The buzzier, more energetic of the Cairns Crystalbrooks, Flynn is the friend who always has something going on. You’ll need to stack your schedule to experience it all: a visit to Eléme Spa is a must, as is ordering from the snack list at on-site eatery, Whiskey and Wine. When you’re ready to drop, poolside is the place to pull up a lounger.

Read our review of Crystalbrook Flynn and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

Set around a sprawling pool with its own beach, lap and lagoon sections, it feels like Crystalbrook Riley knows exactly what you’re in town to do. The breezy, sea-hued decor also lends itself to relaxation, as do the incredible Panoramic rooms, which deliver Trinity Inlet views so generous that you won’t even need to leave your bed to admire them.

Read our review of Crystalbrook Riley and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

Crystalbrook Bailey is no shrinking violet. From the minute you enter, you get a sense of the hotel’s character, with its rainbow-splashed doona covers to its ever-changing collection of art in the lobby. It’s all part of the property’s personality, which is all about fun: best experienced with a cocktail in hand from the on-site bar, Pachamama.

Read our review of Crystalbrook Bailey and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

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You can’t get more Queensland than a swim-up bar. At Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, it’s one of the property’s highlights, along with the huge lagoon pool and adjoining eatery serving warm weather classics from poke bowls to watermelon salads. Awaiting a piña colada under the shade of a swaying palm, you’ll be in no doubt that you’ve well and truly arrived in the tropics.

Read our review of Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

Families and revellers alike flock to Pullman Reef Hotel Casino, a stay with a galaxy of activities for every kind of traveller. For the kids (and the kidults), the domed Cairns Zoom & Wildlife Park is where it’s at, with reptiles and ziplines for maximum daytime distraction. The casino — as well as the hotel’s eateries and bars — is for the older contingent, with the excitement continuing well into the evening (and beyond, if you have the stamina).

Read our review of Pullman Reef Hotel Casino and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

See Tropical North Queensland through a luxurious lens at Shangri-La, The Marina. There’s an on-site eatery serving fresh local seafood, spacious suites equipped with gloriously deep soaking tubs, selection of palm-fringed pools and cocktail bar, where drinks (from margaritas to Moscow mules) are as fresh as the breeze. We’ll cheers to that.

Read our review of Shangri-La, The Marina and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

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If it’s luxury you’re after, Pullman Cairns International is for you. There’s an indulgent spa with an extensive menu of soothing treatment options, an expansive outdoor pool for lazing alongside and bright, light-flushed rooms with bathrobes and comfy beds to complete the picture of relaxation.

Read our review of Pullman Cairns International and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

You’ll have front row seats to wonderful views at Hilton Cairns, which sits right on the waterfront amid lush gardens and a quiet lagoon pool. Another benefit of being so close to the water’s edge? The proximity to the marina, where trips to the Great Barrier Reef depart, maximising your time spent exploring this marine wonderland.

Read our review of Hilton Cairns and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

A budget-friendly wonder, Cairns Harbourside is perfect for a little break in the tropics. There’s a rooftop pool, waterside bistro and, most importantly, a central location to ensure easy Cairns exploration.

Read our review of Cairns Harbourside and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

Watching the wallet? Pacific Hotel Cairns ticks all the boxes for a budget-friendly stay with a central location in the heart of Cairns, including the all-important pool. Plus, there’s a tasty on-site churrasco restaurant, perfect for refuelling after long days spent in the sunshine.

Read our review of Pacific Hotel Cairns and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

Just a little north of Cairns is Palm Cove, where Alamanda Palm Cove by Lancemore stretches along the coastline. The fact this breezy, romantic hotel is right on the beachfront — the only one on the 800-metre beachfront of pristine Palm Cove — is reason enough to take the car 25 minutes north but there’s also an on-site spa and restaurant, Nunu, that dishes up the best of local produce.

Read our review of Alamanda Palm Cove by Lancemore and earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent when you book your next Cairns stay.

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12 Luxury Gold Coast Hotels for a 5-Star Stay