Hilton Cairns

Nice and Clean

This hotel is perfect if you are planning a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It is a very short walk to the docks where the boats leave. The hotel is nice, but is a little isolated from the main strip of Cairns. None the less, it is still a short walk to there too. Oh and the brunch was pretty good too.

a very good location

This hotel is save and the staff very helpful, I would stay there again close to everything.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

I have to use a walking stick and still walk to everything

best in Cairns

We walked the strip and from the experience we got, this is probably the nicest place to stay in the city. Great experience

Recommend to friends

- Room was just renovated - Ocean view was assigned - Early check-in was granted - Friendly employees

location, location

The hotel was beautiful, right at the harbor. Walking distance to restaurants, sea tours and shopping! Thanks Expedia,

Traveler's tip on dining

Look for crowded restaurant, better food and service.

Room for improvement

Excellent location, beautiful views. The ants on the 8th floor were getting to be a problem. The spa was not working, supposedly damaged from a flood a few months before. It takes months to fix a spa? No noticable damage, but at least pool was working fine.

one night in hilton cairns

average hotel, do not expect fancy amenities. hotel needs upgrade in the room. the lobby ok. standard services. with the price we paid, it should be consider good value for one night.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

lot of local internet cafes around the town, no need to use the hotel internet. a lot of the resturants offer 15% to 20% off the entire bill for the 5:00pm to 6:30pm dinner. check them out

Great Hotel

Our stay was great. The room was spotless. The staff was pleasent and very helpful. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet each morning (included in our room charge). The pool was very nice as well. We would stay there again.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

Take bug spray with you into the rain forest. The little critters love fresh meat.

Awesome place to stay !!

Hotel located right in the heart of the city. Only a 5 minute walk to the boats that take you to the GREAT BARRIER REEF. Hotel staff very friendly. Lots of gift shops nearby. Casino next door also. The Kuranda Railroad is an easy 2km walk from the hotel. Once you finish your railway trip, 6 person Gondolas take you through the rainforest....last about an hour. Even though the Gondolas take you away from the city of Cairns, a shuttle will take you back to town when you get to the bottom.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

If you have cash and want to change your money over to Australian money, Cairns is the city to do it in. There is no service fees and you get the best rate. Couldn’t get a better rate in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, or Melbourne!! There are 2 located almost side by side a block over from the McDonald’s and (almost) across from the post office. There is a grocery store next to the place where we changed our money over that saved us a lot !!

No frills

The hotel was clean, but nothing special. We only stayed there one night, opting to spend our time in Port Douglas (which I highly recommend over Cairns). Nonetheless, the hotel was accommodating to any requests we had.

Definitely do not visit the Tropical North with small children, particularly babies, in their summer months. The mosquitoes have dengue fever, the Great Barrier Reef has deadly jellyfish and the weather is hot and EXTREMELY humid.

Good, but...

We reserved a king spa room. Upon arrival we were told we had a spa room, but it had two single beds instead of a king and that’s all that was available for the first night of our stay. We did not want to sleep in separate beds, so we were placed in a downgraded room (without a spa) for the first night and then moved to a spa room for the remaining nights. The hotel offered no apology and no type of incentive even though we did not get what we reserved. However, once we did get into the spa room, it was fabulous. I loved laying in the spa tub and looking at the beautiful view. I highly recommend it! Also, the hotel is within easy walking distance to the Esplanade, so bring comfy walking shoes.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

For a day outside, we got pool/beach towels from the front desk and returned them at the end of the day. Upon check-out, we were charged a fee for the use of the towels - even though they were promptly returned. I have never been charged for using towels at a hotel or resort as long as they were returned. I protested the fee, but was told that it was their standard practice. My tip is that you should just use towels from the room and save yourself the fee.

Nothing fancy but great location

This hotel is next door to an upscale hotel chain hotel which looks much more plush but is a lot more expensive than the Hilton. Go there if you get a good rate. If not, try the Hilton. This Hilton is fairly bare bones, has clean and simple rooms, is in a great location and is at a reasonable price. Ask for room overlooking the water/harbor for gorgeous sunrise views. Get on floor 4 and higher or else trees will obstruct the view. (I was in room 422 which had a great view off of the small (2 seats and a small table) balcony.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Cairns is a tourist dump -- a jumping off point for the endless supply of Great Barrier Reef snorkeling and diving options. I would not stay in town if you can get further north on the coast. If you must stay (as I did, a flight layover), take the trian to Kuranda and the cableway on the return visit. Give yourself some time to walk the many paths in Kuranda -- a few of hours would suffice.

A decent place to stay but I would choose differently next time

Things started out rough upon arrival at the Hilton. Our room provided was not as requested. We ended up with a city room view which was not what we wanted at all and the room smelled of must and mold. In fact, the hotel in general smells musty, and it’s noticeable when you walk in from the outdoors. We could not be moved to a better room until the next day, which they did - and they also moved all of our luggage to the new room for us while we were out on the reef the next day. So, I was more than happy with how they handled the issue of the room. Still, housekeeping did not visit our room at all the next day, so we came back from a day of traveling to the room in the state we left it in. They were click to take care of the problem once I called reception about it but I shouldn’t have had to ask for this in the first place I felt. Things were not handled correctly, but they were quick to take care of the problem. After being there, I would have a look into some of the other nice hotels down the boardwalk.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Cairns is nice but it is like staying in the city. If you seek something with a nice beach and a little more quiet, I highly recommend looking into staying in Palm Cove. It’s quite close to Cairns if you want to go into town, but it’s got the most amazing beach setting. This would be my choice if I visited Cairns again.

Great Stay

would recommend to friends. have a great time and short walk to all points of interest. friendly staffs.

Nice and all but not that convenient

It’s probably one of the more expensive hotels in Cairns, along with Shangri-La. Lobby, bar and rooms are quite stylish (unlike the usual Hiltons around the world). Staff service is good too. But it’s a bit out of the way, away from the beach/lagoon, restaurants and shopping areas which are about 15 minutes walk away. Lots of Asian tourists stay here.