Has anyone stayed here? Thinking of booking up for December and opinions would be greatfully appeciated.

Its well situated near the waterfront, just check that your room's view is not obliterated by the whacking great Harbour Lights apartment development going up almost next to Hilton.

As Pat says do make sure you ask for a room with a good view! Waterfront rooms with views over Trinity Inlet are fantastic. It's an older hotel now but the rooms we have stayed in have all been very nicely refurbished.

For casual dining, Mondo's on the ground floor is great, with tables and chairs outside on the grass overlooking the waterfront. There is often live music in the evenings.

Agree with Sunbird, Mondo's has been a favourite with locals for years.

Apart from Sunbird's comment, have never seen Trinity Inlet mentioned on this forum. So often we hear complaints that Cairns city does not have a sandy beach, it doesn't, its a harbour with deep water anchorage which can take ocean going liners which dock just into Trinity Inlet. But Trinity Inlet runs for miles inland from the harbour and starts just near the Hilton. Here there's an absolute wilderness a few kms from the city, miles of meandering and undeveloped waterways, incredibly healthy mangrove system (which after all is what reef depends on to survive). And a favourite fishing spot for locals. Big Cat, for AU$59 for a half day trip will take you one way by coach with informative driver, should be of particular interest to Americans as US military built many of the roads in this part of Cairns when stationed here in WW
II. They'll take you to a crocodile farm at end of Trinity Inlet; these are farmed crocs, not a jumping croc tourist show, but there's 20,000 there from babies to monsters. Then a biologist led return trip on Trinity Inlet by boat back to Cairns.
That's the afternoon trip, you can do it in reverse in the morning.

I stayed at the Hilton on HH points in June of this year. It was an average Hilton hotel. They are all basically the same. It had an annoying feature that the a/c shut off if you opened the patio door. It also caters to Japanese so be prepared for everything to be in English and Japanese. I'm not sure how long your staying in Cairns but I stayed at a B&B about 10 mins from the city center called Zanzoo that was fantastic. If your paying for the hotel, there are better ones out there. If your using points, then I think it's great for free.

I too think Zanzoo is one of the best places to stay around Cairns, it is a little more than 10 minutes, say 25 out of Cairns and you do need a car. The question here was about the Hilton, and we all know a Hilton is a Hilton is a Hilton. It was a shame the a/c temporarily shut off in winter and yes, Cairns city has a large amount of Japanese, other Asian and European visitors. Which makes it the cosmopolatin little city that it is.