BreakFree Royal Harbour

We had 8 wonderful nights at the Cairns Breakfree Royal Harbour, and the room was excellent, with a fantastic view over the Esplanade. The location is among the best you could get in Cairns, less than 100 metres from the Cairns Lagoon and right above the night markets. A special mention for Valter at reception. He was lovely to us and made each time we came in or left feel personal. We look forward to booking here again. Ci vediamo la prossima volta. Adam & Rita.

Awesome experience. The staff were very friendly, the location was fantastic, and the security system made it easy to get in and out of the rooms and hotel. On-site parking was easy to use, too. A great place to stay and play.

Valter at reception was friendly and accommodating. The apartment was clean, comfortable, and private. We'll be back on our next stay in Cairns.

We stayed 3 nights, and the experience left a sour taste. On arrival, our room had a strong damp smell, mostly in the bedroom. When I told reception, the answer was, "welcome in Cairns." We live on a tropical island and had just stayed in a motel before this "4* hotel"; both had a better welcome and a better-smelling room. The floor was wet and dirty, and the apartment was in poor condition. The table was old and stained, the sofa pillows were very dirty, and the bed sheets had a big stain. We could barely see the ocean, despite paying for an ocean-view room. The pictures on booking showed rooms on higher levels. Later I was asked to move to another room on a lower floor with no view and no compensation. The earlier response made us think all the rooms might have the same problem. We chose to stay with a dehumidifier, but it didn't remove the smell and we had a very bad first night. The next day, the receptionist was much nicer. She was probably the one who put the dehumidifier in the room and may have realised we weren't difficult guests when she came in. That day, we moved to another room on the same level. It was in better condition, more recent, had a better view, and had no bad smell. It was just what we'd expected for the price and the booking photos. They gave us a very cheap bottle of wine as compensation. We appreciated the gesture, but it didn't make up for the first night's inconvenience or how the situation was handled. If you get a nice room, it's a nice hotel in a great location. But I don't think I'd recommend it to a friend, since rooms of the same type can come with completely different experiences.