It was a spur of the moment decision to visit Canberra for the weekend(cricket washout).
We stopped at the Canberra Information Centre and ask if they have any accommodation specials. They booked us into the Mantra at 1030 (very good rate plus an upgrade) and we were in the room by 1100.
The Mantra is very close to all the city attractions and shops.
There fitness centre and pool are OK for a quick workout.
We didn't need to eat all day after the great breakfast.
We are looking forward to returning next month.

we recently took a trip to the ACT Canberra and forgot how quiet it was especially on the week end ,very clean and welcoming place ,looked at Parliment house and surrounds , tent city leaves wondering what all the fuss is about but thats only me. Went to dinner at a fabulous Italian restuarant called Belle Avista in Belconnen ,traditional food at reasonable price . Got lost returning home ,if i had kept going the wrong way would have ended up in Melbourne not Sydney. For a good week end try it

We arrived quite late on a Friday, after driving to Canberra straight after work, to enjoy the weekend away and visit the Renaissance exhibition. We booked through agoda.com, which I have used on numerous previous occasions. The booking was done approximately two weeks prior to our arrival. When we finally got to Mantra, it was after 10pm. The staff, two young girls, could not find our booking. This is where the unpleasant atmosphere began. One of the two kept asking us when we booked and where and for how long, even though we have provided a print out with all of this information she couldn't be bothered reading it. Then she proceeded to make us feel like it is out fault that we are posing a hassle for her and that she is very annoyed with us. We were coming to the end of our own line at this point and when she told me fine I will upgrade you to a one bedroom, I had to speak up. We actually already paid for the one bedroom and I made her aware of that, she tried to have an argument with me about this telling us we paid for a single studio room, luckily the other girl who was there intervened and corrected her colleague and told her once again that we did pay for a one bedroom, as she finally had the brains to look at our printout. To cut the long story short, I was so appalled at this treatment, that the stay was ruined from that moment onward. On the positive note, the one bedroom on the 6th floor was spacious, the bed was very comfortable and large. The washing machine/dryer in the bathroom are an extra bonus. Unfortunately on the second day of our stay when we returned to the room, the air conditioning unit which is outside on the balcony, was making a loud noise, even though the air con in the room was off at all times. We alerted the receptionist who we asked to either fix the unit or move us to another room, she did show us another room on the 3rd floor but it was awful, obviously hasn't been renovated like the rooms on floor 6, I refused to move to that horrible room so we stayed put. Sleeping with open windows, as mentioned by previous reviewers, is way too noisy, you awake at 6 am as the traffic picks up on the busy road. Overall I have to say I would be rating this hotel a 4 out of 5 if not for the horrible staff members. Its in a good location, big rooms and comfortable with the parking under the building. It is simple, basic but does have what you need. However, I would never return to this hotel, even though we visit Canberra at least twice a year.

We stayed for Three nights at The Mantra in Canberra The staff were very polite the service was excellent and the rooms clean without stinking of bleach. The manager took the time to point us to the local attractions and was quite an amusing character to say the least.