11 Best Hotels in Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

With the town's small beach at its doorstep, three eateries and bars downstairs, and the main street directly behind it, this hotel makes a comfy and convenient base. The modern rooms and spacious suites have free Wi-Fi access, flat-screen TVs, bar fridges, and tea/coffee-making facilities; most open onto big balconies overlooking the palm-lined waterfront or town. You can also stay in smaller, ground-level motel-style rooms. There's a nice pool, a guest laundry, and a tour desk on-site.

With a terrific location in Townsville’s liveliest bar-restaurant precinct, this stylish, secure, and spotless hotel-apartment complex has everything you need: chic, well-appointed accommodation; a clean pool and terrific gym; business center; accommodating staff; and charge-back arrangements with local eateries. Air-conditioned “Superior King” rooms have minibars, work desks, high-speed Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs with free cable channels, and small, furnished balconies. One- and two-bedroom apartments are more spacious, with artfully lit, classily designed lounge and dining areas, full kitchens, washer-dryers, and bigger furnished balconies overlooking Palmer Street and the city. The helpful front desk/concierge/tour desk, open 24/7, can arrange reef trips, transfers, room service, and restaurant bookings.  Pay a little extra for a higher-floor apartment overlooking Palmer Street if you value views.

All hotel rooms here are comfortable, with private balconies, but only hotel rooms on the fifth floor and above live up to the name, with their unbroken Coral Sea vistas. Meanwhile, rooms on lower levels overlook a landscaped, tropical garden and pool. One- and two-bedroom Terrace and split-level suites on the 17th, 18th, and 19th levels in particular have fantastic ocean views. Guests get complimentary use of Hamilton's windsurfers, catamarans, paddle skis, and snorkeling gear as well as sports club facilities and return airport transfers. There's an on-site tour desk and a well-equipped business center.

This attractive hotel has an enviable location near the waterfront, a flotilla of services, and classy on-site drinking and dining options. Built around a central, open-air atrium, Hilton Cairns has large, stylishly furnished rooms and suites with all the amenities you'd expect of a modern business hotel and some pleasant additions you might not, including big, breezy furnished balconies. Spa rooms have large hydrotherapy tubs for postdive-trip pummelings. Enjoy a sundowner at Gin Social, or partake from the eclectic menu at Mondo Café Bar and Grill, overlooking Trinity Inlet.

The clean, spacious, self-contained studios at this friendly low-rise motel just outside of town make it a practical base for those who don't mind a short walk or cycle to Port Douglas's center. The studios come with fridges, microwaves, tea/coffeemaking facilities, and a minibar with milk and soft drinks, replenished daily. All are air-conditioned, with kitchenettes, desks, ceiling fans, free Wi-Fi, cool tile floors, and small patios. There's a spotless guest laundry, lovely tropical gardens, a free-form heated pool and bikes for guests' use. Continental breakfasts can be delivered to your door. Lazy Lizard is conveniently close to the beach, town, bars, and restaurants, but far enough away to be a restful retreat.

The smartly configured studios and suites at this hotel are a five-minute walk from Palmer Street's bar and dining precinct, and an easy stroll across the footbridge from Flinders Street and the ferry port. Podlike accommodations are long and narrow but cleverly designed, with laundries, compact kitchens, and work desks. All have balconies and fast Wi-Fi. There are some useful guest facilities, too: a small gym, an outdoor pool, a business center, and free on-site parking. Don't expect five-star service, but if you're looking for a good base, this ticks the right boxes.

This practicality-meets-luxury hotel near Cairns's waterfront has an impressive three-story lobby, an elegant day spa, and smartly outfitted guest rooms and suites, all with furnished balconies. Classy in-room touches include fluffy bathrobes and Roger & Gallet toiletries. Higher-floor executive suites also have separate lounge areas. On weekend evenings and Sunday lunchtimes, there's live music in the Lobby Bar. Coco's Restaurant is open for big buffet breakfasts, long or speedy "power" lunches, high teas, and Modern Australian dinners, including a nightly seafood buffet showcasing the region's best produce.

With chic modern decor in blues and blue-grays reflecting the waterfront location and buzzing on-site bars and eateries, this marina-side resort is among Cairns's hippest. Outdoor areas are suitably sleek, with extensive wooden decking, palm-shaded swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, and a poolside cocktail bar. Spacious rooms and suites have muted decor, balconies, and flow-through views of the pool area and gardens, or the mountains, bay, or marina. Paying extra for a Horizon Club room or suite buys you extra amenities and services, including free Horizon Club breakfasts, and sunset drinks and canapés. There is a well-equipped business center, valet parking, and a helpful tour desk that can arrange off-site activities. The Backyard restaurant, featuring fine fresh regional produce, makes it worth dining in-house.

Part of a lively entertainment complex in the heart of Cairns, this high-end hotel has spacious rooms and suites, as well as several restaurants and bars, a theater, a casino, an outdoor swimming pool, and a small wildlife sanctuary and ropes course in its rooftop dome. All accommodations have ceiling fans, plantation shutters, floor-to-ceiling windows, spa baths, and balconies. Soy Kitchen Street Food serves quality Asian dishes; the acclaimed Tamarind does contemporary cuisine with a twist; Bar36 serves up tapas and cocktails with live music acts often performing, and Flinders Bar & Grill is an inexpensive, tasty option inside the casino.

The hotel rooms and one- and two-bedroom apartments at this hotel on Cairns's waterfront are a two-minute stroll to Reef Fleet Terminal, making them ideal for early-morning reef trips. All air-conditioned accommodations are clean and stylishly appointed. They come equipped with fridges, safes, fast Wi-Fi access, and flat-screen LCD TVs. One- and two-bedroom apartments also have kitchenettes or full kitchens and separate living and dining areas; larger apartments also have laundry facilities. There's an on-site compact gym and sauna, and an outdoor terrace with a small pool, hot tub, and barbecue grill. Underground parking, babysitting, dry-cleaning, airport shuttle service, and in-room massages can be arranged at extra cost.

This attractive, two-story colonial-style hotel in the heart of town is the best bet in Cooktown. There are plenty of on-site facilities, including a large swimming pool, laundry facilities, car rental outlet, free Wi-Fi, the town's most upscale restaurant, and a sociable bar. With a wide front veranda and horizontal wide-slat shutters, the resort has the air of a plantation house. Guest rooms and apartments are simply but smartly outfitted with tiled floors, lounge areas, flat-screen TVs, and balconies with views. The Balcony Restaurant and Cocktail Bar is particularly good, serving classic Aussie dishes and showcasing local seafood. À la carte breakfast is served daily on the veranda.