serfty

Stayed here last weekend and have to agree with all the other posters here that they look after HHonor elites very well. The weeks before I receved a welcoming Email me inviting me to contact them for any special requests.

I was not upgraded to the executive floor (9th) instead, I was given a 'spa' room on the end of the building on the floor below with 270ş views. Minutes after I checked in there was a knock on the door and I was deliverd a plate of canapes and a bottle of red wine. Oh, and a letter inviting me to use the executive room with special mention of the pre-dinner drinks and nibbles and breakfast. ^

Service was impeccible.

They've got my business!

Kiwi Flyer

What's the lounge like? After several stays I still havent made it to the exec lounge despite being eligible every time.

SPN Lifer

Anyone who flies SkyTeam should keep in mind the GUM-CNS flights to use Cairns as an Australian port of entry (or departure).

I'll take particular note of this thread, which will be especially useful if I ever spend enough on my Hilton Amex to qualify as a Gold VIP member -- which may be more likely now that Diners Club has lost some attractiveness to U.S.-based SkyTeam members (because points will no longer be transferred to CO and NW miles, or to UA and US).

mario33

Small and cosy,with an outdoor balcony seating area. They have a computer terminal for internet access but it was NOT free. Staff were very friendly though.

Food during evening cocktail hours and breakfast was OK but not spectacular. I remember one evening they served a most horrid looking "satay" which many Aussie guests seem to enjoy

ronin

I was there a couple years ago, and they had a rule that only a single guest of the actual member could be admitted. I had my two kids with me but didn't challenge the rules. Instead I brought one kid up for a soft drink, then we went back to the room and I took my second kid up for a soft drink.

Macken7

I was there this past August (2005) as a Gold with my 12 year old son. We got access to the Executive Lounge with a room (nice balcony) down the hall. The lounge was very nice we thought. You did have to leave your name when you checked in. Nice location handy to everything via walking. We used the people in the lobby to make arrangements for multiple tours. Even did a fishing trip with a local guy and four other people which we found to be very enjoyable.

chad75

I was there for a week earlier in the year. The lounge staff were very good at small details, like remembering what type of tea you had with breakfast, what evening drinks you liked etc.

My welcome letter did also make mention of the one guest policy in the lounge.

serfty

Maybe you should take that ˝ extra day when doing your MR's. By arriving at Noon (Early Checkin in was no problem) & departing 10am I was able to get some good use. ^

Lounge is smallish, seating for ~5 or 6 tables of 4 and couches for another ˝ dozen. Would be cramped if full.

Letter mentioned 'spouse/Partner' being welcome and you may be asked to pay for any additional guest(s). Also mentioned discouraging of children attending lounge during periods where alcohol was being served.

None of this appeared to be an issue for a family of 4 who attended during the evening for ľ hour.

Kiwi Flyer

Thanks. I always seem to be out and about during afternoon/evening, and the early starts from CNS = miss breakfast.

One of these days I'll get to use it, but in the meantime I'd rather be doing stuff than stuck in the lounge

mario33

No one get to be "stuck in the lounge". Its closed most of the time except during breakfast and evening hours

lpeterman

Has the renovation work been completed at the Cairns Hilton?

Anyone stay there recently?

Thanks,

karthik

(Writing from the Cairns Hilton Executive Lounge...)

Just checked in after a wonderful 3 day scuba diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef... (I highly recommend ProDive Cairns! I'm off shortly to meet up with all the great folks I went diving with at a local restaurant for dinner and drinks.) Everything's been good so far, the property is fairly nice, and I did get a nice fruit basket (arrived in the 5 minutes between when I left my room for the lounge and went back to unplug my portable access point in the room so I could get on the wireless from the lounge! Impeccable timing in missing me being in the room. )

I got upgraded in advance from a regular room to an HHonors level room on the top floor with a pretty nice view of the harbor. The room is fairly nice, but could be a bit better; bathroom could do with a bit of updating particularly (it's not bad in any way, just slightly spartan from what I'd expect from a waterfront Hilton property in a major touristy city in Australia.) Got a 2 nights + 3rd night free-if-you-pay-with-Amex deal so I'd be pretty happy with whatever. (Though I was just mildly annoyed when I mentioned the Amex promo on the phone to the hotel's reservations folks since I couldn't book it on the website or via Hilton directly without getting quoted a full 3 night rate, and they offered me a harborview room for AUD260 while I saw a regular room for AUD215, which I asked for and got, and obviously got the upgrade and HHonors floor anyways. No big deal, but I'd expect the hotel reservations staff to offer both from the start rather than just the more expensive option.)

The lounge itself could be larger. It managed to fill up in the hour I've been here (7PM now, it's open from 5 until... 8 I think?), though I don't know if this is peak season or not around here. The lounge staff and food/beverage selection is excellent, though. There's one attendant in the lounge who seems a bit overworked, but she's provided excellent service despite. AUD29/day for Internet, which is normal around here from what I've seen, but still rather annoying compared to Internet rates in the US...

I'm not sure if they've completed renovations. There doesn't seem to be any renovation work going on, but I'll ask when I get a chance.

Chapel Hill Guy

Could you also ask if they are staying with Hilton? I thought I saw something here (??) about them leaving.

lpeterman

My wife and I just returned from 5 days at the Hilton Cairns. We booked executive level room, bay side. We were up graded to a very nice suite, 817. However, it was not bay side and overlooked the construction of a new apartment building. I asked to be changed and received a comparable suite, 822, on the bay side.

Overall, a very good experience. Great friendly, and helpful staff.

Walked 2 blocks for one hour of internet for A$1.00. Then discovered that the nearby Pacific Hotel had open access WiFi which I could connect to from the balcony of my room!

karthik

The front-desk person I asked didn't know about the state of ownership/Hilton branding. (And specifically hadn't heard anything about possibly leaving Hilton.) And the renovations are apparently all complete.

Agreed on the staff; very friendly, and very quick with any requests. (Other than one minor issue, noted at the bottom, with a mildly lazy manager.) Had a malfunctioning safe and missing ketchup from a room service order, both of which were attended to 2 - 3 minutes after a call. Checked out today after a 3 night stay.

Wish I'd known about the free wireless leaking over after paying $29/day (only paid for two 24-hour blocks worth as it was unreasonable, especially for how much I was actually online. Well, you actually ONLY pay AUD0.55/min, up to a max of $29/24 hour block. Yeah, that lasts a long time until you hit the max. ) I went past the Pacific Hotel several times walking around the city; if I'm back at the Hilton Cairns I'll certainly request a city-view! (Had much better views of the water on my diving trip beforehand than from my 9th floor harbor-view anyways. ) Couldn't see any wireless networks from my balcony unfortunately.

My only very minor quibble was difficulty in securing a late checkout. Asked at the front desk and was given a 12PM checkout (vs 11AM.) Called the HHonors # from the card left in my room (and actually talked to the same front desk manager who'd given me the 12PM checkout); he managed to give me a 2PM checkout after some research and calling me back. Of course late checkouts are "as available", so this is obviously nothing to complain about at all, but I could tell the manager didn't do any real checking on actual availability on the first request... (He just told me that the 9th floor was going to be heavily booked on Monday.) Obviously he checked when people would be checking in the second time I asked, which is the right way to do it, whether or not a late checkout can be provided. I guess I'm just spoiled by 4PM SPG late checkouts.

Overall, a very nice property for the location/price, and an exceptionally good value with the Amex 3rd-night-free promo they have going. I'd definitely stay there again on a return trip.