The Lakes Resort Cairns Reviews

Each building in the resort complex is provided as an apartment hotel, so if you expect the same level of service as a regular hotel, you will be disappointed. The service is minimal, and the towels and toilet paper provided as a starter kit must be cleaned by yourself or purchased if they get dirty or run out. Although it varies by building, the room I stayed in was well-cleaned and clean. There is a full kitchen, laundry room, living room, bathroom with a jetted tub, and bedroom, and it is spacious and comfortable to stay there as if you were living there. As for the location, although it is far from the center, it is a good environment surrounded by nature such as botanical gardens. For me, who wanted to go bird watching, it was the best location. The reception is closed after 5pm. Trip.com says it is open until 6pm, so I think they should correct that. When I tried to check in, it was closed and there was no one there, which was a problem. At that time, a kind staff member at the Thai restaurant on the premises contacted me, and I was able to safely receive the key and instructions that were in the safe. By the way, this Thai restaurant was very delicious and reasonably priced, so it's worth visiting even if you're not staying at this hotel.

We stayed in a standard two bedroom spacious apartment that overlooked one of the pools, which was nice. Also having 4 pools to choose from was great. We visited the Thai restaurant on site a couple of times and I would recommend it. However, the resort and our apartment were tired i.e the pool had missing tiles. The showers were over the bath and would not suit anyone with mobility issues as the baths were high to step into. Our apartment would benefit from better cleaning and pillows needed to be replaced. Location is very close to the airport and with being on the 3rd floor, you can hear the planes very clearly!! It does appear that a number of the apartments are long term rental/owned rather than holiday let, but this was fine. We stayed here 10 years ago and loved it, but sadly we won’t be going back 😩

Stayed in a three bedroom apartment and it was very spacious with a large sunroom / balcony, with shutters to fully close for privacy. There is no lifts and lots of stairs. The complex is large with 4 pools. Primarily owner occupied or renters in the complex and parking isn’t great (especially if you have more than one car). Our apartment was fairly tidy but cleaning of the showers was average. There is an on-site Thai restaurant and the food was nice, it did say they delivered in the guest information book in the room but when ordering we were advised pick up only which wasn’t a big deal. Wifi didn’t work in our room.

Loved it, friendly staff beautiful meals, only thing bed wasn’t very comfy. Pool was awesome. We loved Cairns the people are friendly, the food is awesome especially down by the docks, museum was good, shopping centre amazing and we will soon be going backup there.

This resort has a lot of potential to be great. However what we experienced was mediocre in accommodation and service. Firstly the reception is closed the entire weekend. We arrived on the weekend and "for pool towels contact reception" didn't quite work. The apartment was OK but the second bedroom was so small it only just fit two single beds (no room for luggage). The teenagers were glad it was just a short stay. The exhaust fan and hair dryer didn't work but the main bedroom was lovely. Gate access to the pool was nice. I think the main problem is each apartment is individually owned so it is a bit of a lottery the quality you get. One person was checking out early as their apartment was full of mould and flooding. Another commented on how gorgeous their apartment was. Inconsistent! The pools are surrounds are lovely. Cannot comment on the cafe as it was shut while we were there. Access to the beam scooters was great as it is perfect scooting distance to town/pier. I would stay again if I negotiate the right apartment. The grounds are picturesque.

Beautiful resort. Clean rooms with everything you need. Pools beautiful and clean. Immaculate gardens. BBQ areas cleaned every morning. Reception so helpful advising us on activities for kids. Will stay again.

Terrific place for a holiday. So peaceful and utterly safe. A number of swimming pools suitable for all ages. A tennis court. The grounds are immaculate. There is a cafe that serves wonderful breakfasts and a Thai restaurant that serves great lunches and dinners. The rooms are spacious and very well appointed. Close to public transport so getting around is very reasonable. There is a supermarket very close by that stocks all your needs. Very highly recommend this place for a couple or a family to stay at.

Stunning pools and gardens are just the icing on the cake with this awesome property. We had a one bedroom apartment and even with the two levels of stairs it was amazing. Full kitchen, laundry, free carparking and super big bed. The staff are superb, nothing is a problem and they are always obliging and doing their best. The gardens and pools are just brilliant, we swam every day and loved the peace and quiet of the resort.

We arrived on a weekend but easy to follow instructions about where to find the safe were emailed in advance (reception isn't staffed on weekends). Parking was easy and the apartment was clean and tidy. Kitchen was stocked with basics, towels and linen were clean and fresh. Furniture is clean and relatively new. Pools and gardens are stunning and everything is well maintained. Taste of Thai at the front and the Cafe at the back were excellent, friendly staff and delicious food! Really convenient location too. Highly recommend booking directly.

Our family of five stayed in a two-bedroom unit in July. Plenty of space but the mildew on the net (yes net!) curtains in the kids' room was so bad it smelled like cat wee. We asked them to remove the curtains and clean the black mould/mildew out of the window tracks - which they did - and that made it much better, although we had to prop their door open, leave the windows open and leave the fan on the whole time to make it habitable. There were big mildew patches on the nets in the main bedroom, and mould in the tracks, but at least it didn't stink like the other room. They make a big deal of you having to leave it clean and tidy so imagine our surprise at finding unwashed crockery, a pile of sand (in the pantry!) and a generally dirty feel. The grounds are lovely but beware the midges, and don't be fooled - as we were - that the gym is temporarily out of service and will be usable when you stay several months after booking; it has apparently been out of action for a number of years! Apparently they're upgrading some of the units; unfortunately this meant furniture being dragged around the unit above us at 7.30am one morning. Oh, and the smoke alarm in room 104 randomly went off twice in one night - 12.15am and 5.15am. Happy holidays!

We were highly disappointed with the services . Reception staff was not friendly at all!! we booked for 6 people and there were not enough blankets Tiny bed rooms... poor wi fi... washing machines top was clogged with dirty water and detergent....dishwasher not in working condition... which made it HARD for a family of 6 ...

I booked The Lakes for our long awaited family holiday as the photos looked beautiful. Our room was in fact very dark and VERY dated. We were told on arrival that "there are only enough essentials (like toilet paper and dish liquid etc) to get you through the first night, after that you must replenish them yourself". I discovered why the dishes and glasses in the cupboards where all grotty when I realised there was not a single tea towel in the place (in a self contained 3 bedroom apartment -go figure)! The beds were made up with sheets only and it was unseasonably cold so we searched for blankets which we found (1 light blanket per bed) in the cupboards. There is no room service at all so you need to wash your own towels. On departure, we found reception closed and locked (apparently its not open on weekends, or after 5pm on weekdays!). We were given no instructions at all about where to return our keys and the after hours number was ringing out. There were other disgruntled families waiting with kids and luggage -some trying to check in and some trying to check out in time to catch flights. This is NOT a resort, it's a complex of mostly owner occupied apartments so there's minimal service. And to top it all off, we spent $400 in Ubers just to get in and out of town each day as it's not ideally located.

Fantastic place, amazing pools, delicious Thai restaurant. Gardens are spectacular highly recommend bringing the family for a stay, we had stayed here for 4 nights then went to Fitzroy Island for 2 nights we were supposed to be going and staying at a place in the daintree which was such a disappointment we cancelled our week there and happily came back to the lakes the staff were amazing accommodating our needs will definitely be back