HOTEL REVIEW - The Siesta Villa Motor Inn - Gladstone

With the distance to cover from home, Gladstone hasn't been high on the list of places to go, however on this occasion I chose the Siesta Villa Motor Inn as it was one of the few places in the busy industrial city that actually had rooms available and for a reasonable price.

The Siesta Villa was fairly straight forward to find - following the Dawson Highway (Dawson Road) past Gladstone Airport - it is located on Glenlyon Road and is close to major shopping centres and food outlets.  Glenlyon Road is quite busy during the day, however it does quieten down at night.

The room I stayed in was quite spacious with it containing a double bed along with a bunk bed - so the room is capable of sleeping 4-5.  There are only 11 rooms all up, and they can sleep 1-3 people, with two family rooms.  There are also portable cots available at reception.

The reception staff were very friendly and accommodating during my brief stay.

The room - like others - feature reverse-cycle air conditioning, alarm clock, hairdryer, iron & ironing board, opening windows, radio, bar-size refrigerator, free cable TV, tea/coffee making as well as wireless Internet access.

Ample ground-level parking and the rooms on the second level have a balcony.  

There is also laundry facilities and a pool on-site.

The bathroom was spacious with shower at one end, basin the middle and toilet up the other end.

I feel that hotel - like most in Gladstone during the current resource boom in Central Queensland - is geared toward the itinerant worker.  The hotel is quite busy during weekdays, and as mentioned above, was actually one of the last remaining places in town to get a room even on a weekend!

In all I thought the Siesta Villa Motor Inn was a great place to stay.  It was clean and comfortable - there were some ants getting around in the room - but given the fact that I did struggle to find another hotel in a convenient location and at a reasonable price - it was a great choice.

TRIP REPORT - Gladstone to Brisbane to Gladstone - Virgin Australia Airlines (Skywest Airlines) - ATR 72-500

TRIP REPORT – Gladstone to Brisbane – Tuesday 28 February – Virgin Australia Airlines (Skywest Airlines) – DJ1712 – ATR 72-500 – VH-FVM.

Shane T in Gladstone recently went for a ‘joyride’ on the Virgin Australia (Skywest Airlines-operated) ATR 72-500 service from Gladstone to Brisbane and back. He kindly shares some of his thoughts, as well as some lovely pictures from the flights and while spotting at Brisbane Airport!

First point to note is that Gladstone Airport has plenty of parking, so it was easy to find a park! Inside the relatively busy terminal, I was able to checkin and received my boarding pass. I was assigned seat 8A – on the left (port) side of the ATR.

Through the security check-point at Gladstone Airport – installed to coincide with the ATR services starting – and I proceeded towards Gate Three which is on the ‘lower’ of the two parking aprons at Gladstone Airport.

Soon after, ATR 72-500, VH-FVM, which is the newest ATR flown by Skywest Airlines for Virgin Australia – arrived from Brisbane. I noted that it was nearly full with 65 passengers disembarking at Gladstone.


The flight to Brisbane boarded and departed from Gladstone Airport on time at 8.05am. The ATR was about half-full, and I was seated (in 8A) directly under the wing, and adjacent to rear section of the engine on the left side of the plane.



Despite inclement weather departing Gladstone, the flight was relatively smooth. After departure, we climbed quickly, and soon we were established on our cruise above all the clouds.


Light snacks were served, of which I didn’t take one, having had breakfast from a local drive thru!

Descent was smooth and uneventful, and minutes before landing in Brisbane, I noticed that the trailing-edge of the wings were extended to the full 30 degrees - as shown below!



The flight arrived at Brisbane about 10 minutes early at 9.15am – we had made good time!



Time now to negotiate the very narrow stairs - a lot harder to get off then get on! Walk across the tarmac and into the Brisbane Domestic Terminal - albeit downstairs!


After about a 45 minute turn-around in Brisbane, VH-FVM departed southbound from Brisbane to Port Macquarie (as VOZ1766) with about 30 passengers on-board. It did not return to Brisbane for the rest of the day.


While spending the better part of the day planespotting in Brisbane - I noticed Virgin maintains a busy schedule for the ATR's servicing the Gladstone, Rockhampton, Emerald and Port Macquarie routes out of Brisbane. The aircraft spend little time on the ground before getting airborne again. Good to see the aircraft are busy and taking a productive roll within the fleet of Virgin Australia.


Also at Brisbane, I noticed the two all-white Fokker F-100 aircraft that Virgin Australia is utilising on the Brisbane to Cairns, Rockhampton, Proserpine / Whitsunday Coast, and Newcastle (Williamtown) sectors. I managed a shot of VH-XWN parked at the Virgin terminal, and noted the other, VH-XWM, also flying during the day.


If the rumours are correct, I am looking forward to seeing a Fokker F-100 in Virgin colours. I think that they will look good. It’s also good to see plenty of Fokkers flying all over the Australian skies these days. I like the F-100 because i like rear-engined jets like the old DC9's and MD80's (aka Boeing 717). Favourite plane of all time definitely remains the 727.




TRIP REPORT – Gladstone to Brisbane – Tuesday 28 February – Virgin Australia Airlines (Skywest Airlines) – DJ1715 – ATR 72-500 – VH-FVH.



After enjoying a good day of planespotting at one of Australia's busiest airports, it was time for my return flight to Gladstone on VOZ1715. I went downstairs to the Virgin check-in area, and was able to pretty much get my boarding pass straight away.

After studying the configuration of the plane during the flight from Gladstone, I requested seat 6A which would put me closer to the propellers - a favourite view of mine. Fortunately, the seat was available and so was ready to board for the journey home!

I went back upstairs through security at Brisbane Airport, and approached the gate area (Gate 50) and noted that the oldest ATR flying in the fleet – in the form of VH-FVH – was to take me home.

Boarding commenced, and this return flight to Gladstone was at full capacity, with only a single empty seat. It’s great to see Virgin is achieving good load factors on the Gladstone route and one hopes it means the airline will maintain services to the Central Queensland port for the long term. Competition on Central Queensland sectors can only be a good thing for the travelling public.

Like the morning flight to Brisbane, we departed to Gladstone on time at 3.50pm. In fact I noted most of the Virgin ATR flights to and from Brisbane throughout the day were running on time or close to schedule – it was a good day!



After a fairly uneventful flight North – including another snack service - we landed back at Gladstone Airport on time at 5.10pm.


Overall, my impressions of the ATR are most positive. I found the aircraft to be quiet inside, and relatively comfortable with ample legroom on the inside - comparable to the Q400. I did note however, that the steep stairs that passengers get on and get off at the rear of the plane, do require caution, particularly when exiting the plane. I would most certainly fly in the ATR again!

TRIP REPORT - Gladstone to Brisbane to Gladstone - QantasLink (Sunstate Airlines) - Dash-8-Q400

TRIP REPORT – Gladstone to Brisbane – Thursday 4 August – QantasLink (Sunstate Airlines) – QF2335 – Dash-8-Q400 – VH-QOV.

Shane T in Gladstone recently flew from Gladstone to Brisbane and back on QantasLink (Sunstate Airlines). We thank him for providing the following Trip Report.

Having flown Strategic Airlines to Gladstone some weeks ago (Trip Report HERE), I decided to take a quick ‘joyflight’ on QantasLink as they are the longer more established airline on the Gladstone to Brisbane sector. I call it a ‘joyflight’ as I flew to Brisbane and back in the day.

Check-in was pretty easy – it was pretty quiet at the terminal – and then sat down and waited for the inbound flight to arrive. Soon enough VH-QOV arrived from Brisbane to take us South.


Boarding was pretty quick and painless – I even managed a quick photo of the cabin as I found my seat – QantasLink have the Dash-8-Q400s in a 2X2 style – and VH-QOV is one of the Q400s with the old style interior.



The cabin of the Q400 ‘appears’ narrow however space and seating comfort is actually respectable despite being a regional plane, albeit on the larger side. Door closed, the engines started up, and we taxied away from the terminal and headed out to the runway.



Early rotation and we were off to Brisbane – some nice views as we got airborne of Gladstone city and the harbour.




Also a nice view of the Red-Mud Dam which is a waste deposit reserve for QAL (Queensland Alumina Ltd) of which is an eye sore from the air but completely non-viewable from the ground. In fact, unless you fly over it - nobody would even know it is there.


There is also a picture is of Boyne Island / Tannum Sands (along the coast separated by the Boyne River) as well as Benaraby (foreground) and to the left, Red-Mud Dam remains viewable


As always, the flight between Brisbane and Gladstone is quick because of the Q400's high cruise speed and unless getting caught in a holding pattern for a period of time, the flight time is generally about 50 minutes – this is similar to the A320 block time when I flew Strategic Airlines flew between the two ports.

The QantasLink cabin service was pleasant and efficient, however being a short sector, efficiency must be a given. On this mid-morning flight we were served some delicious scones, as well as a water and tea and coffee.



Cabin service done, we were soon descending into Brisbane. Some nice views over Moreton Bay and Redcliffe (with Redcliffe Aerodrome clearly visible). Flying over the Houghton Highway and the ‘Hornibrook Viaduct’ soon had us landing on Runway 14 at Brisbane.





This is the secondary runway at Brisbane mostly used by lighter/regional aircraft, and means a much longer taxi distance to the terminal. Fortunately for us the pilot taxied us to the terminal at a fair old clip and we had pulled up to our remote gate at the Qantas terminal pretty much on schedule.

One last quick photo of our Q400 as we jumped aboard a bus to take us to the terminal. Once inside the terminal, I also took a quick photo of the busy Qantas and QantasLink apron, and then took the opportunity for some plane spotting before my flight back to Gladstone in the afternoon!



A Strategic Airlines A320 was receiving attention – it was such a pity that they withdrew from Gladstone...



A new Virgin Australia B737-800 arrived – I think the new livery looks awesome – I can’t wait to see it on their new ATR aircraft – especially when then start flying to Gladstone from Brisbane.



Spotting done, back down to the QantasLink waiting area to check-in and then wait for my return flight to Gladstone. Passengers with no bags – like me – can check in at this downstairs location – which is still past security screening. There are nice views over the QantasLink apron – although several layers of glass makes photography not so good!


TRIP REPORT – Brisbane to Gladstone – Thursday 4 August – QantasLink (Sunstate Airlines) – QF2340 – Dash-8-Q400 – VH-QOX.

Soon our flight was called through Gate One (of three in the downstairs QantasLink area of the Qantas terminal), and we were made to mull around for a couple of minutes before we were walked out about 30 metres to VH-QOX which was waiting for us near the terminal.

Busses are used if the aircraft is a long way away from the terminal.
Started up and taxied away pretty much on time and we headed for departure off Runway 01 at Brisbane. The departure to the North gave us nice views of the General Aviation Apron, Runway 14, Moreton Bay, and again Redcliffe.




For the most part, the return flight to Gladstone was absolutely beautiful from the air because of the predominately clear skies and the afternoon sun.




I even got the chance to enjoy a complementary beer with the light snack that was served – although chocolate mud cake slice doesn't mix to well with beer – ha ha!!


As we flew North, the clear skies were taking on a smokier look and as we approached Gladstone we could see a few burn-offs adjacent to Awoonga Dam - the main catchment for the Gladstone Region.


A smooth landing at Gladstone and a one last photo of VH-QOX parked on the apron.


On a final note, it was interesting to note that on each and every flight that I have flown with QantasLink between Gladstone and Brisbane, their aircraft has always been booked to capacity or close to, whereas it appeared Strategic Airlines barely enticed 30 passengers per flight on an aircraft configured for 152 passengers.

Anyway two great flights with QantasLink – both very enjoyable – no problems – fantastic snacks – fantastic crews – and a fantastic ‘joyflight’ with some good spotting in Brisbane.