Hotels near Shark Bay, Monkey Mia

Top dollar price for 2* accommodation. Two nights in an ocean view room. Fabulous view but, oh dear, the room was dire. We booked and paid for a room with kitchenette - their description not mine. The kitchenette was tea and coffee making facilities and a fridge. No toaster, no microwave. Zilch. No chance of self catering unless you use the communal kitchens. Thanks but no thanks. We had taken our own breakfasts which didn’t need toasting or microwaving. The bathroom was tired and grubby with an extractor fan attached to the same switch as the light so no creeping to the loo in the night without waking other half up! The main restaurant was OK but our starter of seafood came without the Exmouth prawns which were advertised as part of the seafood plate. When we queried this omission we were told they’d run out. They told us they’d given us an extra scallop as compensation! When we were eating our mains the manager turned up at the table with a plate with 3 prawns on! Had he just caught them or had the kitchen brigade defrosted them? We’ll never know as we sent them back to the kitchen. Second night we ate in the bar - pizza. Not home made but from a packet. I saw them opening them. They were OK but at $25 each they should have been fabulous. Wednesday 31 May there was a big rugby game on TV which we wanted to watch in the bar. No problem until a small group of people became very drunk and very offensive. One guy in particular was effing and blinding at another group of people who, fortunately, were adult enough to ignore him. When we spoke to the barman and asked if they were trained in the Responsible Service of Alcohol he told us that he wasn’t sure! Was there a language problem. I thought the RSA was a requirement of working on licensed premises in W.A. The experience left a bit of a sour taste. To sum up - there is very little accommodation in Monkey Mia except the resort so they have cornered the market. The property is tired and in need of investment. Come on RAC - update this site. A lick of paint won’t do. It needs bringing into 2023. It’s stuck in 1990!

My wife and I stayed 3 nights, arriving at 1PM from Carnarvon with a rental car. I used the lockbox to access my named letter with the key to our prepaid accommodation. Villa #9, entered through the patio’s sliding glass door, was clean, tilled and spacious with everything one could need including a fully outfitted kitchen(gas stove/oven & full sized refrigerator), a small bathroom with a stall shower/fan and a bedroom with a comfortable queen. Two small bars of soap and dishwashing liquid were provided. The older wall AC unit was not needed, the secure WIFI was average and the washing machine/laundry tub was nice. On the negative side; the only frying pan was very large and misshapen, the kitchen fan was too noisy to use, it was difficult to read with limited living room light and the TV had lots of channels but was small. The location is outstanding. Walking along the bayfront, its 1 block south to the IGA and 1 block north to the Discovery Center.

Called in at the hotel on 4 occasions during our week's stay in Denham. Every time the meals took 50 minutes to arrive after ordering . Don't expect a friendly reception from hotel/bar management- you're not going to get it. The other more junior staff are great. The one time we spoke to the chef he was down right rude. BUT it's still the best place in town. Try it. We'll worth a visit. The food is nice.