Pullman · Upgraded Room with Balcony & Ocean View · Oceania›Australia›Cairns

Pullman Cairns International

Name: Pullman Cairns International Review
Item: Pullman Cairns International
Rating: 4.1
Author: Janko Zehe

Price / night€141 (about $165; I stayed two nights)Check current rates →
ALL StatusGold: room upgrade, no lounge
WiFiGood
WalkabilityTrain station, city centre, waterfront and marina on foot
Airport / TrainUber from the airport

Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, and the Pullman Cairns International is a big, easygoing base for it. It's not the newest hotel in the Accor family. But the space, the stuff you get for the price and a lovely poolside bar make up for that.

Quick verdict: A spacious upgraded room with a sea-view balcony, lots of storage and a generous breakfast buffet at a fair price. A good base for a Reef trip, less so if you want a lounge. JCI Score 4.1 out of 5.

Location

The hotel sits at the far end of town from the airport. My Uber took me through the whole city first, so you see everything on the way in. From the hotel you can walk to the train station, the city centre, the waterfront and the marina. There are plenty of restaurants along the way.

One tip: restaurants here close early. I arrived in the evening, wanted dinner around 8 pm, and had a hard time finding anything open. Plan to eat earlier than you would at home.

Getting There & First Impression

The lobby is huge. There's a big driveway out front, and inside a gallery that rises over several floors. Everything feels generous. The lifts are roomy too. The corridors are very long, and you can tell the building has seen better days. It's still clean and well kept.

Check-In & Loyalty Experience

Check-in was smooth. Nobody mentioned my Gold status, but I got an upgrade anyway. No lounge here, not for Gold and not for higher tiers. So don't book this one for lounge access.

The Room

My room was on the eighth floor. Very spacious, with a big balcony and a view over the sea. It's not front row. You look over two other buildings and the casino, but you still see plenty of water.

The casino brings one catch. It has entertainment until late in the evening, and with the window open it gets loud. Close the window and the air-conditioning does the job. Then it's quiet.

WiFi was good, and my laptop had plenty of space on the desk. The biggest plus was storage. There's a huge amount of space to put your things away. I slept well, and there were plenty of pillows.

The bathroom was clean and modern. The shower worked well, and everything else was fine too.

The hotel by night, a big, easygoing base at the far end of town from the airport. Everything is generous here, starting with the big driveway out front.

The huge lobby with its piano and a gallery rising over several floors. The building has seen better days, but it is clean and well kept.

My upgraded room on the eighth floor, very spacious, with a big bed and a desk where my laptop had plenty of room. I slept well.

An armchair by the curtains in the room. There is a huge amount of storage space here, the biggest plus of the room for me.

The clean, modern bathroom with its vanity and mirror. Everything just worked, and I had no complaints.

A shelf above the toilet in the modern bathroom. Nothing fancy, but it was clean and tidy, like the rest of the room.

The shower with toiletries lined up. The shower worked well, with good water pressure.

The Gold welcome: a cheese plate with fruit and crackers. Nobody mentioned my status at check-in, but I got an upgrade anyway.

The big balcony with a table where I could sit comfortably. I could see plenty of water from up here.

The view over the town from my balcony. It is not front row, but you still see plenty of the city.

Looking past the casino to the water and the mountains. Open the window and the casino entertainment gets loud, so I closed it and the air-conditioning did the job.

The Esplanade at sunset, a short walk from the hotel. From here you can walk to the waterfront, the marina and the city centre.

The Esplanade lagoon at night. Restaurants in Cairns close early, so I ate before the evening got this late.

Food & Drink

Breakfast was a big buffet, with live cooking for pancakes, eggs and more. It was tasty. The coffee wasn't. If coffee matters to you, find a café nearby.

The poolside bar was lovely. A waiter from France gave me a welcome drink, and he was very attentive. The pool itself was being renovated. There was some construction, but it was fenced off well and didn't bother me.

Digital Customer Experience

Booking through the Accor/ALL app was painless. No digital key, just a physical card. Very few Accor hotels offer one anyway.

The Bill & Value

Two nights, €282.45 (about $331) in total. That's about €141 (about $165) a night. I earned 878 Reward points and 593 Status points. For this much room, a balcony with sea view and an upgrade, that's good value. You can check current rates and availability on the official Accor page for the Pullman Cairns International.

Verdict

What I particularly liked

The huge, bright room with balcony and sea view, lots of storage, good WiFi and a great desk, the friendly poolside bar, and the generous breakfast buffet.

What I didn't like

The coffee, the noise from the casino with the window open, early closing times at the restaurants, and a few signs of age in the corridors.

Would I come back? Yes. I'd happily recommend the Pullman. That said, Cairns has several other Accor hotels, and I'd like to try some of those next.