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Central Queensland’s first five-star hotel is a coastal gateway

Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
Peppers Gladstone proves its worth its salt, blending five-star comfort with access to the Great Barrier Reef.

Peppers Gladstone is the first five-star property to open within the Gladstone region. Full stop.  Whether you want to base yourself in the town itself or head out on day trips to some of the neighbouring islands or beaches in central Queensland, the hotel is right in position.

I hadn’t been to Gladstone since I was about 11, one of four kids in the back of a VW kombi van on our annual summer holiday down south. My Dad, an English subject master, encouraged us to make up a sing-song of the place names as we bounced along the Bruce Highway to Brisbane. And Gladstone was both part of the chorus line – Gladstone, Miram Vale, the sun breaks through, Gin Gin and Bundaberg we’re coming for you – and an engaging geography lesson. The staccato tune has stayed with me ever since.

Decades on, the prospect of returning to Gladstone made me nostalgic for the carefree East Coast road trips of my childhood. Peppers Gladstone opened in Gladdie, as the town is affectionately known, in February 2025.

Location

the Port of Gladstone Harbour as captured from above
The hotel’s location offers convenient access to the Great Barrier Reef. (Image: Mark Fitz/Tourism and Events Queensland)

You can’t tell the story of Gladstone without acknowledging its role as a major export hub for billions of dollars’ worth of coal and liquid natural gas. While the Port of Gladstone Harbour Tour is one of the most popular tours in town, visitors to the region should also widen that circle to include its abundance of pristine beaches, untouched islands and subtropical hinterland. Gladstone is right now caught in the crosshairs of being a major multi-commodity port and a jumping-off point to the southern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef.

Gladstone is about a six-hour drive north of Brisbane and hour-long flight from the state’s capital.

the Tannum Sands as captured from above
Stretches of golden sand at Tannum Sands. (Image: Mark Fitz/Tourism and Events Queensland)

Staying at Peppers Gladstone gives visitors access to Heron Island and Lady Musgrave Island at the southern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s also a launch pad to pristine beaches like Agnes Water, 1770 and Tannum Sands. Green thumbs will also enjoy a jaunt to the 83-hectare Tondoon Botanic Gardens, which has 3000 plant varieties, a Japanese tea garden, sculptures, herbarium and lake.

General manager Craig Conley is somewhat of an evangelist for the area’s attractions and says the Peppers property is a great example of the area’s evolution.

Peppers Gladstone shares its footprint with Mantra Gladstone and marks the first new-build hotel to open in the region in more than a decade. It is, says general manager Craig Conley, a clear sign that the Capricorn Coast town is evolving as a place to linger.

Style and character

the lounge in Peppers Gladstone
The interior is awash with earthy tones.

Accor, in collaboration with Yaralla Sports Club, launched the five-star hotel in early 2025 to provide a five-star accommodation option for visitors in town for business or leisure.

“Peppers Gladstone has helped put the town on the map," says Conley. “And, being a dual-branded property, it offers guests a choice between the familiar comforts of a Mantra property and the elevated experience of Peppers," he says.

The property speaks to its locale. And each room is themed – Outback, Coastal, City, Rainforest – reflecting the diversity of the surrounding landscape. We’re in an Outback room, which is all earthy tones and textured wallpaper, and a reminder that we’re deep in the agro-industrial Queensland countryside.

“The Peppers experience is about community and connection. It feels like a hub for the local community," says Conley.

Given Gladstone is a town built around heavy industry, the Accor property is designed to accommodate some of the executives who are visiting the town on business.

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Facilities

the pool at Peppers Gladstone
The magnesium swimming pool beckons for a relaxing dip.

The outdoor terrace includes a heated magnesium swimming pool with complimentary drinks at the pool deck bar (during select hours). Guests are also invited to access an eight-seater cinema room and well-appointed nearby gym. There’s also secure undercover parking, wi-fi and an indoor-outdoor space near the pool and terrace designed for all seasons. Guests staying at Peppers Gladstone can also watch their favourite sporting team on the big screen at the adjacent Yaralla Sports Club.

Rooms

a look inside one of the rooms at Peppers Gladstone
Peppers Gladstone features fully equipped, state-of-the-art rooms.

Designed by BSPN Architects and constructed by Mettle Projects, Peppers Gladstone offers a range of different accommodation options, from King Studio Rooms to Superior Two-Bedroom Apartments. All guestrooms feature fully equipped kitchens, king-sized beds, large flatscreen TVs with screen-casting capabilities and a minibar stocked with complimentary non-alcoholic drinks.

a look inside the bathroom with a tub at Peppers Gladstone
Each suite comes with spacious bathrooms.

Peppers Gladstone is essentially a 32-room hotel. But the dual-branded hotel concept means the property itself can accommodate more than 150 guests, thanks to an additional 60 rooms as part of Mantra Gladstone, making it perfectly suited for weddings and large gatherings.

Food and drink

the on-site bar at Peppers Gladstone
Pull up a chair at the on-site bar for a drink or two.

Onsite restaurant Encore is open for breakfast and dinner.  Breakfast is served between 5.30am and 9am and includes a live cooking station for omelettes and eggs cooked to order and includes buffet favourites like fresh fruit, yoghurt, pastries as well as grilled bacon, chipolatas and grilled vegetables. Dinner is served buffet-style and the menu changes daily. It also includes the option of a stone-grill where you can cook your wagyu, salmon or eye fillet to your liking at a stone grill delivered to your table (for an additional $6.50). There’s also the adjacent Shingle Inn, popular for burgers and salads.

The pool deck is also open for a beverage at the end of the day where you can supervise the children in the swimming pool. Nearby Ward’s Brewery is a top spot to test the barometer of this true-blue borough. The pub has a big screen promotion of Lady Musgrave Island and the Great Barrier Reef playing on a loop and is filled with travellers plotting their next move. Peppers Gladstone also has a member’s lounge, which is a welcoming space for a hot or cold beverage.

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Does Peppers Gladstone have access for guests with disabilities?

Yes, Peppers Gladstone is wheelchair accessible.

Is Peppers Gladstone family-friendly?

a mother and child exploring Tondoon Botanic Gardens
Take your little ones to Tondoon Botanic Gardens for a refreshing stroll. (Image: Mark Fitz/Tourism and Events Queensland)

Yes, the hotel is family-friendly. It’s also located near to protected beaches and islands that are perfect for little ones who are learning to snorkel. Take a stroller to explore the city’s open spaces with a wander along the Millennium Esplanade at Tannum Sands Beach, which has a playground and barbecues, and East Shores Parklands, which has a waterfront boardwalk, green space, barbecues and water play area.

Details

Best for: Large groups and business or leisure travellers.
Address: Corner Wood & Bell St, Barney Point

Price: From $240 per night.

Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti has written across print and digital for Australian Traveller and International Traveller for more than a decade and has spent more than two decades finding excuses to eat well and travel far. A prestigious News Corp cadetship launched her career at The Cairns Post, before a stint at The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald gave way to extended wanders through Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, Asia and Europe. Carla was chief sub editor at delicious and has contributed to Good Food, Travel & Luxury, Explore Travel, Escape. While living in London, Carla was on staff at Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times Travel desk and was part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK.
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3 wild corners of Australia that let you reconnect with nature (in comfort)

    Kassia Byrnes Kassia Byrnes
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    The country’s rawest places offer some of its most transformative, restorative experiences.

    Australia offers sublime opportunities to disappear into the ancient, untouched wilderness, worlds away from modern stress. Wild Bush Luxury offers a collection of experiences that are a portal into the continent’s wildest, most undiscovered landscapes, from wide floodplains to vast savannas, where the only distractions are birdsong, frog calls, curious wallabies and the daily drama of sunset. With a focus on conservation and Indigenous knowledge, these all-inclusive experiences allow guests to slow down and quiet their minds for intimate encounters with the natural world.

    1. Bamurru Plains

    safari tent at Bamurru Plains wild bush luxury
    Let nature take front row.

    In the remote Top End, just outside Kakadu National Park on the fringes of the spectacular Mary River floodplains, you’ll find Bamurru Plains, a peerless Australian safari camp. After a quick air transfer from Darwin to the camp’s private airstrip, you’ll be whisked away via 4WD to a vivid natural wonderland of shimmering floodplains, red earth, herds of peacefully grazing water buffalo and 236 bird species (Bamurru means magpie goose to the Gagadju people).

    Accommodations consist of 10 mesh-walled bungalows and two luxe stilted retreats where guests enjoy panoramic, up-close views that invite them into their rightful place in the landscape (and binoculars to see it even better). Being an off-grid experience designed to help guests disconnect, the only distractions are birdsongs, frog calls, curious wallabies, the occasional crocodile sighting and the daily drama of the spectacular golden sunset.

    It’s a place where nature’s vastness rises to the level of the spiritual, and Bamurru’s understated, stylish,  largely solar-powered lodgings are designed to minimise human impact and let nature take front row.  Guests relax in comfort with plush linens, an open bar, communal tables that allow for spontaneous connections and curated dining experiences from the in-house chef using local ingredients and bush-inspired cooking methods.

    Bamurru Plains airboat tour
    Zoom across the floodplains. (Image: Adam Gibson)

    It’s a restorative backdrop for days spent zooming across the mist-covered floodplains in an airboat, birding with expert guides, taking an open-sided safari drive or river cruise through croc country. Spend time at the Hide, a treehouse-like platform that’s perfect for wildlife spotting.

    In fact, nature is so powerful here that Bamurru Plains closes entirely during the peak monsoon season (October to April), when the floodplains reclaim the land and life teems unseen beneath the water. Yet Wild Bush Luxury’s ethos continues year-round through its other experiences around Australia – each designed to immerse travellers in a distinct Australian wilderness at its most alive and untouched.

    2. Maria Island Walk

    woman on a headland of Maria Island Walk
    Maria Island Walk offers sweeping coastal scenes.

    Off Tasmania’s rugged east coast, the iconic Maria Island Walk is an intimate four-day journey through one of the country’s most hauntingly beautiful and unpopulated national parks, encompassing pristine beaches, convict-era ruins, and wildlife sightings galore. Accessible only by a small ferry, Maria Island feels like a place reclaimed by nature, which is exactly what it is: a penal settlement later used for farms and industry that finally became a national park in 1972.

    These days, the island is known as ‘Tasmania’s Noah’s Ark’ and its only human inhabitants are park rangers. It’s a place where wombats amble through grassy meadows, wallabies graze beside empty beaches, dolphins splash in clear water just offshore and Tasmanian devils – successfully reintroduced in 2012 after near-extinction on the mainland – roam free and healthy.

    Each day unfolds in an unhurried rhythm: trails through coastal eucalyptus forests or along white-sand bays, plateaus with sweeping ocean views, quiet coves perfect for swimming. Midway through the journey, you’ll explore Darlington, a remarkably preserved 19th-century convict settlement whose ruins tell stories of human ambition at the edge of the known world.

    At night, sleep beneath a canopy of stars in eco-wilderness camps – after relaxing with Tasmanian wine and locally-sourced meals, and swapping stories with your fellow trekkers by candlelight.

    3. Arkaba

    two people standing next to a 4wd in Arkaba
    Explore Arkaba on foot or on four wheels.

    For a bush immersion with more of an outback flavour, Arkaba offers a completely different type of experience. A former sheep station and historic homestead in South Australia’s striking Flinders Ranges that has been reimagined as a 63,000-acre private wildlife conservancy. It’s now patrolled mainly by kangaroos and emus.

    Small-scale tourism (the homestead has just five ensuite guestrooms) helps support rewilding projects, and guests become an essential part of the conservation journey. Days begin with sunrise hikes through ancient sandstone ridges or guided drives into the ranges to spot yellow-footed rock-wallabies. And end with sundowners on a private ridgetop watching the Elder Range glow vibrant shades of gold, crimson and violet as the air cools and time stands still.

    Here, you can join conservation activities like tracking native species or learning about Arkaba’s pioneering feral-animal eradication projects, then unwind with chef-prepared dinners served alfresco on the veranda of the homestead, which is both rustic and refined. The highlight? Following Arkaba Walk, a thriving outback wilderness where emus wander and fields of wildflowers grow.

    It’s an unforgettable immersion in Australia’s vast inland beauty, a place where the land’s deep and complicated history – and astounding resilience – leave their quiet imprint long after you return home. In a world where genuine awe is rare, Wild Bush Luxury offers a return to what matters most in the untamed beauty of Australia’s wilderness.

    Disconnect from the grind and reconnect with nature when you book with at wildbushluxury.com