Cairns Hotels with Pools

Pros: Great location – less than a 5-minute walk to the night market, which was super convenient. The reception area is gorgeous and makes a great first impression. Toiletries were excellent – good quality and not locked away like in some other hotels, and they smelled really nice. The rainforest shower was a standout – absolutely loved it. The rooftop bar is a vibe, with $9 margaritas and tacos, which was a great bonus. Cons: The room had a musty smell, and there was no window to let in fresh air, which made it feel quite closed in. The sink trap also had a strong unpleasant smell, and the cushions in the room didn’t smell fresh either. We booked for 4 people, but housekeeping only provided 2 towels daily, so we had to request more every day. The pool is quite small, and the chlorine levels seemed very high – it irritated and burned our eyes, and we ended up having to visit a pharmacy.

This hotel boasts a fantastic location, right downstairs from the night market. Their beef noodles are a real highlight, providing comfort for Chinese palates. The hotel's convenient location also means it's just a 10-minute walk to the cruise terminal and very close to the waterfront promenade, which is great for a stroll. The hotel's own bar is super chill, with live music in the evenings – perfect for a drink and a chat.

Although the hotel has been open for a while, the rooms are well-maintained and don't look old or dated. It's only about a 5-minute walk to the Reef Fleet Terminal, which is really convenient for taking a cruise to the Great Barrier Reef – you can even sleep in a bit longer in the morning! Since breakfast wasn't included with the room, we added it for two days when we checked in. It was around $40-something per person. I have to say, the breakfast was pretty mediocre, both in terms of variety and taste. Even the tables and chairs weren't as well-kept as the rooms; the chair I sat on was wobbly. Overall, the hotel is pretty good. The location is convenient, and the rooms are comfortable. There's a decent Italian restaurant on the way to the terminal too.

Great location, just across the road from the beachfront promenade. I really loved the modern, minimalist style of the hotel. However, room cleaning needs improvement. The Asian woman at the front desk was very cold and gave me a low-floor room, claiming all rooms were full. Later, I realized that Asian guests were generally assigned to lower floors. 😤

I accidentally booked this hotel and found out it was non-cancellable when I tried to cancel, so I had no choice but to stay. Overall, it was okay; the room was a bit small but quite tidy and clean. The front desk staff were very friendly. The restaurant was under renovation during our stay, so we were given vouchers to have breakfast at the hotel across the street. Clearly, for an extra AUD$80 a day, we could have stayed somewhere much better. The hotel hallways had no air conditioning and were very stuffy and hot. However, there was a free coffee machine downstairs with complimentary coffee. The swimming pool looked dirty though, and no one was using it. The location is a bit far from the Reef Terminal, about a 17-minute walk.

Staying here was mainly for the convenient location – it's close to both Red Supermarket and Green Supermarket, making everyday life quite easy. There's also a weekend market nearby with lots of discounted fruits and vegetables. My only complaint is that the kitchen closes at 10 PM, which is really inconvenient. It would be much better if they extended it by an hour.

Okay here’s my review. The Espy has so much going for it in terms of being central to the entertainment precinct of Cairns Esplanade.  Check in was easy and friendly and the two bunk dorm had its own dedicated ensuite bathroom which was very clean and quite large. The bedroom was clean and the bunks were enclosed wood and steel construction with zero squeaking. Clean towel and linen provided. So that’s all the very good stuff. The not as good things I observed were: - the lounge/common areas were dimly lit, very tired (bordering on festy) furniture and not somewhere I’d socialise due to limited seating, very few power/USB outlets or clean comfortable seating. - The pool…. Or should I call it the tropical punch bowl of various biological matter and other detritus… if you’re keen of growing something fungal on your body, go in…. I decided not to. -Kitchen and meal prep area all seemed clean and safe to get your mung bean and tofu ready for consumption.  - The personal under bunk locker was missing its latch and with two roommates I had to say a little prayer that my gear would be safe inside my enclosed bunk. Overall this was my maiden voyage as a backpacker and at 57 years of age, I’ve stayed in a lot of Hotels and Motels costing far more for way less cleanliness. I rate this place highly for all the good reasons above.  The not so good stuff is easily fixed by management but for $65 per night in peak season, I don’t think you can get any better value in Central Cairns right near the action. Pubs, cafes, night market and the City Lagoon. Thanks Espy crew, you made this old dog’s stay a pleasant one and will be back if and when the opportunity presents itself.

I expected much better from a hotel carrying the Ramada name. We arrived just after midnight, exactly as we had advised the hotel in advance. To our surprise, the entrance gates were locked. There was a phone number on the gate to call for assistance, but despite repeated calls, nobody answered. We could see reception from outside, and could clearly hear the phone ringing, but there was no one there to help. After standing on the roadside for around 15 minutes with two tired children in the middle of the night, I ended up climbing over the locked fence just to unlock the gate from the inside so my family could enter. Once inside, we rang the reception bell several times before anyone appeared. Around 20 minutes later, the receptionist (a gentleman with long hair) eventually arrived. Rather than apologising for leaving a family locked outside at midnight, he simply said he had been ”dealing with something”, that there were ”100 guests and just him”, and told us, ”you need patience.” Those are his exact words. I appreciate that staff can be busy, but this was a complete failure of customer service. An apology would have gone a long way. Instead, we were met with rudeness and a dismissive attitude. It was one of the worst customer service experiences I have encountered. The hotel itself was also disappointing. The photos on the website appear to be either very old or heavily enhanced. The grounds look nothing like the promotional images—there are no palm trees as shown, and the swimming pool sits right beside the car park, giving it a very different feel from what is advertised. The one major positive is the location. It's within easy walking distance of the city centre, which was extremely convenient. Unfortunately, because of the poor customer service on arrival and the misleading impression created by the website photos, I would not choose to stay here again

Great hotel at a great price. Big, clean room with a lovely balcony overlooking the pool and garden. The pool was also great and refreshing. Walking distance to all restaurants and major shops. They make good coffee in the hotel bar too! They don’t clean your room for stays of less than 7 nights, but we were able to get clean towels daily if we wanted them. Friendly staff and overall a great home for us while we visited Cairns!

The Mantra Hotel has outstanding location. It is directly in front of the Woolworths supermarket - the best option in central Cairns. It's also virtually opposite (the esplanade side)the lagoon public beachfront swimming pool. Finally it's just a 5 minute walk from Cairns Cruise Terminal, with outstanding day trips to Green Island, Fitzroy Island and the Reef. I booked a sea view room. When you enter the room, you don't see the ocean, but a building across the road. However, the view from the balcony was amazing. The balcony overlooks the main features of lagoon on the sea front. During the day it is great view - the lagoon pools and sea in the background. At night you cannot see the sea (as to be expected) but you have the amazing lagoon lights, which makes it very desirable and even romantic. Our room was at the end of block, which overlooks a shopping mall (no car noise) - looking right from the balcony is the lagoon view and looking left is a mountain view. However, from 2:00pm to 6:00pm the sun comes directly into the balcony area, which means it unusable until sun sets. Of course if you don't mind baking in the sun on the balcony, this is not really a concern. The room itself is pretty basic. The mini fridge of OK and TV has domestic channels only - no cable TV for BBC/CNN. The bathroom is of a good size. There is combined shower & bath. However, when using the shower, it can slightly flood this bathroom. A shower curtain may be desirable because the glass panel is not sufficient enough. At $225 per night this hotel was not cheap and you can better deals by coming in the off-season OR going bit further down the esplanade, and choosing another hotel. The Mantra does have its own pool and it is wonderfully heated, with normal deck chairs you would expect at 4 star hotel. However, the pool gets very little natural sunlight, because it of its location between 2 buildings. Overall, the hotel has amazing location, and it is still recommended, despite the shortcomings mentioned. My final note: When we checked in, I was impressed with the level of service provided by the receptionist. She had a very welcome attitude and a wonderful personality.