Review of BreakFree Royal Harbour 3*

My wife and I stayed at Breakfree Royal Harbour in Cairns in early August 2015. We normally stay at Mantra. We knew that this was an eighties building and it is in fact a real period piece with its curved balconies and its amazing curved glass shower recess that looks out through the sitting room to the view over the balcony. This was fun. The bed was comfortable, the air conditioning worked well and the chairs were well made and suitable for sitting and reading in. The location on the Esplanade was perfect apart from the cooking smells coming in from the balcony as the Night Markets were directly underneath us. Meegan at reception is a treasure. There was nothing that she would not do for us and is a delight to deal with. The downside was that the kitchenette did not even deserve the name. We are both diabetics and need to prepare our own food. We also get sick of dining out. We were confronted by a microwave with no dishes or utensils, a fridge that froze everything so that it was useless, mismatched cutlery and a plug in two ring hotplate that had seen much better days. When we went to mash the potatoes we found that there was also no potato masher. There was even a sign stating that some fatty foods may trigger the smoke alarms and a fine would ensue so we cooked our breakfast bacon on the balcony so as not to set it off. This is not like Mantra where everything is provided in a proper kitchenette. When they upgrade the kitchenette in room 706 we will be very happy to recommend this establishment to others as it is the only thing letting it down.