The Alara Motor Inn has recently been renovated. I am 27 years old and have been going to Mackay for various reasons all my life. The motel has been on Nebo Rd for as long as I can remember. It has never had a 'facelift' as far as I can remember. However, their claims on their website of 'recently renovated' were definitely true!

The rooms are modern ....nice colour schemes. Small but you get what you pay for. We were in Mackay for an 80 th birthday party and really only needed a bed and a shower / somewhere where we could get ready. It was perfect for this. Mackay accommodation has gone up a lot in price in recent years ...I think this is motels (like most other businesses) cashing in on the resources boom. There were a couple of Thiess company cars in car parks when we stayed. The prices for motels in Mackay are expensive when you consider what you will get in Brisbane for the same amount of money.

All of the places on Nebo Rd have been there a while and offer similar things / operate in a similar manner.

The room had a normal sized hair dryer which was great as I have thick hair.

We were extremely disappointed in our overall stay at this hotel. We actually stayed here on 2 separate nights a week apart. The first night we checked in we had a great staff member checking us in who gave us directions to restaurants and recommended some good ones. The rooms have all been renovated. (Refer to their website not Expedia etc as those pictures are not accurate at all) The rooms were decently done but it's a no frills Motor Inn that we found to be extremely expensive for what you got. People start leaving at 5am and don't seem to be very courteous to other travellers....since the parking lot is right outside your door you hear EVERYTHING. Doors slamming, people talking, cars starting and especially TV's from the rooms closest to you. We were going to stay somewhere else for our second night but didn't have the time to find anything before we got back in Mackay so we ended up here again. This time however we had the RUDEST staff member (Karen) that we've ever encountered. That put us completely over the edge regarding this hotel and I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone. There are lots of Motor Inns in Mackay on the same street....pick a different one.

We stayed at the Alara Motel for one night while on a driving holiday. We arrived on a particularly hot day (after a particularly hot and dull drive from Rockhampton) and were pleased to find our room was ready for us despite our early arrival.

After our drive all we were interested in was cooling down in a comfortable room - the room was comfortable but the aircon unit struggled to cool the room. We recommend that if the day is hot you should ask for a room that doesn't get the afternoon sun beating on it.

Apart from the struggling aircon system - the room was great. Spacious, comfortable bed, well proportioned bathroom and free internet. The restaurant was not open the night of our stay but we were told of this when we booked so no complaints there - its low season - even chefs can have some time off sometime.

However with the restaurant closed and the nearest eatery open for business being KFC we did feel a bit trapped - so be aware if you don't want to eat at the motel then you will need to drive somewhere to find a meal or enjoy a meal from KFC.