181 The Esplanade — Hotel in Cairns North

We stayed at this property for 3 nights in a 2 bed apartment and paid just under $800. We had booked an upper level apartment but were placed on the 2nd floor (apartment 10). The place was roomy and clean, although a little dated. Unfortunately on our first night we were woken around 11 pm with a putrid sewage smell that remained strong all night. It was so bad that we couldn’t sleep at all and spent time searching for dead animals as we weren’t sure if the plumbing could produce such a smell. We could also hear occupants in the apartment above going to the toilet. We complained the next day and were advised that this has happened before and it was explained away as an old building issue. A candle was placed in the apartment and the manager advised she’d put disinfectant down the drain holes etc. The 2nd night was better but the third night the smell was back again (although not as bad as the first night). We were disappointed to lose a whole night’s sleep and not be offered a move or compensation, particularly given we’d paid over $250 per night and had booked for a high level apartment. ...

Nice size apartments with good amenities. It's old and could use some maintenance by some of the owners, but it was clearly a high quality place when it was built. Our apartment wasn't ready when we checked in and had to wait nearly an hour. The dishes were dirty when we finally got in. The master bed base was broken and needy jerry rigging to make stop the mattress sagging. The second bedroom ceiling fan failed on the second last day of our week long stay. It was a comfortable place with secure parking. Oh... The entire East side of the building (the one we were on) is completely overshadowed by the Cairns Hospital. Yes, every room has ocean views, but some are glimpses. The staff were friendly and tried to be helpful. If you like to walk, Cairns city is within 1km. There is also a bus stop right outside at the hospital and tickets are cheap. Might be worth it as parking in Cairns is expensive if you can't snag a free spot. Despite the hospital neighbour, unless there's a chopper landing over the road it's generally quiet at night. The ambulances try to...

Dated, dirty bait and switch: Booked a nice looking room: online I saw a modern unit with wood floors, leather couches, glass walk-in shower. When I arrived they gave me a room last renovated in the early 1970s: pink bathtub, stained cloth couch, a kitchen so poorly appointed it only had one wineglass and a non functioning cooktop, and a view not nearly as good as the picture (because the 'deluxe cean view unit' was pictured on the rental I booked, but the unit I received was not it). I talked to the manager who said the pictures were of a "representative" unit--when I said I wanted the unit pictured in my VRBO booking, they tried to charge $40 more per night, then insisted the unit they gave me was great. Steer clear: this property is run down, kitchen is not well stocked, lukewarm hot tub, cold pool, and we couldn't park in the garage as advertised. We bailed and booked elsewhere for the rest...