[1] This three-storeyed, reinforced concrete hotel was constructed in two stages, 1928 and by c. 1936, for the O'Hara family, well known Cairns publicans.

[1] The earlier hotel, a substantial, 20 bedroom, two-storeyed timber building with double front verandahs and an observation tower, was erected in 1885 by Townsville contractors Hinton & Co., for publicans George Parker Hides and Duncan McColl, who also were in partnership in the Royal Hotel at Herberton.

The hotel was renovated c. 1891, and by 1899 a substantial, two-storeyed timber wing had been constructed at the rear, and the accommodation had been extended to 32 bedrooms.

[1] With the construction of the Cairns Hotel, Hides and McColl pioneered Lake Street as a commercial address.

In 1900–01 she also acquired the adjoining allotment on the corner of Lake and Shields Streets, on which the present Hides' Hotel stands.

At the time of construction, it was one of the largest buildings in Cairns, and was one of only two three-storeyed structures in the city, the other being Boland's store at the corner of Lake and Spence Streets.

[1] Hides Hotel, located on the southern corner of Lake and Shields Streets, is a three-storeyed, rendered reinforced concrete structure with a U-shaped hipped corrugated iron roof concealed behind a parapet wall.

[1] The ground floor facade has been altered, with a pebble render finish to the walls and non-original window and door units, some of which are in the original openings.

The first floor has timber framed, multi-paned doors with fanlights, most of which have air conditioning units inserted, opening onto the verandah.

The original office and reception area, Public Bar and toilets on the ground floor have been altered, and the Shields Street shops have been converted into a bar area, but many of the original plastered ceilings and a section of herringbone parquet flooring in the dining room remain intact.

The place exhibits a range of aesthetic characteristics valued by the Cairns community, in particular: the contribution of the building, through its siting, scale, form and material, to the streetscapes of Lake and Shields streets and to the Cairns townscape; the quality of surviving original interior finishes, including plaster work; and the wide timber verandahs.