Shangri-La The Marina, Cairns

Disappointed as all other Shangri la in Asia are lovely. Bit run down beds comfy and decent breakfast. Pool area has seen better days. Great location but garden rooms very dark . Curtains completely see through. Restaurant was surpringly good

It appears that this hotel like many others in Aus charge A$100pn deposit. Wouldn't be so bad had it not debited my card before I had even reached the room!! No mini bar no coffee, so what are they charging me for the use of. Hotel is tired, albeit room is OK. Will not now be using the restaurant or bar, their loss I will expect the deposit to be refunded as quickly as it was taken, in my dreams I think. Advice t o Shangrila hotels don't upset clients on arrival. Take an imprint of customers card which can be used if they default. This is an absolute rip off. I will expect my card charges to be refunded with this crazy deposit. Within seconds of check out.

Very good service, I went for breakfast time and they have a wide variety of options, gluten free and lactose free that were what I was looking for, Oreana was a very good host who showed me the options I was looking for, very cordial, friendly and helpful. I would return for the excellent quality offered both in the dishes and in the service

We've just returned from 7 nights at the Shangri-La and loved every minute of it. The stand out feature for us were its large rooms, gardens, great pool area, proximity to the Reef Terminal and Esplanade, its friendly and helpful staff, and the best buffet breakfast I've ever encountered (there were new options every day to enjoy). Much has been said in other reviews about the Shangri-La no longer being at 5 star level, despite charging 5 star prices. Having not stayed at a 5 star hotel before, I'm not equipped to comment on whether or not that's a valid view. We found our rooms to be clean, incredibly spacious and well appointed, with slippers, robes, beautiful body wash and balm to use, complimentary water and Nespresso capsules for the machine each day, and we were delighted to receive a note of welcome accompanying a little box of macarons and a small fruit plate on arrival. It really started our long awaited holiday off in beautiful style. The gardens surrounding the pool are beautiful and give the feeling of being in a little oasis; it's a very peaceful hotel environment. Yes, there are a couple of areas needing improvement. For example (as noted in another review) the cane backs of some of the chairs in the hotel's onsite restaurant are in a terrible state with large holes and split cane ends that can jab you in the back or catch your clothing. It leaves a poor impression that detracts from the excellent food and service offered, and is such a simple thing to fix that I'm very surprised it's not been done. Another thing is that I wasn't advised until checking in that the hotel required AU$100 per day per room as an additional payment (to be refunded after checkout). As we had two rooms for seven nights, this equated to AU$1,400 extra cost that I hadn't factored into my credit card's available balance resulting in some consternation and account shuffling before the Manager stepped in to enquire what was going on and immediately halved the amount to AU$700. I don't mind paying an amount as a bond, but it would have been extremely helpful to have known ahead of our trip so that I could have factored it in. Speaking of the Manager (Alistair), he was wonderful - the epitome of excellent customer service. We noted he worked long hours and was actively helping in various areas of the hotel. In fact, the overriding impression we gained over the week was just how incredibly hard working all the staff were . The housekeeping team in particular were run off their feet, sometimes not getting to rooms until 4 p.m. especially if there was a huge change over of rooms with people checking out/in. We got the impression that the hotel seemed under-staffed for what is currently high season for Cairns tourism. There can be many reasons why that can be, not all of it able to be fixed by the hotel (labour shortage, for example), but where it is in the hotel's power, I hope they do something about that. However, I would like to emphasise is that the staff we encountered were unfailingly positive as they rushed about, were efficient and helpful, and were always happy to sing out a greeting. We thought they were all wonderful, and they contributed to a very happy stay. We thoroughly recommend the Shangri-La The Marina Cairns and look forward to the opportunity of staying again. Tip: The corridors are exceptionally long, so for those with mobility issues, or have toddlers in tow, we recommend you ask the hotel for rooms that are nearer to lifts or stairwells.

Excellent five night stay in Cairns. I highly recommend booking the Horizon Club room which gives you access to the Horizon Club lounge. a special mention to Federica who was a very efficient and friendly hostess at the lounge.