Cairns Holiday Lodge — Hotel in Cairns North

A few run down units in an apartment block owned by various people managed by a grumpy couple who seem to be perennially unhappy to have you staying there. They will nickel and dime on practically all your needs and generally the less you interact with them despite their insistent, pushy sales tactics to buy tours from them at inflated prices, the more enjoyable your stay.Based on detailed ratings below, I give it 2/10 in overall ratings

Beds : Had a queen and a double in the room. The Queen mattress felt uncomfortable and when i mentioned it to the male manager, he practically shooed me away saying "I do not swap out beds, i cant keep everyone happy" just minutes after paying in advance $600 for a 5 night stay.After a call from expedia, the lady manager came over with one of those egg carton foam toppers and gave us a long speech on how much it cost them buying what is normally in every good hotel cupboard.

Room : We paid 5 dollars a day extra for the previledge of having a kitchenette which in this instance meant a 2 hot plate contraption pictured and it could not even boil water.When reported to the 'travel desk', i was given another which they said costs 20 bucks at kmart.So,i pay 25 bucks to cook on a hot plate that cost them 20.

Amenities/ room supplies: We were a family of 2 adults and a child paying 'extra person fee' of $50 for the child and all we got was 5 sticks of sugar,2 soap slivers,1shampoo,1 conditioner and 4 instant cofees.On the third day,we thought it will be refilled as part of room service but all the room got as part of 'service' is a swap of 3 towels with none of the other consumables refilled. On asking for sugar, i was offered a container of sugar the manager 'scavenged' from previous checkouts.Beyond abysmal service.

Tour /help Desk: Shortly after i booked the room a month in advance, i called them to ask about booking activities and they said the booking can only be done in person on arrival.Expecting everything to sell out early, i booked with someone else. I asked them where to get a bus into the city and was told there are no buses near by and was offered a referral code for uber.Actually the bus stops outside the front door and is quite good.This is the pattern with them - bad advice to direct you to anyone who will give them a cut.Happy I didnt use them despite the near constant harping by Sue the Manager.

In summary, if i were the owners, I would invest in professional managers or watch the investment go...

I understood why reviews on the female manager are so contrasting. She is nice and helpful unless you don't complain anything and book a tour with her. 1) I had booked a room with kitchenette first, but the room description was changed later. I sent inquiry because I wanted to cook during my stay. They kindly offered me an upgrade to a room with kitchenette. But the room was not the same as other rooms. 2) When I found some problems about facility, she told me the room hadn't have a kitchenette before and the problems were because of it. It meant it was not really an upgrade. 3) Potable electric stove was old and didn't work well. It took 40 minutes to cook pasta. 4) The room was not suitable for studying although I had informed them that I would go to school. My room didn't have fluorescent lights whereas other rooms had. I asked her if I could borrow a table light. And she told me to move a table in front of the toilet where was the brightest area in my room. 5) She did not try to book a tour which I was interested in, but tried to sell me another tour. When she knew that I had booked the tour with an agent outside, she got angry and complained about it. 6) I wanted to take off shoes in the room, so I wiped the floor everyday by myself. I asked her to take off her shoes when coming in. But she said NO. 7) She told me not to use water and electricity as possible since she could only receive 10% commissions from the owner of the lodge and less expense made her receive much more money. 8) WiFi was sometimes cut off from 9 PM to 7 AM. Password was changed without before/after letting know. 9) I was told to get out of the room for 2 hours while she clean the room. She used too much chemicals for cleaning. 10) On 17th day I decided to leave the lodge because I knew I could cancel my reservation and ask them refund. (I paid all when checking in.) My school advised me to tell them that I just had to go back to my county. But she told me to tell them the reason and to show my return ticket if I wanted to receive refund. She said she didn't believe me and she had known I was not happy with her and would try to move to another hotel. She added she would never let me go, watch me all the time and stalk me. But finally male manager persuaded her to give me refund because he didn't want to be heard our conversation by other guests. I had never had such a horrible experience. I will never ever come back to this...

We have stayed at the Cairns Holiday lodge a few times and always enjoy our stay. It is a solid double brick building with a lovely tropical garden in the centre, fantastic pool and water feature and undercover BBQ area. The pool was crystal clear and refreshing in the hot climate. The room had a kitchen with oven and full fridge, table and chairs and a desk for computer. There was a comfortabl queen and double bed as well as a lounge. Bathroom included a bathtub with shower and hairdryer. Lovely quiet clean rooms with all you need. The kitchen had everything you need to cook and was clean and tidy. Mike and Suzie (the managers) are very helpful. Suzie cleans the rooms and they even clean room after 3 days stay and supply towels etc for stay. This is a comforyabl, safw and quiet place to stay in North Cairns. 5 minute walk to a choice of excellent restaurants including Thia, Pizza, Seafood fish and chips, chinese, healthfood cafe, coffee shops, laundrette, Annabels Bakery, supermarket, tavern, pub, bottle shops, newsagency, petrol stations and more. 20 minutes walk to the centre of town. 10 minutes walk to the Esplanade south or the Botanical gardens north. So much to see and do. Mike and Suzie will help book any sightseeing tours, hire cars etc to make a memorable holiday. Complex is safe with Security gates and plenty of parking. Lovely stay. Will...