South Gladstone Motel

The South Gladstone Motel sits on Toolooa Street, a few minutes south of the Gladstone CBD, and it is one of the handful of motels in town that takes dogs overnight. It is a practical choice rather than a resort: a swimming pool and a garden area on site, comfy beds, some rooms with bunk beds, and managers reviewers repeatedly describe as friendly and welcoming, including for last-minute bookings.

Dogs at the South Gladstone Motel

Dogs stay in designated pet-friendly rooms, not throughout the motel, so you need to request one at the time of booking. The details vary between booking platforms, and the two worth pinning down are the size limit and the fee. Some sources cite a limit of around 6 kg per pet, though that figure may be dated, and larger dogs should be confirmed directly with management. On fees, Hotels.com lists up to $50 per pet per night while BringFido lists $50 per stay, so the basis genuinely differs by platform. Whichever applies, pets cannot be left unattended in the room, which matters in a working town if your days are taken up elsewhere. The garden area gives you an on-lead patch of grass for toilet breaks without leaving the property.

Worth knowing

This is a solid, functional motor inn with a score that sits around average, so go in expecting clean and comfortable rather than polished. The South Gladstone location keeps you close to the shops and food along Toolooa Street, and it is an easy base for the harbour side of Gladstone, with Spinnaker Park and its dog-friendly cafe about a ten to fifteen minute drive away.

Close by with the dogs

Grounded Society is the neighbourhood cafe on the same strip for a morning coffee run. Cafe Spinnaker Park at Callemondah pairs an outdoor, dog-welcoming deck with paved harbour walking paths where dogs are welcome on a lead. Auckland House on Flinders Parade is the waterfront brewpub that takes dogs in its outdoor areas, right beside the East Shores parklands. For a proper run, Webb Park's fenced dog park in West Gladstone is the closest fully fenced option.

More options around town are on the South Gladstone destination page, and the full list is in the QLD stays index.