2018 – Part 52 – Hotel Report of Hilton Cairns

2018 – Part 52 – Bliss by the Harbour

Our home in Cairns for two nights was the Hilton Cairns.  This hotel is located right by the reef fleet terminal and downtown Cairns, everything was in easy reach.

Check-in

We arrived early to check-in.  It wasn’t even noon.  The front desk clerk was not only able to check us in early, but also gave us a room with a water view.  With a room assigned we made our way up to the room.

The hotel has an open-air design on the hotel room levels.  Once up above the lobby level, the interior courtyards work as gardens between the hallways to get to hotel rooms.

Room

We had a king room that faced the creek and ocean.  Once out on the balcony you could easily see the harbour that was to the left of our room.  The king bed was comfortable.  The early start to our day had us having a nap during the day as both of us were exhausted.

In the room, there was a small safe, as well a minibar, and coffee maker.  Wifi worked flawlessly during our stay.  The glasses came in handy as we had a few drinks on the balcony in the afternoon.

View from the balcony

Afternoon drinks on the balcony

The air conditioning in the room would only run if the sliding glass doors were closed.  This makes sense as it would be wasted effort.  Being in a tropical climate the air conditioning does a great job in being cooler and getting some of the humidity out of the air, however don’t expect anything better than 22 or 23C.

Bathroom

The bathroom was a decent size, with lots of counter space.  The bath/shower combo had good water pressure and no issues with the temperature.

Amenities

Our plan to explore a lot of the Cairns area didn’t come to fruition, instead we probably spent more time at the hotel than any other during our trip.  After lunch we went to the pool.  The pool and gym are located at one end of the hotel on the main level, however to access it you have to come from the floor above:

Entrance to Pool and Gym

Stairs to Pool and Gym

With a few other guests — the first day there was one, and the second day there were three, the pool almost felt like it was for our exclusive use.  The pool area is open to the elements, with the pool not being covered by the hotel, and the hot tub being covered by the hotel above.

Water temperature of the pool was good, and with few other guests the area was relaxingly quiet.  Change rooms, towels and a gym were steps away.

Hilton Cairns Pool

Gym at Hilton Cairns

Gym at Hilton Cairns

On the second day, after visiting the pool, instead of taking the stairs up, it is possible walk along the side of the hotel and into the lobby.  Along the way is this space presumably for weddings.

The lobby was home to two computers that doubled as their business center.  This came in handy as I needed to print out an item.  As well, beside the front desk is a tour desk.  Here you can book organized trips to the Great Barrier Reef.  I took advantage of this service to book our second day’s activities.

Dining

We had dinner at the hotel twice, and enjoyed our meals both evenings.  The first evening I had pizza, and she had salmon. 

We had dinner early, around sunset both times, and got to see a unique sight.

In my rush to take the pictures, a few things failed to convey the sight.  First, the continuous stream of flying animals went on for over 20 minutes.  Secondly, when we asked the wait staff he informed us that they are bats.  As he joked “Fine by me as I don’t care for flies.”

On the second night we shared items, bruschetta, a seafood platter and then chocolate cake for dessert.

Breakfast Buffet

One of the mornings we had the breakfast buffet.  The spread of food was extensive and included several Asian based meals.  The food was great to start our day.  Here’s the gallery:

Overall

I thoroughly enjoyed our stay.  The room with a great view was wonderful.  The meals were good.  The best part of this stay was that the room was booked using points.

Read more about our trip by clicking here.