location and service was excellent, stayed at Horizon club, worth extra cost with free breakfast , drinks and canopes each evening for 2 hours. Its a great place to meet fellow travellers, definetly recommend to anyone

Can not reccomend this property highly enough, staff service was fantastic!!. We stayed in room 28, one of the horizon club suites overlooking the Marina and actually got married in the room. ( thankyou to the staff member who acted as a witness for us) The room was lovely, one of the cleanest places we have stayed. Staff were only to happy to help with anything we requested.

We stayed here for 5 nights as part of a conference recently. Upon arrival we were advised our room was not ready. We were a bit upset as even though it was just prior to official check in time, they could not answer when the room would be ready and also everyone else who was turning up was getting there room. When we were speaking to the manager about this I saw in the background the receptionist we had been dealing with shaking her head at us and smirking at what was going on. We were not impressed. Also they had the incorrect check out date and even though we changed at check in, our key failed to work on the day before we left and it was due to them having an incorrect check out date still in the system. The rooms seem to have been recently refurbished and were pleasant enough. We stayed at the Hilton in Cairns about 4 months prior and I would say the rooms here were better. The beds were comfortable and there was a nice lounge and deck to sit on. The bathroom was spacious however a corner bath I think personally is not that great. Also the pressure in our shower was terrible and also it was hard to get a hot shower. I know it is in the tropics but in an air con room I still feel like a good hot shower. The other aspect to our room was that it was a fair hike from reception to it and we weren't the furtherest room. This excabated the key not working issue. I did not go in the pool but did sit by it for a few hours. It is a bit of a concrete jungle. Friends with small children went to the esplanade pool next door cause they felt it was better. Also friends had problems with the pool bar with food taking 45 minutes to arrive and then random food coming round for their room which they did not order. The gym at the hotel is not operating but it did provide access to the gym in the complex next door which was very good. There are some good restaurants on the marina near the hotel and it takes about 5 minutes to walk into town. All in all not a five star experience and more a hotel for a stopover of one to two nights. I would go back to the Hilton because I liked the staff more or try the Sebel which people who were staying at seemed very happy with.

Of all the places I stayed in Australia this was my favourite. AS other reviewers suggested we booked a marina facing room and it was worth every penny. We had views of the marina and out to sea with a few islands but even better we faced across the river to the unspoilt rainforest covered mountains on the other side. Not a house was in view to spoil the natural outlook. Fabulous. And we had a really big balcony to view it from whcih was covered enough so that when we did get a torrential storm one evening we could still sit outside - with a cup of tea made in our room! ANd yet when you walked outside the hotel you were within a couple of minutes of the town centre one way and of the promenade the other where the trees were full of birds and the sea full of pelicans. The swimming pool was in the centre of the hotel but open to the sky and surrounded by palm trees - beautiful.Meanwhile you could walk through the few upmarket shops in the mall under the hotel to the restaurants on the marina - these are actually under the hotel rooms but you are totally unaware of them when in the room. The absolute best is "Tha Fish" (recently changed its name due to trade mark dispute or something) - we ate there 3 times and it was always brilliant, much better than the others. Have the baby squid starter - its like no other squid i have ever had before. and the coral trout fresh from the reef is to die for. Ask for Dave to serve you if you can - what a nice guy and so welcoming and attentive, wonderful views over the marina and across to the rainforest. Do the Karunda trip up by rail there and pay the little bit extra to upgrade to first class - you get great snacks (croc, roo and more normal fare) and lots of bubbly but most imprtantly swivel chairs with lots of space and you can move around the carriage for the best views and have a hostess to attend to your drink and take your photo. the trip back on the cablecar is aa world-beater - make sure you get off at the 2 stops and walk on the boardwalks into the rainforest - magical. We also went to Green Island on the Big Cat cos it moors there so you can use it as an airconditioned base when the heat gets too much. Makes up for the island getting a bit crowded - walk to the other side of the isalnd for space and empty beachers - hardly anyone makes the effort - its only about a 20 minute walk - lovely circular route around the island takes about 45 minutes. we also went up to the daintree rainforst on a 10 person trip which was great - but i enjoyed the karunda rainforest trip more. Oh and the hotel reception staff were great - one night we needed an out of hours pharmacy and they carefully directed us to one where a particularly good pharmacist was on duty (I have an eye problem that needed attention), But it has to be said that most reception staff were oriental and i had trouble understanding them - they had to get the concierge/bellman to interpret re the pharmacy and he of course knew the town well. but they were all really helpful. Go to Cairns and stay here!