Cairns Hotels with Balkoner

We stayed in an executive room on the eighth (of nine) floors in mid-July.  The executive lounge was generally poorly stocked and food and drinks often unavailable with no staff around for over a couple of hours at a time. We were here for seven nights, so have a reasonably good time frame to judge.  The swimming pool is surprisingly frigid in July, actually unpleasantly cold when there was any kind of breeze or cloud cover.  The bathroom shower drainage was not ideal: every short shower resulted in puddles on the bathroom floor; long showers meant the whole floor was covered in standing water.  Every time the neighbors used the spa or coffee machine, the noises were very loudly transmitted into our room.  The balcony was very nice and the wicker furniture comfortable.

Lovely hotel located at the other end of the Esplanade. The broad walk at the back of the hotel was nice to stroll along and an easy way to get to the city center. Kudos to the reception staff, Riccardo for leaving a really good first impression when I first arrived. He was so clear in explaining everything I needed to know before I checked in, and subsequent days when I saw him he was also really helpful with whatever requests I had. The room was big and spacious, very comfy beds!! The housekeeping staff were also friendly whenever I saw them as I head out for the day. Food from the room service was tasty. However, the breakfast buffet options were almost the same everyday though, wish there could have been more variety. But overall, I still had a rather pleasant stay here(:

I had a great stay at Gilligan’s! The room was spacious and clean, and I was even lucky enough to have the whole dorm to myself one night. I still managed to meet plenty of people, despite being a solo traveller, thanks to the social atmosphere and nightlife. It’s worth noting that the bar/club area didn’t really get busy until late in the evening (11:30pm onwards), and the hostel is pretty deserted during the day thanks to everyone being out on tours/experiences. My room was overlooking the pool/bar area, so did get noisy at night, but the hostel offers free earplugs at reception which did the trick. It was great to have an en-suite in the room, and the bathroom was in good condition. The location is ideal, right within the hub of Cairns City, however I didn’t feel particularly safe as a solo female traveller in the area at night, so it’s definitely important to be aware of that/travel in a group where possible. The on-site travel agency is helpful and approachable, and staying at the hostel means that you can get discounted drinks at the bar and free club entry before 11pm. I didn’t end up going to any of the weekday themed nights, but at the weekend the vibes downstairs were good. I would definitely recommend Gilligan’s to any young solo/group travellers who want to meet new people and experience Cairns’ party scene at a budget-friendly price!