4 Best Hotels in Cairns, Great Barrier Reef

This attractive hotel has an enviable location near the waterfront, a flotilla of services, and classy on-site drinking and dining options. Built around a central, open-air atrium, Hilton Cairns has large, stylishly furnished rooms and suites with all the amenities you'd expect of a modern business hotel and some pleasant additions you might not, including big, breezy furnished balconies. Spa rooms have large hydrotherapy tubs for postdive-trip pummelings. Enjoy a sundowner at Gin Social, or partake from the eclectic menu at Mondo Café Bar and Grill, overlooking Trinity Inlet.

The huge lagoon-style pool—complete with swim-up bar—is the star of the show at this stylishly refurbished resort. But it also gets points for its location; close enough to the Esplanade to be convenient but far enough away to feel removed. The pool has day beds and cabanas to aid with relaxation, and a sandy beach where kids can play. It also has a great open-air restaurant, MOKU Bar & Grill, and a terrace bar.  

The sociable public areas at this family-friendly complex include a lovely lagoon pool, a guest laundry, and the terrific Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant & Bar. The main complex offers simple but spacious double, family, and studio rooms, some with balconies. The second-floor rooms are quieter, if you don't mind lugging your bags upstairs. Across the road are two- and three-bedroom apartments that are slightly more modern and larger and have their own, more private pool, internal laundries, and fully equipped kitchens.

Opened in 2020, the Oaks is a much newer hotel than many in Cairns—and it shows, with smart and spacious rooms and one of the city's few rooftop bars and restaurants in Oak and Vine. This hotel is comfortable rather than luxurious, but service is friendly and efficient, and it's in the heart of the CBD opposite the lagoon.