SLOWLY but surely, the Airlie Beach Hotel and its popular neighbouring hotspots are bouncing back from Cyclone Debbie.

The adjoining Thirsty Camel bottle shop finally reopened earlier this month and the 20-room motel is expected to open its doors next week.

Manager Mark Bell said cafe/bar Mangrove Jacks was also on track to welcome its first customers back in coming weeks.

He said the official reopening of Capers on The Esplanade was still being decided, pending progress on the hotel refurbishment.

Mr Bell said work on the 60-room four-star hotel was progressing well but it was a "big job” and the more you got into it, the more unexpected issues you found.

A new roof went on about three months ago and all the rooms have been refitted from scratch.

"All these things need to be quantified by surveyors before you can get the approval to go ahead,” Mr Bell said.

"One problem can lead to another once they remove something and cause the timeline to blow out.”

However, Mr Bell said he expected the iconic hotel - dubbed the 'hub of the esplanade' - to reopen by March or April.

"It'll not only be good for us, but once the whole hotel is up and operating again it's good for the community,” he said.

"It's a big part of the community, and it's the same for all the other businesses. It benefits the whole area and once all this cyclone work has been done, we can all move forward and put it behind us.”