Beautiful Broome

The lastminute lovelies swap East for West with a luxe stay at the Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa.

Any hotel stay that starts with a glass of champagne on check-in is my kind of place. And so it seems the Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa and I are going to get on just fine.

lastminute lovely Kirsty and I are lucky enough to be in Broome for the weekend. A two and a half hour flight from Perth, Broome is the southern gateway to the Kimberley, well known for its pearls and natural beauty including the iconic and Cable Beach and magnificent sunsets over the Indian Ocean.

While the rest of us were experimenting with hypercolour, UK Lord Alistair McAlpine bought up large amounts of Broome in the 80’s, sparking a tourism-led revival of the town and establishment of Cable Beach Club resort. On behalf of all tourists, I say, thank you m’Lord!

Reaching the resort in the evening, the smiles keep on coming when we suss out our pool view studios. Modern and spacious and a few steps away from the pool (and poolside bar!) we’re happy with our home away from home. Polished floorboards, king bed, deck with personal sunbed – what’s not to love.

Stomachs grumbling, we make our way to the onsite Thai Pearl restaurant. Offering a delicious range of traditional and more modern dishes in a laidback setting, with the warmth in the air you can easily forget for a moment that you are in fact still in Australia, not Asia. (As a side note, Broome attracted Asian immigrants, lured by the promise of finding their fortune with pearls and the Asian influence is seen in the town today).

Each dish hits the spot with fresh flavours but the ‘Kra paw chicken’ is the stand-out.

Things to love about Broome: The people are sooooo friendly. Their easygoing nature will have you slipping into Broome-time in no time.

Rise and shine
With a three-hour time difference to Sydney, I’m up bright and early so decide to hit the gym. The well-equipped space ticks all the boxes for gym goers. With views of the gardens, it’s actually a nice spot to train. While doing jumping squats, I even spot a joey jumping past in sync!

Next stop is breakfast at the beachside Sunset Bar and Grill.

Cable Beach Club is the only resort in Broome located on Cable Beach so take advantage of that view!

The buffet provides plenty of options including eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, fruits, yoghurts, bircher and pastries.

It would be easy to sit back here for hours, nibbling on the fresh fruit and drinking pots of tea but I have a date…

Hello relaxation
What’s a resort getaway without pampering of some sort?

The onsite Chahoya Spa has holiday relaxation all over it.

Wandering past the water features lining the path to the entry, I can feel the stress slipping away already. Deciding on a remedial massage, my therapist Lily works her magic from head to toe and I float back to my villa.

Hot tip: The spa fills up quickly and is closed on Sundays so be sure to book in your treatment before you arrive, especially in peak season.

If you want to continue the zen feeling, be sure to check-out the Buddha Sanctuary, believed to be one of the largest crystal Buddha statues in the world. Yoga classes are also hosted here on week days.

Did someone say pool time?
I love kids but when I hear the Cable Beach Club has a family pool and separate adults only ‘Ocean Pool’, I can’t help but give them an extra tick of approval.

It also has a no mobile phone policy so you can really switch off, pardon the pun.

Nabbing a spot under an umbrella, we alternate between lazing the daybeds and cooling off in the lagoon style pool. We’re on Broome time now 🙂

We order lunch and cocktails from the poolside bar. It would be rude not to.

The fish and chips were a little on the greasy side (next time I’d go the bucket of prawns) but regardless, there’s just something about having your lunch delivered to your towel.

Back-to-nature
Post deep-fry hit, we venture to the iconic Cable Beach. You can’t help but be impressed by its sheer size and width. Stretching for 22 kilometres, it is absolutely huge.

We dip our toes in and water is gorgeously warm. It is stinger season so you didn’t catch us in there but many surfers were.

The rains are here!
Broome doesn’t have a summer or winter. Rather it’s defined by its dry season and wet season (and shoulder season).

In the dry season (June to October), days are warm, evenings are mostly balmy and you’ll enjoy clear blue skies by day and by night. Many visit during this peak period to escape the cooler weather in the other states.

In the wet season (November to March), the days are hotter, there are isolated thunderstorms and occasional downpours (which provide welcome relief). Between January and March there is also the potential for cyclone activity…

… Enter Cyclone Rusty.

While the cyclone didn’t hit while we were there, thanks to Rusty hanging around WA, we did cop more rain than we would have liked which was a little unlucky (a fellow resort goer was there a couple of weeks early and had perfect weather).

Hot tip: During the wet season, you’ll score cheaper accommodation and less crowds (maybe wait for the forecast and book at the last minute). During peak season, you have the advantage of direct flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. So there are pro’s and con’s for both.

In true lastminute lovely style, we don’t let a little (or a lot of!) rain get in the way of having a good time.

Hitting the (China)town
Catching the bus into Chinatown with our trusty resort umbrellas, we brave the puddles and find respite at a delicious tapas joint, called Aarli Bar. A casual yet stylish space, it’s the perfect spot to base ourselves for a few hours of pinot grigio guzzling and tapas tasting.

From ‘Sashimi of yellow tail kingfish with wakame, sesame, chilli and ginger’ to ‘Crab cakes with sweet chilli & cucumber’, and ‘Crispy skin quail with cumber, pickled ginger & coriander salad’ to ‘Sugar cane prawns with ginger & lime syrup’, the variety of flavours and textures keeps you coming back for more.

We can’t resist dessert and share a ‘Double chocolate brownie with vanilla bean ice-cream’ (heavenly!) and the ‘Watermelon, pomegranate, strawberry & mint salad with pistachio ice-cream (as refreshing as it sounds).

Some might skip the outdoor movies on a night of torrential rain but not the lastminute lovelies!

We couldn’t miss out on the chance to visit Sun Pictures, the world’s oldest picture garden (as recognised by Guinness World Records). Opened in 1916 with a silent movie, the space was originally an Asia emporium.

Given the weather, we were grateful to discover some undercover seating and settled into our low old-school sling seating. On a balmy Broome evening, grabbing a spot on the grass would be perfection but it’s still a damn good option on a rainy one too.

Things to love about Broome: It might be the biggest ‘city’ in the Kimberly but at its heart, it’s still an outback town. Case in point, on our bus ride into town, the driver waited a couple of minutes for a man to finish his ice-cream cone so he could board. That doesn’t happen in Sydney!

Lazy Sunday
With our camel ride along Cable Beach cancelled due to the weather (a good excuse to plan a return visit 😉 ), we take the opportunity to further check-out the resort. And with 26 acres of gardens there’s plenty to explore.

Hot tip: If you do happen to get lost at the resort, look for the terracotta horses. They’re scattered throughout the property and point in the direction on reception. Genius! (And greatly appreciated by this very average map reader).

Not many resorts strike the balance between romantic couples escape and family friendly getaway (without sabotaging the other) but Cable Beach Club gets it right.

For the family market, spacious bungalows, play equipment, mini-golf, tennis courts and family pool (with poolside dining here too) will keep kids and parents happy.

Couples will love the private villas, adults only pool, quality dining options and bar.

For my return visit (yep, I’m so going back), I’ve got my eye on the villa with private plunge pool.

If you really want to impress or perhaps for a honeymoon or special occasion, you can also add in a butler service. Posh!

Mango Beer… don’t mind if we do!
A trip to Broome isn’t complete without a visit to Matso’s Broome Brewery.

With its traditional Aussie pub vibe, you can very comfortably settle in for a Sunday session.

Most famous for its alcoholic ginger beer and mango beer, we sample both in the name of research and give them both a big thumbs up. I’ll be seeking out stockists in Sydney, they were that good, and maybe even trying to track down their ciders too.

Not to be outdone by the beverages, the modern Australian menu (with Asian influences, of course) doesn’t disappoint. My grilled prawn salad (with a very generous serve of prawns) was light and fresh and the steak sandwich and burgers we saw came out of the kitchen also looked like winners.

It’s the perfect way to farewell a fleeting visit to Broome.

Is a trip to Broome on your travel wish list?

Nicole and Kirsty travelled to Broome as guests of Cable Beach Club Spa and Resort and Tourism WA.