The Pearle of Cable Beach — Hotel in Cable Beach

Where do I start?

This hotel was booked by our travel agent because our first choice, Cable Beach Club, was fully booked.

We arrived after a long plane trip from Sydney, at 7.30pm.

The reception area was in total darkness. Apparently it closes at 5PM!!!

A small sign on the intercom system said that it was not working and to call a number. Useless if you don’t have a mobile or it’s out of battery.

We called the number, and after some time it was answered. We were directed to enter a code into a nearby safe marked “late arrivals”. From this we retrieved an envelope which contained our room key, some information about the resort, and a small map showing the location of our room. This took several minutes to read, which was made difficult because of poor lighting.

We then had to enter a code into a security gate - again poorly lit. We set off to find our room, carrying two suitcases and a small backpack each. Our room was the furthest away from reception, so it was quite a hike. In high humidity and over 28 degree C heat.

We were unable to find our room for some time. It was hidden behind overgrown shrubbery, which also hid the room number part noted on the kerb. Thanks to the assistance of another guest, we eventually found our room.

The room itself was basic, but clean. There was no table or chairs, only a bed and two bedside tables. The TV was a small, cheap unit. Many of the channels did not work.

The room contained no drinking glasses, or crockery apart from 2 cups and saucers.

Tea/coffee making was basic - no sugar provided.

THERE WERE NO ACCESSIBLE POWERPOINTS IN THE ROOM PROPER. The only way to charge electronic devices was a PowerPoint in the bathroom - very impractical and quite unsafe. For anybody who, like me, needs a CPAP machine, the absence of bedside power points is both inconvenient and dangerous.

The paperwork provided advised very strongly to follow their security recommendations. Given this advice, it was disturbing that the room safe was inoperable. There was nobody to report this to of course.

The room also had no windows, so the only way to get fresh air was to leave the unscreened door open - not a safe option given this resort’s history and their warnings about security.

The next morning, we attended reception. We explained that we were planning a full day away from the room but did not want to leave our valuables there unless they could be secured in the safe. The polite receptionist promised to try and have the safe repaired while we were at breakfast.

The resort has a cafe. But we were surprised to learn that it is only open from 7.30am to 10.30am.

We enjoyed a basic continental breakfast and returned to our room. It was evident that someone had tried to fix the safe but it was still inoperable. We called reception and were told it would not be possible to have the safe repaired that day. We could either leave our valuables at reception (meaning that we had to be back before 5.00pm before reception closed), take the risk of leaving valuables in the room unsecured (the receptionist assured us they would be quite safe but advised that the resort would not be liable for any loss) or lugging them with us all day. We chose the latter.

We returned to our room late in the afternoon. It had not been serviced. Beds were not made, and supplies were not replenished.

This is not a cheap hotel. In fact, it is ridiculously expensive compared to what it offerers. We visited the Oaks resort for dinner and the whole resort leaves this for dead. Our room was comparable to an average motel unit.

It would be an exaggeration to say that our experience spoiled our time in Broome. But overall we are very disappointed with the lack of concern, poor service, and poor value provided by this resort.

We hope our poor experience will assist others to avoid this place. We certainly will be providing feedback directly to our travel agent so that they can make sure they avoid...

NEVER stay in this resort. There is NO duty of care towards guests whatsoever. The staff are very aware of the break-ins and theft that occurs on a very regular basis here yet fail to inform you of this when you arrive. There were 5 community members jailed because of this of this the week prior to our stay. No one explains the correct use of the locks (need to be key locked to be effective, not just the press button), louvred windows, etc for safety. This was all explained to us by WA Police after our villa was broken into and over $3000 worth of belongings taken. I spent our 4 night stay sleeping on the couch in another friends' villa as I felt so unsafe being in my room by myself, knowing there is absolutely no security at the resort, no gate at the entry to deter criminals and only 1 CCTV camera.it is a known fact of how the criminals break in so easily at The Pearle... over the gecko wall at the front door to the villas, over the back fence (ours had many panels missing!), and through the glass louvred windows. Also don't expect an apology from the staff for anything that happens. Instead of contacting us directly, the staff member called us 14 hours after the break in to chat and let us know that she, the maintenance staff and locksmith had been in our rooms to check the lock. This was NOT approved by us and is therefore trespassing. It took 3 days for the manager Kelly to apologise and only because my friend and I approached her at checkout and demanded an apology. To which she started to cry and said "it's not for her to deal with as she only works there and has a kid!" Unbelievable! Even the WA Police, nurses and doctors (we needed sleeping tablets from the sleep anxiety) at the local hospital, tour guides and hospitality staff in Broome apologised for what we had experienced. The villas are also in dire need of renovation. I almost tore my feet open on the decking in literally the first step I took on it due to many nails being lifted and exposed. The tile floors are filthy, there wasn't even a proper cover on the doona, just a sheet folded over it. Unfortunately for myself at the end of the stay, I discovered my doona also had MANY BLOOD STAINS on it. The mattresses have no protectors on them and are also dirty with many stains. And no curtains for privacy in the main residence. I suggest you take my advice and rebook elsewhere. Count the money you lose as an actual saving as you will need to spend it on replacing your belongings or on counselling from waking to intruders...

*SECURITY WARNING, NOT SAFE ESPECIALLY FOR FAMILIES * I don't know where to start...... As soon as we arrived customer service was fair. There was no offer to take our bags to our room (as we had dropped them off earlier in the day), the rooms weren't set up as we discussed (twin beds and bedding in 1 room), No one had explained to us how the door locks work and how we were meant to use 1 key for 3 bedrooms and deadlock doors and close windows at all times. There's no security or security patrols. We were broken into and had 3 intruders in one of our friends rooms at 4am in the morning. We had 6 or so police officers apologise and go through our room to advise us how they normally break in and how to use our locks. This was unfortunately to late and could've been prevented if The Pearle had of explained this to us beforehand as a duty of care. It was 16hrs after the incident before we had contact from The Pearle but still no apology or explanation. After a trip to emergency for 3 guests to get urgent medical treatment and the rest of us in an anxious and unrelaxed state we will never recommend anyone to go anywhere near The Pearle again. We paid just under $5k for 7 of us in 2 pool villas for 4 nights, this is totally criminal especially when after the incident to feel safe we had to sleep in one villa on the couches. It's definitely not safe for a family as you have to deadlock all doors with a key, so it makes it very difficult to get into any rooms in case of an emergency or distressing time plus I wouldn't feel safe having my children in a locked room away from me. They have a bar/Cafe and Day spa but both were closed except for a small wIndow in the morning for coffees and breakfast. Not exactly 5 star amenities.

We will be taking this matter further and spreading our very distressing experience. Happy 40th...