mrnick

I am staying in Cairns, Australia the middle of July and thought about using the Cairns Hilton. Anyone have any comments about the property or the service there. I guess my gold Card won't be of much help.

wanderlust

No info on that hotel. I did just stay at Il Palazzo Boutique Hotel and wasn't disappointed. Ask for standby fares and get 1/2 price.

Bad thing is, no points for stay since it's an independent hotel.

Visit http://www.ilpalazzo.com.au/ if for nothing else, to see the word "plethora" used in a sentance.

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g'day
wl

den1k

We'll be there for 5 days in mid January.

Any experiences at the Hilton in Cairns?

Anything we simply must do while were there?

Thanks!!!

doc

Yes, it's very nice IMHO, with a fine Ex lounge and you should probably DIVE the GBR for sure!

chix

Absolutely must dive the reef.

Ask for an oceanview room on upper floor.

Eugene

Cairns Hilton is a very nice hotel, with excellent service. Staff is very well trained (kudos to the General Manager, John Ingram). I concur with doc, Ex lounge is very nice, both for breakfast and for pre-dinner drinks and appetizers. Diving at the Great Barrier Reef is an incredible experience, but also make sure you'd rent a car and drive to Cape Tribulation. Rental car companies deliver vehicle to your hotel and pick it up afterwards. Beautiful drive along the coastal highway. BTW, make sure you wear "real" shoes, not sandals for a night boardwalk there. Also, January could be very hot and humid!

doc

Take the OLD train to Karanda too if you like that kind of thing! I feel asleep on the way home and the conductor rremarked "Too much for you eh?"

There is/was also a fantastic butterfly museum/zoo there!

tinkybelle

I have stayed twice at Port Douglas Sheraton and find it far too far away and too expensive. On my last stay I did one night at the Hilton at the end just to check it out.I wish id stayed there all along. its close to everything the boat to the reef pulls up out the front. theres heaps of fabulous restaurants outside the door and the staff are great.The exec loungs is really comfy and its half the price of Port douglas. id stay there for the whole trip next time.

schriste

The comments previous to mine are all very positive. I, however, only thought the hotel was OK… nothing special. In fact, it was the worst hotel I stayed in while I was in Australia!

Hold on… that only means all the other hotels were exceptionally nice and well above average leaving the Hilton rather dull in comparison. BTW, I stayed in the Westin Sydney, the Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast, the Conrad Brisbane, the Green Island Resort, the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, the Thala Lodge (near Port Douglas – FANTASTIC away from it all feeling), the Radisson Cairns, and the Sheraton on the Park Sydney.

Some of the small towns outside of Cairns are wonderful just because they don’t have strip malls, suburban sprawl, Mercedes SUV’s, and Starbucks. It is so nice to see a real live small town with a couple of pubs, a market, and even a butcher

den1k

Thanks for all the info.

Gaza

If your are a diver then have a look at this URL. I've booked a 5 dive liveaboard trip with them and they have been very helpful. They also do 1 day trips.
http://www.prodive-cairns.com.au

LAXGUY

I disagree with the earlier comment about Port Douglas, which overall is a far more charming and pleasant town than Cairns. There's also more to see north of Cairns than in Cairns. I would advise renting a car, spend a night on the front and/or back end at the Hilton Cairns, and staying in Port Douglas (at the Radisson, near the Sheraton, we stayed in a two-story, two bedroom apt. unit last Nov. for a mere $110 US per night--call their 800#).
By all means visit the Reef, which can be done from either Cairns or Port Douglas. Also well worth seeing is the Tjupukai Aboriginal Theme Park between Cairns and Port Douglas, and the tropical rain forest nearby at Daintree Village. For an unforgettable hotel experience, book a night ortwo at the Daintree Eco Lodge where you stay in a specially built cottage on stilts in the middle of a rain forest (the only one in Australia). They also offer a sunset jungle cruise that is like something out of "Animal Planet." If staying there isn't feasible, go for dinner as the Lodge's restaurant is very good and will give you the flavor of the rain forest environment.
One downside you should know is that while there are beautiful beaches, you probably won't want to swim in them at that time of year due to jellyfish. You'll see nets set up to keep them out at public beaches but we were told they're far from foolproof.
For more info on the region, pick up a good guide book before you go; I recommend Frommer's Australia 2000.

Craig6z

I second LAXGUY's comment about Port Douglas vs. Cairns. The Sheraton is nothing special, but the town has character, something missing now-a-days in Cairns.

kawoh

Hi, i'm a HHonors Gold and want to stay on the exec floor of the Cairns hilton for about 4-5 nights on a trip up to Cairns from Sydney. Does anyone know where i can get it the cheapest? Ideally I want to pay US$50/night - A$100/night (i know its crazy, but are there any coupons etc, out there?)

I don't really care if i get frequent flyer or hhonors points, but i do care about showing my card so as to get exec floor access. Hope you can help!

kawoh

tinkybelle

if you want to join the Diamond club for $225 for a year you get coupons which cut the cheapest published rate by 50%.
You also get 3 X $A100 a night vouchers AND 20% off anything on your bill.
Its really great if you travel in asia or australia