5 Days and Nights in The Kimberley - Day 5 - Cable Beach Resort

 

This place has changed me. My breathing and my heartbeat have recalibrated. There is a new life-force in my lungs. It's as if I've woken from a deep slumber.

 

 

Our last day up here is spent relaxing at the hotel that put Broome on the tourist map - Cable Beach resort.

 

 

There was a time when this sprawling retreat, designed and built by Alistair McAlpine, was the only luxury accommodation in this pearling outpost.



Now, there are dozens of high-end hotels vying for the discerning tourist dollar. But after a recent $40 million upgrade the 30-year-old Cable Beach Resort is still my pick, offering unparalleled luxury.

 

Lord McAlpine selected a perfect location for his fantasy getaway; 26 acres right on the dunes of Cable Beach.

 

 

Influenced by McAlpine's love of Asian architecture and the local Creole-style pearl masters cottages, the resort's original layout consisted of a few central buildings with bungalows of corrugated iron and wooden lattice work scattered around them.

In cyclone country buildings have to be robust. A giant red Chinese pagoda greets guests at the resort's main entrance.

Replica terracotta models of ancient warriors stand guard. Dozens of Chinese artefacts and eclectic collectibles are dotted throughout the complex.

There are rooms and bungalows to suit every budget from simple suites to the Club Collection villas.

Try to book a room near one of the pools....

... under the frangipani blossoms...

 

You'll find it difficult to peel yourself off the sun lounges.

 

 

The gardens are lush and extensive featuring native and exotic plants collected over decades.

 

 

It's well worth joining a garden tour to explore the dozens of varieties of palms, boabs, frangipani and jacaranda. And look out for the local wildlife - wallabies, Shaky Paw lizards, monitors and of course the dozens of varieties of birds.

 

And if all of that isn't enough there's the siren call of the Sunset Bar where all days begin and end.
Broome is in my blood now. Already planning my next trip...

Saucy Onion travelled with the assistance of Tourism WA
photographs by Mark FitzGerald and Indira Naidoo