A mid-scale four-and-a-half-star casino hotel in central Cairns, 5 minutes from the marina where Great Barrier Reef day trips depart. 130 rooms, the ArcBar rooftop restaurant with reef-horizon views, and a compact Cairns casino floor suited to the Queensland regional market.
Reef Hotel Casino sits in central Cairns, directly on the Esplanade / Pier precinct. The casino hotel property comprises a 130-room hotel tower above the Reef casino floor, several restaurants and bars (notably the ArcBar rooftop with reef-horizon views), and a convention centre. Scale is deliberately moderate for an Australian casino hotel — this is not a Crown Casino Melbourne / Star Casino Sydney-size integrated resort, but a mid-size regional casino hotel suited to Cairns' tourism-and-conference market. The casino hotel's practical positioning is as a base for Great Barrier Reef day trips: the Reef Fleet Terminal is 5 minutes' walk from the casino hotel entrance.
| Deluxe room | Standard Reef Hotel Casino room — en-suite, city or partial Marlin Marina view. Sleeps 2. |
|---|---|
| Deluxe Spa room | Deluxe plus in-room spa bath. Suited to a non-active-trip couples stay at Reef Hotel Casino. |
| Executive Suite | Larger Reef Casino Hotel suite with separate seating area. Partial sea view on higher floors. Sleeps 2+2. |
| Presidential Suite | Top-floor Reef Hotel Casino suite with Marlin Marina panorama. |
ArcBar (rooftop) is the signature venue at Reef Hotel Casino — tapas-menu, rooftop pool at the venue, views north across the Marlin Marina and south toward the Esplanade lagoon. The main casino hotel restaurant, Tamarind, serves modern Asian with a focus on Queensland ingredients; the Reef Food Court caters to casino guests at a lower price point.
The Reef Casino floor is compact by Australian national casino standards — electronic and table games on a single floor, with higher-stakes play managed through an adjacent VIP section. The Reef Casino floor is less dense than the metropolitan Australian casino hotels and operates on the standard Queensland regulatory framework. Visitors specifically seeking high-rollers-style casino play should set expectations accordingly; Reef Hotel Casino is a regional Queensland casino venue, not Crown Casino Melbourne or Star Casino Sydney.
Reef Hotel Casino Cairns is at 35–41 Wharf Street, Cairns QLD 4870. Cairns Airport (CNS) is 10 minutes by car. Marlin Marina (Great Barrier Reef day-trip departures) is 5 minutes' walk from Reef Hotel Casino; the Cairns Esplanade lagoon is at the casino hotel's doorstep.
Reef Hotel Casino Cairns is the correct Australian casino hotel pick for travellers coming to Cairns specifically for Great Barrier Reef day trips combined with casino evenings — the location is optimal for both. It is the wrong Australian casino hotel pick for travellers expecting metropolitan-scale integrated casino resort amenities (Crown Casino Melbourne and Star Casino Sydney are substantially larger), for travellers on a beach-resort itinerary, or for travellers prioritising Cairns dining over on-site casino hotel amenity.
This Reef Hotel Casino dossier is based on the operator's publicly available materials as of 02 November 2026.