Hotels near Esplanade Boardwalk in Cairns

Great location, just across the road from the beachfront promenade. I really loved the modern, minimalist style of the hotel. However, room cleaning needs improvement. The Asian woman at the front desk was very cold and gave me a low-floor room, claiming all rooms were full. Later, I realized that Asian guests were generally assigned to lower floors. 😤

This hotel is centrally located in Cairns, close to the Esplanade and the Great Barrier Reef departure terminal. It's right next to a large Woolworths supermarket, making shopping incredibly convenient. An Uber from the airport was only about $20. The terrace off the kitchen is fantastic; dining out there in the tropics is just perfect. Each bed has a reading light, a charging outlet, and a privacy curtain, which is very convenient. The shared bathrooms are clean. The indoor air conditioning was too cold. On my first night, someone in the dorm coughed all night, making it impossible to sleep. I ended up having to sleep on the sofa in the common lounge. The only downside was the front desk staff – they were cold and often absent. I checked in at 5 PM, and there was no one there; it was all self check-in via QR code. When I asked staff for help, the most common responses I got were ”I don't know” and ”it's not my responsibility.”

I accidentally booked this hotel and found out it was non-cancellable when I tried to cancel, so I had no choice but to stay. Overall, it was okay; the room was a bit small but quite tidy and clean. The front desk staff were very friendly. The restaurant was under renovation during our stay, so we were given vouchers to have breakfast at the hotel across the street. Clearly, for an extra AUD$80 a day, we could have stayed somewhere much better. The hotel hallways had no air conditioning and were very stuffy and hot. However, there was a free coffee machine downstairs with complimentary coffee. The swimming pool looked dirty though, and no one was using it. The location is a bit far from the Reef Terminal, about a 17-minute walk.

The staff were incredibly friendly. Also, I felt very secure and at ease knowing that a card key was required to enter both the hotel entrance and the rooms, which is a great security feature. The $10 dinner at the attached pub, which was pizza when I went, had a crispy crust and was absolutely delicious – I was extremely satisfied.

I expected much better from a hotel carrying the Ramada name. We arrived just after midnight, exactly as we had advised the hotel in advance. To our surprise, the entrance gates were locked. There was a phone number on the gate to call for assistance, but despite repeated calls, nobody answered. We could see reception from outside, and could clearly hear the phone ringing, but there was no one there to help. After standing on the roadside for around 15 minutes with two tired children in the middle of the night, I ended up climbing over the locked fence just to unlock the gate from the inside so my family could enter. Once inside, we rang the reception bell several times before anyone appeared. Around 20 minutes later, the receptionist (a gentleman with long hair) eventually arrived. Rather than apologising for leaving a family locked outside at midnight, he simply said he had been ”dealing with something”, that there were ”100 guests and just him”, and told us, ”you need patience.” Those are his exact words. I appreciate that staff can be busy, but this was a complete failure of customer service. An apology would have gone a long way. Instead, we were met with rudeness and a dismissive attitude. It was one of the worst customer service experiences I have encountered. The hotel itself was also disappointing. The photos on the website appear to be either very old or heavily enhanced. The grounds look nothing like the promotional images—there are no palm trees as shown, and the swimming pool sits right beside the car park, giving it a very different feel from what is advertised. The one major positive is the location. It's within easy walking distance of the city centre, which was extremely convenient. Unfortunately, because of the poor customer service on arrival and the misleading impression created by the website photos, I would not choose to stay here again

Okay here’s my review. The Espy has so much going for it in terms of being central to the entertainment precinct of Cairns Esplanade.  Check in was easy and friendly and the two bunk dorm had its own dedicated ensuite bathroom which was very clean and quite large. The bedroom was clean and the bunks were enclosed wood and steel construction with zero squeaking. Clean towel and linen provided. So that’s all the very good stuff. The not as good things I observed were: - the lounge/common areas were dimly lit, very tired (bordering on festy) furniture and not somewhere I’d socialise due to limited seating, very few power/USB outlets or clean comfortable seating. - The pool…. Or should I call it the tropical punch bowl of various biological matter and other detritus… if you’re keen of growing something fungal on your body, go in…. I decided not to. -Kitchen and meal prep area all seemed clean and safe to get your mung bean and tofu ready for consumption.  - The personal under bunk locker was missing its latch and with two roommates I had to say a little prayer that my gear would be safe inside my enclosed bunk. Overall this was my maiden voyage as a backpacker and at 57 years of age, I’ve stayed in a lot of Hotels and Motels costing far more for way less cleanliness. I rate this place highly for all the good reasons above.  The not so good stuff is easily fixed by management but for $65 per night in peak season, I don’t think you can get any better value in Central Cairns right near the action. Pubs, cafes, night market and the City Lagoon. Thanks Espy crew, you made this old dog’s stay a pleasant one and will be back if and when the opportunity presents itself.

Luggage storage is provided by coin lockers located a little behind the front desk. For the 'Large' size locker, two large suitcases fit inside. They only accept $2 coins, so while you can get change at the front desk, it's easier if you prepare them in advance. The hotel is conveniently located directly opposite Woolworths, so shopping is easy, and Cairns Central is only about a 10-minute walk away, making it super convenient. The facilities are a bit old, and since it's on a main road, I occasionally heard the street cleaner early in the morning. So, it might not be suitable for light sleepers.

The location was excellent. It was close to the ferry terminal, just a few seconds' walk from the Esplanade public pool, two minutes from the night market, and across the street from a supermarket—it was a fantastic location. However, apart from the location, the only other positives were the water dispenser next to the front desk, the ability to smoke on the balcony, and the ability to watch YouTube and Netflix on the TV in your room. The only negatives were the sheets and towels, which were unsanitary. The towels were stained and smelled bad, and the sheets smelled damp. The bathroom shower had incredibly weak water pressure, making it take a long time to rinse. The drainage was so poor that I asked the front desk for a replacement, and they fixed it while I was out, which improved it, but I still wish they'd done something about the water pressure. The on-site pool had a jacuzzi, but it wasn't very warm and wasn't very good. While the daytime staff were generally friendly and nice, the elderly man who came at night was overbearing and never smiled, which I found annoying. Having lived in Australia for about a year, I thought my English skills were good enough, but even after listening to him twice I still didn't understand what he was saying, and when I asked him to repeat himself he said ”That's enough,” and then ended the conversation. To be honest, it made me feel uncomfortable. I remember not being so dissatisfied when I stayed at the nearby Mantra Trilogy a long time ago. I don't have any plans to go to Cairns for a while, but I don't think I'll choose this hotel again. Thank you to the staff for your kind assistance.

Traveling solo, I found this place quiet and clean. The only minor drawback was the slightly dated facilities, but everything else was perfect. The price was also reasonable. I'll definitely choose this hotel again next time I'm on a road trip in New Zealand.

I booked a 3-bedroom apartment, but didn't have high expectations since it was a motel. However, it was cleaner than I thought and not bad at all. It's a bit far from the city center, so I had to use Uber frequently. Still, the accommodation fee was cheap enough that even with the Uber costs, it was still a good deal. It takes about 10 minutes by Uber to get to the city center, and you can just do your grocery shopping at a supermarket there and take an Uber back.