Gladstone are here for work at the port or on a stopover before Heron Island, and their days are long and hot. A pool turns the end of the day into something better than an air-conditioned room. I look at the kind of pool first, rooftop, lap pool or garden pool, then at what surrounds it, such as a spa, a gym or a restaurant, and finally at the distance to the marina and the CBD, which decides how much driving the stay will need.
Peppers Gladstone is the one I would choose for a polished stay. It is the city's five-star property, built around a rooftop pool and a lush garden, with a family-friendly restaurant, a fitness room and a 24-hour front desk. Rooms come with air conditioning, kitchenettes, bathrobes and minibars. It sits 4.6 kilometres from Gladstone Marina and 6 from the airport, so you will drive to the ferry, but the rooftop pool makes the evenings worth it. Rated 8.9, it suits couples and business travellers who want a calm, comfortable base after a long day on site or on the water.
Swimmers who want proper laps should look at Gladstone Central Plaza, a nine-minute walk from Gladstone Marina. It has an outdoor lap pool, a hot tub and a fitness centre, a combination few other properties in the city match, along with self-contained apartments with harbour-view balconies and full kitchens. Highpoint International Hotel, in the Central Business District, offers one-bedroom apartments, many with balcony views, an outdoor pool and kitchens with an oven, a microwave and a washing machine. For a work trip of a week or more, I would choose one of these two for the kitchen and the pool together.
Garden pools suit travellers who prefer a quieter motel to a central tower. Harbour Sails Motor Inn, a 16-minute walk from Gladstone Marina and 5 kilometres from the airport, is built around a year-round outdoor pool, a spa bath and barbecue facilities in a lush garden, with air-conditioned family rooms. CQ Motel Gladstone, rated 8.8, has a seasonal outdoor pool in a garden, 1.8 kilometres from the marina, and guests rate it highly for clean rooms and comfortable beds. Both offer free parking and suit drivers passing through on the Bruce Highway or families who want a simple, relaxed base.
Three central hotels complete the list. The Gladstone, rated 8.5, sits in the CBD five minutes' walk from the harbour ferries, with balcony rooms over the harbour or the city, a pool, a restaurant, a bar and free parking. Oaks Gladstone Grand Hotel, the most reviewed property in the city with 2,151 reviews, is five minutes' walk from Gladstone Boat Harbour, with the Oak & Vine restaurant, a Coffee Club and a kitchen in every room. Mantra Gladstone, a five-minute drive from the centre, adds 24-hour access to the Yaralla Fitness Centre and two restaurants, Encore and Cafe on the Point.
A traveler's takeI would book Peppers Gladstone for a pool stay here: the rooftop pool is the most distinctive in the city, the garden and restaurant make evenings easy, and the rooms have kitchenettes for longer trips. My advice is to drive to Gladstone Marina for the morning ferry to Heron Island, then come back for a late swim on the roof as the heat of the day fades.
PoolPeppers Gladstone
★4.5Rooftop pool and five-star comfort near the marina
Why guests love itPeppers Gladstone is the city's five-star property, built around a rooftop pool, a lush garden and a family-friendly restaurant. Rooms have air conditioning, kitchenettes, bathrobes and minibars, and there is a fitness room and a 24-hour front desk. It is 4.6 kilometres from Gladstone Marina and 6 kilometres from the airport. An 8.9 score from 130 reviews is promising, and I would choose it for resort-style comfort in Gladstone.
PoolCQ Motel Gladstone
★4.4Highly rated rooms with seasonal garden pool
Why guests love itCQ Motel Gladstone is a straightforward motel with a seasonal outdoor pool in a lush garden, air conditioning, free WiFi and free on-site parking. It sits 1.8 kilometres from Gladstone Marina and 4 kilometres from Gladstone Airport, which keeps arrivals simple. Guests praise room cleanliness and bed comfort, and that is what I would book it for. The 8.8 score from 689 reviews fits a practical family overnight stop.
PoolOaks Gladstone Grand Hotel
★4.3Named restaurant and harbour-side location, well reviewed
Why guests love itOaks Gladstone Grand Hotel is a practical family base in central Gladstone. Every room has a fully equipped kitchen, which makes breakfasts and simple dinners easy, and there is a restaurant, a café and a bar downstairs for nights off. The harbour is about five minutes' walk away, handy before a trip out to the reef islands. Our editorial advice: stock up on groceries on arrival and walk to the marina in the evening. More than 2,100 guests rate it 8.6.
PoolMantra Gladstone
★4.324-hour fitness centre and free parking near the harbour
Why guests love itMantra Gladstone suits travellers who want a well-equipped base with proper dining. It is a five-minute drive from the city centre, so you arrive by car, and parking and Wi-Fi are free. The Yaralla Fitness Centre is open 24 hours, and there are two places to eat on site: the buffet-style Encore restaurant and the more relaxed Cafe on the Point. Rooms add a work desk, minibar, in-room safe and satellite TV.
PoolThe Gladstone
★4.3Balcony rooms five minutes from the reef ferry terminal
Why guests love itI recommend The Gladstone to families who want a harbour-side CBD base, especially for trips to Heron Island and the Great Barrier Reef. The harbour ferries leave five minutes' walk from the door. Balcony rooms look over the harbour or the city, and a pool, restaurant and bar are on site. Air conditioning, free WiFi and free parking come throughout. Guests rate it 8.5 from more than 1,600 reviews.
PoolHarbour Sails Motor Inn
★4.2Year-round pool and spa bath in a lush garden
Why guests love itHarbour Sails Motor Inn is a four-star motel in Gladstone built around a year-round outdoor pool, a spa bath and barbecue facilities in a lush garden. Family rooms have air conditioning and free WiFi. The listing places it a 16-minute walk from Gladstone Marina and 5 kilometres from the airport. More than 800 guests rate it 8.3. My advice: book a family room and use the barbecue area in the evening.
PoolHighpoint International Hotel
★4.1CBD apartments with kitchen and reef-region views
Why guests love itHighpoint International Hotel is a CBD base in Gladstone with one-bedroom apartments, many with private balcony views. Each has a kitchen with oven, microwave and washing machine, and there is an outdoor pool, a barbecue terrace and a restaurant on site. The hotel frames itself around the wider region, from the Great Barrier Reef offshore to national parks inland, but the building itself is a city one. An 8.1 score from 198 reviews is decent.
PoolGladstone Central Plaza Official
★3.9Lap pool, hot tub and harbour-view balconies
Why guests love itGladstone Central Plaza Official stands out in Gladstone for its outdoor lap pool, hot tub and fitness centre. Self-contained apartments have a full kitchen, laundry facilities and a private balcony with harbour views, and secure basement parking is included. Gladstone Marina is a nine-minute walk, and restaurants and cafes are about eight minutes away. The 7.7 score from 277 reviews is modest, so I would choose it for the pool and apartment space.
Local tips
- 1Choose Peppers Gladstone for its rooftop pool if you want the most comfortable stay in the city.
- 2Pick Gladstone Central Plaza for its outdoor lap pool, hot tub and fitness centre if you swim to train rather than to cool off.
- 3Book Harbour Sails Motor Inn for a year-round outdoor pool and spa bath in a garden, a good option for families with a car.
- 4For work trips of a week or more, look at Highpoint International Hotel or Gladstone Central Plaza, which combine a pool with full kitchens.
- 5Stay at The Gladstone or Gladstone Central Plaza if you want to walk to the marina for the morning ferry to Heron Island.
- 6Note that the pool at CQ Motel Gladstone is seasonal, so check that it is open if you travel in the cooler months.