Gilligan's Hotel & Resort

I stayed at Gillian Hostel for nearly a month while backpacking, and it was such a great experience! The hostel has a really fun atmosphere with daily events that make it easy to meet new people and feel part of a community. The bar is also a nice spot to relax, grab a drink, and socialise after a day of exploring. Perfect place for long stays or short visits—highly recommend!

Definitely can NOT recommend. A lot of annoying and drunk people. People on the floors are just screaming in the night, and having the club inside the hostel guarantees sleepless nights... The toilets at the pool smell like alcohol and vomit. The kitchen is just dirty and chaotic all the time. Yes, the rooms are clean, but they have no individual lights at the beds, only big super bright main lights, that will definitely wake you up when someone comes back to the dorm after partying. Definitely the worst hostel I ever stayed in.

Fabulous bar with great staff. The outdoor deck is expansive with smoking area with tables/seating that had easy access to bar/toilets. Great atmosphere with music to suit all tastes, excellent drink prices, while pool tables are available, these are located in the non-smoking area so, a little farther if you need a smoke break. Convenient city location and easy to order taxi service via front reception desk. Definitely on our favourite list 👌

I had a great stay at Gilligan’s! The room was spacious and clean, and I was even lucky enough to have the whole dorm to myself one night. I still managed to meet plenty of people, despite being a solo traveller, thanks to the social atmosphere and nightlife. It’s worth noting that the bar/club area didn’t really get busy until late in the evening (11:30pm onwards), and the hostel is pretty deserted during the day thanks to everyone being out on tours/experiences. My room was overlooking the pool/bar area, so did get noisy at night, but the hostel offers free earplugs at reception which did the trick. It was great to have an en-suite in the room, and the bathroom was in good condition. The location is ideal, right within the hub of Cairns City, however I didn’t feel particularly safe as a solo female traveller in the area at night, so it’s definitely important to be aware of that/travel in a group where possible. The on-site travel agency is helpful and approachable, and staying at the hostel means that you can get discounted drinks at the bar and free club entry before 11pm. I didn’t end up going to any of the weekday themed nights, but at the weekend the vibes downstairs were good. I would definitely recommend Gilligan’s to any young solo/group travellers who want to meet new people and experience Cairns’ party scene at a budget-friendly price!

The staff were beyond rude, felt unease and judged whilst in the bar areas. Only stayed for 1 drink and went and spent our money at another backpackers bar. Tried to mingle with the people at Gilligan’s, who were also very rude. I’m from Adelaide and would NEVER recommend anyone to stay here (which I’ve stayed at a lot of back packers places). Could not use the Netflix or streaming services on the TV (we decided to have an early night in due to the anxiety the “resort” gave us) what’s the point of having WIFI when they block you from using it? We couldn’t even stream from our own internet. Paying $250 in a backpackers for one night to not even have all the things advertised. 100% not worth staying here for the convenience of location when there’s so many better places I’ve stayed at in Cairns. If I could give zero stars on service I would

My son, son-in-law and I went out in Cairns for what was meant to be a fun night. We started at Three Wolves for a cocktail before heading over to Gilligans. At around 10:30pm – barely the start of the night – I was flat out refused entry by a doorman who claimed I was “too drunk.” Absolute joke. I was perfectly coherent, and anyone with eyes could see I was in better shape than half the glassy-eyed backpackers wobbling in ahead of me. Let’s be real: this wasn’t about intoxication. I’m a well-dressed, 46-year-old woman who clearly didn’t fit the “young, drunk, and disposable” cattle market vibe Gilligans trades on. If you’re not 21, dripping sweat, and falling out of a crop top, apparently you don’t make the cut. Age discrimination much? We went on to PJ’s and the Woolshed, had an awesome night, and didn’t roll in until 2am – because shock horror, I can actually handle a night out. In hindsight, being rejected at the door was a blessing. Saved me from wasting money at a place that clearly has no clue how to treat paying customers. Gilligans: thanks for nothing. I won’t be back, and I’ll make sure everyone I know hears about how pathetic and discriminatory your door policy is.

Great location, nearby to everything we needed and super social. Food from restaurant was decent (we had $10 pizzas) and evening events were fun and different to most hostels we’ve stayed in. The layout was nice, each floor had a good social area with sofas and a TV plus a kitchen. However, the kitchen wasn’t the cleanest and quite small for the amount of rooms, you also had to make your own bed but sheets were clean and the rooms were cleaned daily. We also didn’t find it noisy with the club in the night which was good.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Although we didn’t have a room booked this time, the venue itself looked incredibly welcoming and well-maintained from the outside — definitely the kind of place we'd love to stay in on our next trip! We did, however, stop in for a meal, and the food was absolutely amazing. The \$10 specials were an unbeatable deal — generous portions, full of flavour, and clearly made with care. Great value, great vibe, and friendly staff made it a standout stop. Can’t wait to come back and experience the full stay!