This is a well positioned, comfortable, well managed premise for people who need a short stay in Canberra. It's very close to the city centre, is quiet and has generous rooms, very comfortable beds and very average bathrooms. Breakfast was generous but quality was average, although well supported by very friendly and attentive staff. There was a reasonable range of breakfast cereals, fruit and juices, but hot foods from a Bain Marie were luke-warm and the only eggs available were overcooked scrambled eggs. Tea and coffee was provided from flasks, so needless to say, the water simply wasn't hot enough. For the price, this wasn't good enough.

I slept well in a very comfortable King-sized bed. The room had cable TV so I could also stay up late and get my fill of football, English and Australian. The location is quiet and the rooms are well air-conditioned with no ambient noise. Full marks for a lovely sleep.

The bathrooms are fairly Spartan. On the plus side, the water supply is excellent. You can soak under the shower. The supply of toiletries was reasonable and the quality good. Towels were in good condition. For some reason, though, the bathroom felt sparse.

Like almost all Australian hotels, there was a free supply of tea, coffee, milk and the requisites for making and consuming. These were all up to standard, with plenty of (instant) coffee and good quality tea.

Parking was included in the tariff, although the secure, underground parking spots are a bit tight. I have a medium sized car and had to be careful getting into the parking bays.

Overall Mantra is good, average value. Staff were pleasant and reasonably efficient. A bit more effort in providing HOT, fresh breakfasts would make this hotel outstanding value for Canberra.

The good:
- Spacious,
- Close to CBD and restaurants,
- Kitchen,
- Laundry,
- Friendly housekeeping staff.

Not so good:
- Parking is at extra cost, very tight (don't take your Merc), first in best dressed so be careful,
- Bathroom dated,
- Not worth the rates they tend to charge (esp. during week) - look out for specials.

We got this room rate as part of a Questacon package. It was much cheaper to book through wotif than through hotel direct. We went with another family and the hotel managed to get us 2 adjoining rooms. We stayed 1 night with breakfast included.

One of the reasons we chose this hotel was because it had an indoor pool for the kids to use. Our first day of sightseeing was cut short by all the kids wanting desperately to go back to the hotel for a swim. We went back to room, got everyone ready for swimming, only to go downstairs and find out that the pool's heater wasn't working and that the water temp. felt like below zero. The kids found out the hard way by jumping in first! They lasted 2 minutes.

The hotel has undercover parking but in very small, tight parking spots. Hard to manouvre a larger vehicle. They charge $12.00 per night. The restaurant downstairs (which serves breakfast in the morning) was very nice for dinner.

This hotel is a very short walk away from Canberra's major shopping mall which includes a large supermarket, lots of takeaway foods shops, David Jones and upmarket boutiques.

Room was one very large bedroom with spacious bathroom and laundry, and then a living room with fold out sofa bed, dining table and kitchen and balcony. Fully equiped kitchen makes it ideal for families or people with babies.

I would probably stay at this hotel again but before booking, would ring to make sure the pool was in order!

We paid $159 a night for a one bed apartment, breakfast and parking. For that money it was a really great deal. The rooms were a good size and having the TV in the lounge away from the bedroom was excellent. The kitchen made eating in easy as did the full size fridge. The bathroom was clean but very functional - not the sort to sit in a laze in the bath. It has a washing machine and dryer - great for families. Bed and lounge are seperately air conditioned - and the windows open. I would have found more storage space for clothes helpful - a chest of drawers perhaps - there is room. Breakfast was better than expected after having read some previous reviews. The staff are great - very helpful. As a place for dinner we didn't think Zipp had much ambience so we took Sydney Jimmy's advice and went to La Scala - an excellent decision - great food, not over priced and had a lovely ambience. You can walk there in 10 minutes.
For a romantic weekend I prob would not go there gain but to do the Canberra tourist thing - I certainly would.
And - we had the funny smell in the hall and the carpet looked as if it had flooded as mentioned by a previous review - once you weere in the apartment it wasn't noticeable at all.