I stayed here with my parents from the 29th of January, just after the end of school holiday season. We stayed in the 2 bedroom superior apartment at $185 per night.

The apartment was fabulous! It was a super size with air conditioning in the living room and ceiling fans in both bedrooms. The main bedroom had an ensuite. We had a pretty much brand new washing machine and dryer in a small laundry room just off the bathroom. The kitchen was really well stocked with lots of pots and pans - no actual salt as pepper though - which we forgot! The fridge was also supersized. We had a new 42 inch flat screen tv with foxtel and also a DVD player in te living room.

The balcony was huge with a six seated table on it. It also had two recliners for lying out in the sun.

I'll agree with other commenters that the pool was a bit small, however the resort was pretty quiet when we were there so we had no issues. The spa beside the pool was just lovely.

We only stayed 3 nights so the rooms were not cleaned, etc while we there - I think you need to stay more than 6 or 7 nights for rooms to be serviced.

We found reception very helpful, but only encountered them on checking and checkout.

The hotel is on the edge of the town and only about a fifteen minute walk from Nelson Bay marina. There's a Coles in Nelson bay too which is great for stockin up the fridge.

Parking was in the undercover car park. The only thing I found weird there was that we had to park in a different building to where we were based which was really inconvenient when it was raining. I strongly recommend management replanting the parking spaces!

All in all we had a super few days stay at mantra aqua and found our apartment really comfortable - we really didn't want to leave!! Highly recommend it!!

A good location with a variety of 2 & 3 bedroom apartments. Our 2 bedroom apartment had been renovated & contained a flat screen TV. Master bedroom was a great size but the second bedroom with 2 single beds was on the small side. The bathroom was Ok + onsuite was appropriate. A good pool & spa with lots of families using them.

Our family enjoyed our short break (6 nights) before starting the 2012 school year.

We would recommend this property for a short break.

We stayed mid January during the school holidays and enjoyed our stay.

The pool is great and the kids loved it, along with the fountains on the outside that they could play with.

The complex is very central and with underground parking and lifts directly to the room and pools it is great.

The room that we had has a corner 2 bedroom apartment and was a good size. The furniture was looking rather tired with the coffee table having large gashes across it, and the laminate on the TV cabinet peeling away. These are really things that should be replaced.

Kitchen was well stocked with plates, cutlery, etc... and the full kitchen was great to cook in for breakfast and dinner for the kids. There are also 4 electric BBQs around the pool area to use as well.

The no-noise policy is enforced well, which for us was not an issue. With young kids we were usually so exhausted we were asleep before it would be an issue for us.

We did see the security guard towards the end of the day sitting on a bench near the pool area. I did think that this was a little intimidating for guests and kids given it was around 5 PM. Totally understand later in the evening approaching pool closing time, but it just felt a little uncomfortable.

I have to agree with some of the other reviews here that the staff are a little abrupt when dealing with people. They are definitely efficient, but a little too forward for front office staff in my opinion.

These apartments are all individually owned and then rented out by Mantra on behalf of their owners. I assume there are some people that live in them permanently, and this would account for the very draconian strata laws that flow over to guests.

Totally understand that they want to maintain the area on behalf of the owners, but they need to make a distinction between serving the owners or the guests.

The Nelson Bay area has definitely gone down hill over the last few years, and restaurants around the area are insanely expensive for the poor quality of food they are offering.

We took the kids to a pizza near the beach and paid $25 for a plain ham and cheese for them. We decided not to eat ourselves as "gourmet pizzas" (their title) were $35. I would not even expect to pay $35 for a pizza at an expensive place in Sydney, and even then you would be expecting fresh seafood.

I would recommend grabbing some supplies from Coles and the local butcher and aiming for a few BBQs by the pool in the evening. Much more enjoyable.

We stayed 4 nights at the Mantra Aqua and found that it was reasonably good value for money. The 2-bedroom pool view apartment we had was spacious and well equipped (full kitchen, huge flat screen TV with foxtel in the lounge, another TV in the main bedroom, large balcony, 2 bathrooms). Just note that the second bedroom is much smaller, and is therefore more suited to kids than a second couple. Some items could be replaced (e.g. rusty bathroom bin) but overall it was neat. Pool view apartments are indeed noisy during daytime, however I found the management enforced well their noise policy (e.g. pool closes at 9pm, no-noise after 10pm rule), which I found great (obviously not the place if you want to party late, but great if you want to have a rest). The reception staff was very friendly and helpful. The location is great too (walking distance from the marina and restaurants, and a 2 minute walk to Coles).