[1] The Barrier Reef (formerly Empire) Hotel, a two-storeyed reinforced concrete building, was erected in 1926 for PJ Doyle Ltd, wine and spirit merchants of Cairns and Thursday Island.

[1] The Barrier Reef Hotel is situated at the corner of Abbott and Wharf Streets on what was formerly Section II of the 1876 Cairns Town Plan - the survey point from which the town of Cairns was laid out was fixed at this corner just 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) from the present building.

[1] PJ Doyle Ltd's construction in 1926 of the second, more substantial Empire Hotel reflected local confidence in the growth of Cairns as an important regional centre.

With its status as the principal port of Far North Queensland being consolidated during the interwar period, Cairns underwent rapid development, and the city centre was largely re-built.

PJ Doyle Wines & Spirits Pty Ltd maintained a close connection with the Empire after 1938, firstly as a mortgagor, and from 1 December 1959 until c. 1977 as the lessee.

The name was changed to the Barrier Reef Hotel in May 1960, possibly reflecting the burgeoning prawning and fishing industry based in Cairns from the late 1950s.

The floor plan of the building responds to the trapezoidal shape of the site where the grid layout of the city meets Trinity Inlet.

[1] The building is two-storeyed with a wide verandah attached to parapet walls running along Wharf and Abbott Streets.

[1] The parapet wall is finished at the top with a heavy cornice with wide dentil course supported on fluted pilasters beneath.

The north and west walls are punctuated by evenly spaced windows of double hung proportion indicating the position of single rooms at ground and first floor levels.

[1] The main stair to the first floor has simple detailing reflecting its interwar period of construction and remains in its original position.

The first floor has retained its original configuration being divided into a series of single rooms off narrow corridors which run parallel to the west and north elevations.

[1] A single-storeyed gable roofed building of contemporary design runs down the northwest side of the hotel and serves as a TAB.

It is one of only two surviving buildings which illustrate the early-established and important connection between the businesses in the Wharf-Abbott-Lake Street area and the adjacent wharves, and remains a good example of a substantial, inter-war Cairns hotel which catered principally for local workers.

It is one of only two surviving buildings which illustrate the early-established and important connection between the businesses in the Wharf-Abbott-Lake Street area and the adjacent wharves, and remains a good example of a substantial, inter-war Cairns hotel which catered principally for local workers.