For Hilton group hotels, although there's 2 in the area, this was the only property with a reasonable price for room to accommodate 3 adults for 3 nights.  [I did walk by the Hilton Resort which is closer to the habour/yacht area, it did not look too appealing at least from the exterior as the building did look rather dated - like the Shangri-La next to it].  In the end I made the right choice for the price-quality I received.

Location

The property is located about 10-15 mins drive from the airport and about 10 mins walk to the downtown area.  Cairns itself it's not too big excluding the suburbs - making lots of touristic attractions and activities from this property all walkable.  The hotel is situated sea front, and just across the street is the start of the seafront promenade and lots of shops and F&B outlets close by.  The nightmarket is situated about 5 mins walk from the property. 

There's ample street parking around the hotel and I was also offered complimentary parking as an Elite member, which was a nice touch. 

Check In

I arrived at the property around 5 pm, where I luckily just missed the chaos of a tour group which arrived before me.  I was called forward immediately by the Duty Manager that afternoon.  Although there was no upgrade given (I guess due to the specific room I had) - I was given a room with a partial view of the sea and on the highest floor (without a balcony).

I was also given a run down of the amenities and facilities of the property - which seemed to be just coming out from all the different restrictions related to the pandemic.  I was also informed of in my opinion quite a generous breakfast offering.  Outside of that, I was provided the usual Doubletree choc cookie (seems the hotel is proud of this cookie as they had a large cookie as a wall decoration)

The whole check-in process was efficient and friend, with a feeling of being warmly welcome to the property and not seen as just another guest a small gesture but a big impact.  Therefore a very good initial feeling of the property.

Room

The hotel seems to have 2 different locations for the lifts, one situated within the check-in/main building area and the other is outside of the main building in one of the connecting bridges between the 2 (round) shaped buildings.  It was clear that the building is on the older side - and this was also reflected of the room - it did seem it was partially refurbished, however, still some obvious indication of the age of the building (late 80's/90's style).

The room size was ok - with two double beds in the room, the real estate of the room was clearly fully used up.  Other than that, the furnishing was in good state and functional - with a long table, a desk chair and a small sitting area (for one).  There was coffee/tea making facilities and an (empty) minibar.  There were 4-5 bottles of water provided (the usual Mount Franklin brand).  

View of the room was partially towards the waterfront area and the other half towards the hotel next.  Other than that, the blackout curtains was good - especially since the sun does rise quite early. Sleep quality was good - with close to no interior/exterior noise disturbance.  The climate control worked well - just slightly on the noisier side even on low fan speed, but it's expected for this older building.  

Internet speed was in general sufficient and stable - throughout the property.  The TV as expected was on the older (and smaller side).  The channel select was in general mainly Australian local channels with a few international options.  

The bathroom was on the smaller side and it's also one of the most obvious part of the room which showed the age of the property.  There was a bathtub which functioned as the shower area with a fixed glass separation.  The toiletries were the usual crabtree and evelyn.  With this type of shower area, the floor as expected did get wet.  The shower pressure and temperature control was sufficient.  

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the main restaurant of the property - it starts from 0630 during the workweek, which is good especially for those joining the tours out to the reef which usually starts from 0800.  

On the first 2 days, the hostess was efficient in processing of the guests (who is eligible and who not), however on the last day, with another hostess, it was quite a mess - as it seems she did not have the correct breakfast list or she was just not organized, as she needed to call the front desk after every 1-2 guests which caused a line to build up even that early in the morning.  

Outside of that, there was a good offering and selection for both hot and cold dishes.  There was a small area which seems to be (for the 3 breakfast I had) catered specifically for the Indian clientele, which did not seem to change from day to day, as it seems to be more or less the same options.  

There was also a fresh juicer which guests can make their own fresh juice/smoothie.  And as like most of the Doubletree's in Australia (based on other Doubletree's) - specialized coffee was not complimentary but requires additional payment. (it was at least Barista made and not from a coffee machine).  

As for eggs, I am not sure if there was any made to order option, as I was not informed about that and the breakfast team were always quite busy.  Used plates and glasses were removed efficiently.

All in all, the breakfast offering was sufficient for a Doubletree and quality was ok.  

Pool

The hotel has smallish pool at the back of the hotel - with the water temperature at least for me on the colder side.  It was a mix of being busy and quiet on different times of the day.  There was a hot tub - which seems to be quite busy most of the time.  

Also in the pool area, it was showing the age of the hotel - although it was still functional, but not the most luxurious (or in current age and time, instagrammable place).  One of good thing is that the hotel has an happy hour every day from 4-6 pm every day which is also valid at the pool bar.  There is no service at the pool bar, however there's a small counter where orders are taken.  Towels are freely available for use.  

Service

Service from the different associates and housekeep was very good and friendly.  All the different associates met and which I interacted with were helpful and always warm.

Overall

All in all, I would say despite the property being on the older side, this is a very solid property at least from price-quality point of view.  Recognition of elites was good in my opinion.  Only complain like all the other Hilton properties in Australia is again the additional charge for using credit card for payment - when there's no options for guests (because they have all gone cashless).  

I would recommend this property for those looking for something decent, not too flashy/expecting luxury and clean when in Cairns.

Tour desk at the property (run by a friendly German lady) - too bad there's no additional discount for hotel guests.