Just had five nights here and as a vegetarian, I would have gone hungry if I had relied on the restaurant every evening. They did not cater for vegetarians and when I asked, I was told that there was soup and salad! In addition the wifi price I was quoted was 15 Aus dollars for 30 minutes. Alternatively there were computers to use at 2 Aus dollars for 20 minutes Internet connection.
The rooms were OK and if I you get a room with a sea view it's nice to sit on the balcony. All rooms seem to have balconies. The hotel also has 2 laundry rooms where you can do your own washing and drying for 3 Aus dollars each.
There was a tour booking desk and the staff there and at reception were very pleasant and helpful which was more than can be said for some of the restaurant staff.

This was my second time to the Rydges in Cairns and it was just as wonderful as my first stay. The rooms are amazing - beautiful views. The location is great, the breakfasts are beautiful and the staff are friendly. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Cairns.

There’s nothing really wrong with this hotel if you get it for a cheap price, it’s just nothing special and needs a good scrub up – it’s old and weary.

Pros – The view (don’t stay lower than the 6th floor if you can help it, also for noise reasons), spacious rooms, comfortable beds, the staff are ok.

Cons – shabby, especially the pool area which is almost embarrassingly shabby, terrible food (don’t bother with room service breakfasts unless your desperate), and it’s not in the center of town – about a 10 minute walk to the main hub, which doesn’t sound that far, but in the heat, it can be uncomfortable (taxi costs less than $10 to get to the center though.) No free wifi in the rooms

If you get this hotel for about $100 a night then ok, but don’t pay any more than that. And don’t expect the staff to go out of their way for you.

Check in staff was lovely & gave us an upgrade to a Premium Harbour View room, clean, great view & punctual room service. Would stay more often if I had the money! Pity cloud covered the eclipse... hotel was thoughtful enough to provide eclipse glasses though - nice touch.