The best Rottnest Island accommodation for a coastal getaway

Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
hero media
We have cherry-picked a few of our favourite places to stay when you’re visiting Wadjemup / Rottnest Island in Western Australia.

Many West Australians have nostalgic memories that revolve around Rottnest Island. For those of us daydreaming about the barefoot luxury of an island getaway and the emotions it evokes, a visit to Rottnest Island or a stay near the ferry departure point in Perth offers the perfect opportunity to soak up some vitamin D at its beautiful beaches and bays.

Here are some of the best Rottnest Island accommodation options that will make for a memorable visit.

The Lodge Wadjemup

The Lodge Wadjemup bathroom

After a $40 million refurbishment, The Lodge Wadjemup has just opened its doors to guests, offering idyllic lakeside relaxation to all. The resort has 63 refurbished rooms with a mix of heritage and 1970s bones, but come April, another 46 sleek poolside rooms will open. Rottnest Island has been short of delivering delicious food, but the Mediterranean fare at the onsite restaurant Sunsets Bar & Dining serves fresh WA produce in the form of XO prawns, heirloom tomatoes and squid ink linguine and Rottnest swordfish with mussels, sauce vierge, and bottarga. 

Discovery Resort – Rottnest Island

Discovery Resort accommodation on Rottnest Island
Glamp by the water at Discovery Resort – Rottnest Island. (Image; Tourism Western Australia)

If you’re after a relaxing beach break, or want to create a multitude of memories with the family, you can do so in comfort at Discovery Holiday Parks Rottnest Island. From deluxe tents nestled in the dunes, to standard family tents with a private ensuite and outdoor deck, to superior family tents with kitchenettes, the holiday park located just 300 metres from Garden Lake and 200 metres from the beach has just 83 eco tents and gets the thumbs up for treading lightly on the land.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

Heritage Cottages

Rottnest Island Bathurst Lighthouse Keepers Cottage
Bathurst Lighthouse Keepers Cottage comprises two units. (Image: Rottnest Island Authority)

The majority of the original Heritage Cottages on Rottnest Island are located at the southern end of Vincent Way, in North Thomson, one of the oldest intact streets in Australia. Be transported back to the 1840s when you book a stay in one of the heritage-listed cottages which all share the same ochre hue that has become iconic on the island. Two of the charming Heritage Cottages are located close to Bathurst Lighthouse, while others with historical significance from the Second World War are to be found at Kingstown Barracks, a short bus ride from the main settlement. While they offer a historical experience, they do offer a more rustic accommodation in comparison to some of the island’s other stays.

Samphire Rottnest

Samphire Rottnest
Samphire Rottnest is the first luxury resort on Rottnest.

Samphire Rottnest is the first luxury resort to spring up on Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) and it takes just 30 minutes on the ferry from Freo to get there. The 80-room boutique hotel feels like a hidden corner of Canggu without the crowds: it has a restaurant, beach club, lounge, lagoon-like pool and bar and landscaped gardens that make it irresistible as a hide-away-from-it-all hotel. Open up the doors to your suite and invite the sea breeze in or kick back with your toes in the sand for sunset cocktails at the Beach Club.

This article was originally written by Chloe Cann and updated by Rachael Thompson

Discover the best things to do on Rottnest Island

Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?

  1. Click here to set Australian Traveller as a preferred source.
  2. Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Chloe Cann
Chloe Cann is an award-winning freelance travel and food writer, born in England, based in Melbourne and Roman by adoption. Since honing her skills at City St George's, University of London with a master's degree in journalism, she's been writing almost exclusively about travel for more than a decade, and has worked in-house at newspapers and travel magazines in London, Phnom Penh, Sydney and Melbourne. Through a mixture of work and pleasure, she's been fortunate enough to visit 80 countries to date, though there are many more that she is itching to reach. While the strength of a region's food scene tends to dictate the location of her next trip, she can be equally swayed by the promise of interesting landscapes and offbeat experiences. And with a small person now in tow, travel looks a little different these days, but it remains at the front of her mind.
View profile and articles
The Lodge Wadjemup poolside
Rottnest Island

First look: The all-new Lodge at Wadjemup revealed

A new era of island luxury has arrived on Rottnest.

Read more
hero media

Your Mandurah guide: art, dining & dolphins await in WA’s coastal gem

    Monique Ceccato Monique Ceccato
    Continue
    Discover the perfect road trip stopover between Perth and wine country.

    Western Australia punches above its weight when it comes to coastal hot spots, but no other town or city has seen a tourism boom quite like Mandurah. Named Australia’s Top Tourism Town in 2023, it’s the relaxed, beachside break you’ve been searching for. And it’s perfectly placed, sitting between Margaret River and Perth, as it’s just a 55-minute drive from Perth’s CBD. Which is why we’ve put together your ultimate Mandurah guide.

    Aerial view of Mandurah.
    Plan your perfect coastal escape to Australia’s Top Tourism Town of 2023.

    The best things to do in Mandurah

    Wetlands and rivers, ocean and inlet; Mandurah’s laid-back lifestyle centres around the aquatic. Its waterways cover twice the ground of Sydney Harbour – measuring some 134 square kilometres in total – and form a unique environment for oceanic and estuarine flora and fauna to thrive.

    In the city’s estuary lives perhaps the region’s most famed inhabitants – a resident pod of 100 bottlenose dolphins – and the inlet’s silty bottom is home to the prized blue manna crab. Spot the former breaching and playing on an hour-long dolphin cruise through the channels, or try your hand at catching the latter by wading through the estuary’s shallows with a scoop net in hand.

    While swimming at the circular Kwillena Gabi Pool, chance encounters with the local wildlife aren’t uncommon. The sheltered estuarine pool takes its name from the traditional custodians of the land, the Bindjareb people, and directly translates to ‘dolphin waters’. Jutting out of the eastern foreshore, it’s enclosed by a ring of net-free floating pontoons, which allow the dolphins to swim freely through the attraction.

    If that’s a little too close for comfort, book a kayak tour with Down Under Discoveries. The dolphins have been known to cruise beside the paddle-powered crafts, which are a fun, family-friendly way to explore the city’s inner waterways.

    Dolphins swimming in Mandurah.
    Watch dolphins glide by as you explore Mandurah.

    You don’t have to be on the water to appreciate the coastal city’s aquatic beauty, with 600 kilometres of cycleways and scenic walking trails traversing Mandurah’s estuary, inlet and coast.

    Follow the 30-kilometre coastal trail and you’ll come face to face with one of Thomas Dambo’s headline-making ‘Giants of Mandurah sculptures, Santi Ikto, along the way. There are five sculptures around Mandurah in total, hidden among gum-filled reserves or sitting sentry over the water.

    Head to the Mandurah Visitor Centre to pick up a map to pinpoint their exact location and download the traveller’s companion to learn more about the sights along the way. Or join a three-hour e-bike tour from The Bike Kiosk and you’ll stop by two of the giants – Santi Ikto and Yaburgurt Winjan Cirkelstone – as you sightsee central Mandurah.

    The towering Santi Ikto, one of Thomas Dambo’s iconic Giants of Mandurah.
    Meet Santi Ikto, one of the legendary Giants of Mandurah.

    Where to eat in Mandurah

    Mandurah’s culinary scene reflects its laid-back lifestyle, with large, honest meals and locally brewed beer. After visiting Lake Clifton’s 2000-year-old thrombolites, head to the peppermint and gum-shaded beer garden at Thorny Devil Brewery. Tuck into a platter of house-smoked meats and an ale pulled fresh from the tanks. Closer to town and right on the waterfront is Boundary Island Brewery; here, woodfired pizza, pub-style seafood dishes and easy-drinking brews are centre stage.

    On a Murray River Lunch Cruise, the focus is as much on the environment around you as the food you’re filling up on. Help yourself to the colourful salads and freshly cooked meats on the buffet as you meander up the winding, jarrah tree-lined waterway, stopping at the heritage Cooper’s Mill for a quick walking tour along the way.

    Keep your eyes trained on the Creery Wetlands as you pass – you’ll spot much of the region’s migratory birdlife, and, as always, might see the playful bottlenose dolphins in the inlet.

    The most memorable meals aren’t necessarily always the fanciest, and lunch aboard a self-skippered Mandurah BBQ Boat is a testament to that. All food and beverage prep is left up to you as you cruise through the canals, sausages and steaks sizzling away on the central hot plate.

    If seafood is more your kind of fare, board the Wild Seafood Experience, where dolphin cruise meets long table lunch. Eight courses of crab, crayfish and scallops await.

    A table filled with plates of crab, crayfish, and scallops.
    Dine on the water with eight courses of ocean-fresh fare.

    Where to stay in Mandurah

    With so many waterways comes abundant waterside stays. Like the self-contained Seashells Mandurah on the shores of Comet Bay. The calm, oceanic outlook from the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and villas is as close to Maldivian as Mandurah gets. Families especially enjoy the property, bouncing between the protected cove and the beachfront pool for endless hours of fun.

    Seashells Mandurah; on the shores of Comet Bay.
    Stay right by the sea.

    The Sebel Mandurah, just a hop, skip and jump from the Mandurah Ocean Marina, has a different outlook entirely, overlooking the estuary and lively foreshore on the other side. It’s also within walking distance of the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, cinema and a swathe of waterfront bars and eateries.

    But you can’t get any closer to the water than on a vessel from Mandurah Houseboats. You don’t need a skipper’s ticket to hire one, nor do you need comprehensive boating experience; just a full driver’s license and your undivided attention during the pre-departure tuition will do. Then you’re free to take to the estuaries and tributaries for a few nights of peaceful rest, surrounded by the very element that makes Mandurah so special.

    A houseboat cruising in Mandurah along the river
    Captain a houseboat to explore Mandurah at your own pace.

    Plan your next WA getaway in Mandurah.

    The best Rottnest Island accommodation for a coastal getaway