Sarayi Boutique Hotel

This 'boutique hotel' should just NOT be trading - what a dilapidated hovel. The poor reviews are unfortunately terribly accurate. Never have I had the compulsion to write a review, but here we are.

We were mislead into deciding to stay here after looking at the hotel's website, which depicted staged rooms probably from 18+ years ago. When we arrived we stood out the front of a totally derelict, dirty looking building with empty tenancies and building materials everywhere and half finished jobs. After looking at previous photos it seems it's been that way since 2017 when 'Rising Sun' closed up shop. The facade has peeling paint, rust and is really grubby.

After waiting around for some time at a very hot, derelict reception which smelt like dirty mop water, someone finally found us to check us in, I believe this lady is tasked to do everything. As a result she's running around everywhere trying to put out spot fires. We were originally allocated to a room at the back of the property, I believe it was a 'standard' hotel room. After getting the keys we made our way to the room and noticed all of the dry rot around the windows and ceiling missing when trying to get the key in the door. The room had active water leaks from the roof (dripping) and the fluro lights in the rooms actually had water in them. The room smelt of mold and damp building fabric. The bathroom was at least 40+ years old and has completely rotted out the room which has clearly attracted ants and cockroaches as there were plenty. The bed is lopsided and the furniture cheap, old and broken. The floor tiles are cracked, broken and so old.

Given the mold issues and the water literally dripping into the room, we immediately requested to be moved into the front part of the building, which was apparently an upgrade. This room was carpeted and smelt really, really bad. The bathroom was also so old, the furniture crappy and it was just so depressing and poorly kept. The TV wouldn't connect to anything and apparently there's no internet because it's 2026 and they can't figure it out. The lighting is awful in the rooms (white fluros) and the hot water was non existent, on off then cold. The fans are old and 'click' all night.

We went up the many stairs to the rooftop to check out their 'hero' facilities. Firstly the balustrades heading up are so rusted they are dangerous and flaking onto the tired tiled staircase. The front area overlooking the beach is in such poor condition and you can tell that the deck has efflorescence from water ingress which must be leaking into the apartment rooms below. The rear had a very tired looking pool and a patched up fence which acts as the pool fence, but also the fence that stops people falling off the side of the building. It's been illegally repaired using wood panels where the vertical sections are missing.

The locals all had a good laugh when we told them where we were staying and gave us a history lesson on the place and its notorious local owner, which explains the condition the property is in. I do find it funny that they've clearly gone to some effort to build two decks at the front quite recently, the locals believe to realise the owners vision for a 'dirty tavern' (locals terminology), but the decks, like everything else remain unfinished. I doubt it will actually achieve compliance as they've literally deleted ramp access to the restaurant by building the deck, so anyone with a disability can't access it. Honestly, amateur hour.

There is nothing to salvage from this hotel, it is all old, miserable and very sad and needs millions spent on it just to make it fit for guests. Do not stay here until the place is sold and renovated. What a shame. Spend your money elsewhere folks, this is a genuine dump. We left 2 nights early and just left the keys in the room and went somewhere else. You won't get a refund as the owners are clearly in denial.

Lication and price

Purely thankful to stef for taking my bags up those stairs.
1 .. is too high of a rating for this so called accommodation

Lovely ambience, location was prime, the place is undergoing some renovations in the entrance a so looked to be vacated . Upon entering the building we were greeted by Stef, a very capable young lady who promptly had us settled in.. The room was clean, the bed was very comfortable. The rooftop iqs classic, the pool overlooking the mountains on one side, the other side overlooks the ocean. All in all we had a wonderful time. Winter in Cairns is the best, no worries about stingers but obviously be careful where you swim, staying away from the rocky points.

Location was great.

Stair access ONLY UP 3 FLOORS

Wowwwwww this was an Epic Booking.com FAIL

This is why we should ALWAYS read reviews.

New lesson learned.

1. ZERO accessibility ♿️
2. AĹL stairs.. no obvious information
3. $75 charge if you arrive after 5pm, even though staff live on site
4. Old and a complete overhaul required.
5. Broken electronic appliances
6. Half used shampoo & conditioner yup Im not kidding and wow no soap.
7. 1.. yup 1 teaspoon lol 😆
8. Dirty balcony with unstable chairs
9. Ants 🐜 in the kitchen, that went through all my things.
10. Broken furniture
11. You have to pay for an extra towel for the crappy 💩 pool.
12.$75 callout fee if you lock yourself out.. even though they live on site.
13. Empty abandoned restaurants out front.
The toilet would not flush
14. Water pressure and hot water went out every shower 🚿
15.Sliding door corrosion would not allow it to lock.
16. Fly screens completely broken.
17.No WiFi, they say the walls are so thick "We have tried Everything" what a load of crap 💩 I could pick up the hotel next doors wifi on full signal
18. Paper thin walls and floors, I heard every conversation, sneeze 🤧 and pee 💩
19. No cleaning during your stay of course
20. Yet all cleaning gear left spralled out all day in the foyer. Probably hoping a guest would clean the foyer.

And NO.. this Was NOT a budget hotel I paid well over $600 for 2 nights not a weekend. And i am still furious 😠 😡 👿 😤 😒

I may I made a 💩 choice, it affected my Palm 🌴 Cove stay, Yup I will go back to ALWAYS reading 3rd party reviews as Booking.com hides negative low reviews for the sake of profit.

So sure they would get a 1 star review, I got a message almost immediately asking to not post a 1 star review, they would fix problems.

Lol.. unless your offering my money back you dont even deserve 1 star.

The only thank you was to steph who carried my bags up 3 floors of stairs.

So mortified by this experience I have attached photos.

There are so many wonderful places to stay in Palm 🌴 Cove. DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE I MADE.. HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND

Location

.location, palm cover is over rated too expensive everywhere better in cairns and just a visit

Great location, cosy relatively big with couch and TV area, Stephanie was great. Just very nice experience.

Nothing

Location, price, microwave, fridge, cutlery, crockery, beautiful linen, Aircon, fan

They did offer to fleece us again with a upgrade which we did take. And the room was a lot nicer and acceptable

Easy to check in
It was a budget room but we were happy

Location