Discovery Rottnest Island, Perth, Western Australia
Western Australia was a strange anomaly during the height of the pandemic. With hard borders not just to the rest of the world but to the rest of Australia, WA’s 2.7 million residents were locked in, but covid-free and at liberty to explore nearly all of our two and a half million square kilometre state.
And explore we did – from the ever-popular southwestern Margaret River region, to the dazzling Golden Outback and Esperance regions, to the sublime Coral Coast and ethereal gorges of the Pilbara, and to the awe-inspiring Kimberley wilderness.
But closer to home, we were amongst the many West Australians who rediscovered the loveliness of Rottnest Island, a postcard destination of stunning beaches, glorious bays and smiling quokkas, all just a 30 minute ferry-ride from Perth.
Our first forays were to stay in the newly opened Samphire, Rottnest’s first and only upmarket hotel, which opened in October 2020. While the hotel rooms themselves are very beautiful, particularly the beachfront suites, other aspects of the hotel did not quite make the grade the pre-open marketing suggested they were aiming for. And a second stay a few months later, while lovely, revealed some of these concerns remained not just teething problems.
But as part of our explorations of Rottnest on these occasions, we stumbled across the luxury ocean front tents at Discovery Rottnest Island. Located on the northeast tip of Rottnest on the road out to The Basin, Discovery Rottnest looks at first glance like a huge permanent campground, with unassuming canvas tents nestled closely together. But as you venture through the campsite en route to glorious Pinky Beach, the tents become progressively larger and more elaborate, culminating in six Deluxe Oceanside Tents (or more like ‘villas’) nestled in the dunes just metres from the shore.
And so obviously, we had to test these out for ourselves…
Discovery Rottnest Island was opened in February 2019, the first new accommodation on Rottnest in more than 30 years. It has 83 en-suite eco-tents, connected by footpaths and elevated boardwalks, at four price-points (Standard, Superior, Deluxe and Deluxe Oceanside), in addition to the resort pool, Pinky’s Restaurant and a beach bar overlooking the water.
While most of the tents are nestled closely together in the landscaped grounds, the six Deluxe Oceanside Tents have more spacious and elevated positions in the dunes at the front of the resort. Each is approximately 40 square metres and is a harmonious blend of canvas and hard structures on raised metal platforms. Comprised of a large living area / bedroom, a kitchenette, an ensuite bathroom with dual vanities and a walk-in wardrobe, the villas are stylish and comfortable glamping accommodations.
From the raised boardwalk, each tent’s solid glass entry door opens onto the kitchenette, with sink, bar fridge, microwave, toaster, kettle, nespresso machine (sadly no milk frother) and a simple array of cutlery and crockery. Beyond is the main room, a combined living room and bedroom, with hard laminate flooring, a comfortable king bed in white linen and a taupe throw blanket, a wide grey sofa with ottoman and side table, and a small writing desk. The front of this room has full-width, floor-to-ceiling glass doors set into the canvas, which open out onto the deck. There are two sets of curtains in charcoal – translucent and block-out – which may be needed at times as all the tents are to some extent visible from the surrounding dunes (more on that later). One wall of the main room is canvas, with a large screened window that can be opened widely for more dune and ocean views. Overhead, a fan is set into the peaked canvas ceiling and there is also an electric heater and blanket for when the weather is brisk.
On the other side of the main room is the sizeable ensuite, a hard-walled structure with crisp white walls, grey tiles, frosted glass doors and brass fittings. There are two vanities with large circular mirrors, a toilet, a rainfall shower and full amenities (shampoo, conditioner, body wash and moisturiser) by Olive Oil Co. Both the shower and the toilet have small, screened windows to the surroundings, with the shower window facing the ocean, such that the villas have ocean views from their showers.
At the rear of the main room, there is a walk-in wardrobe, with two sets of hanging shelves, large drawers and a luggage rack. At the front of the main room, the glass sliding doors open out onto the hard-wood deck, with more of the dune and ocean views. The deck has a large corner sofa with a coffee table, a high table with two bar stools, and a small Weber gas barbecue. The deck is shaded by the large awning that extends across the entire villa, held in place with large metal struts that arc across the structure.
Outside the villas, elevated metal walkways criss-cross the resort, and lead from the tents to the central reception area at the resort’s northeastern corner. Here, Pinky’s Bar and Restaurant is housed in a large pavilion, shared with the resort reception, with indoor and outdoor tables for breakfast, lunch and dinner dining. Nearby, Pinky’s Beach Club offers alfresco seating with ocean views and is open from lunch into the evening. Online it appears that the two restaurants offer different menus, but on our visits the menu was shared across both. Similarly shared were the mercenary seagulls that make any dining experience a battle of the wills – don’t turn your back on your food for a moment!
Breakfast is included in the room rate for all tents at Discovery Rottnest, and is available from 0730 to 1000. Seagull-free indoor-dining fills up fast, before guests spill out into the outdoor tables. Breakfast is a full buffet – juices, coffees from two large automated machines, and hot and cold options. A generous pastry table includes a range of breads for toasting, in addition to impressively good croissants, and a range of danish pastries. A cold buffet offers yoghurts, fruit compotes, dried fruits, chia pudding and cereals, while the bain-maries of hot food contain all the usual suspects.
The resort pool is small but picturesque, with several sun loungers and beach umbrellas. But with such glorious beaches just metres away, it is definitely not utilised as much as most resort pools.
Discovery Rottnest Island, Resort pool
Finally, you couldn’t be better positioned to enjoy the cool refreshing calm waters of Pinky Beach, as well as the stunning snorkeling of The Basin…
Super easy access to The Basin and its waters perfect for snorkeling
Update - We have since returned to Discovery Rottnest Island and provided some advice regarding which tent to chose (or at least request) when booking your Rottnest adventure - Revisiting Discovery Rottnest Island…
