Nanga Bay Resort 

My wife and I with our 4 adult children booked in for 3 nights in July 08, staying in one of their family units overlooking the beach.
We booked over the internet and were quoted the price per night and the total for our stay and a deposit of $100 was taken, great, sorted, right? Well no.
When we arrived they charged us another 30% because they had put their prices up since we had booked. The fact that a contract had been made and it's illegal to alter the rates after that, held no bearing with these people. To cut a long story short we were forced to stay because being school holiday time we were unable to find anywhere else that could take our 6 at short notice. What upset us most was the behaviour of the owner. We wanted to talk to her about the overcharging but she refused to speak to us but hid behind the office door and sent out 3 other staff members including the handyman to argue with us!
This was to be the highlight of 2 weeks travelling with our family, sad when you start off your stay with a bad taste in your mouth.
The unit we had was overlooking the beach, great sunsets. But it needed some maintenance, door locks and catches were broken or not working, water from the shower came through the outside wall and across the verandah and there were things growing in the bottom of the shower and several broken light fittings.
The whole place looked as though it was slipping backwards, no time or maintenance spent on it. Things were rotting and falling down. Pity as this place could be a great spot. I think it once was and hopefully will be again, but the manager will have to go before that happens. For a place that runs on service and hospitality, the manager had none.

We chose Nanga Bay Resort for lack of accommodations at Shark Bay's more well-known destinations during the Easter weekend. The website promised a resort experience for caravaners and motel guests alike. In reality, those seeking a resort-type experience will be disappointed.

While the motel facility was comfortable and clean, the caravan park looked tired, a hanger-on from earlier days. The website-promised restaurant had closed early the day we arrived, leaving us to rely on the contents of our esky for sustenance. The tennis courts, for which we brought racquets, lay in disrepair behind a locked gate. The overall impression was that of a business getting by on as little effort as it could. Hope did not rise after sighting not one, but two signs stating refunds would not be given for early departures.

We emptied the car into our adjoining rooms (an affordable accommodation for a family of four so parents and children could have separate sleeping quarters) and walked the short distance to the beach Nanga Reef Resort overlooks. On the sand and shell-covered edge of Freycinet Estuary we watched the sun set behind a cloudless horizon. We sighed the sigh of the content, and then turned only to be treated to a rising full moon from behind billowy clouds built up over the interior earlier that afternoon. Maybe this place had potential, after all.

We began noticing small things that gave us pause to reconsider our initial misgivings. A cooling pool after a hot day in full sun that not only refreshed us, but when still offered a source of water for tiny song birds who would swoop down, dip their beaks as they skimmed over the surface, and swerve up again, circling above until ready for another passing drink. A hot mineral pool that on the website looked frankly dodgy, but turned out to be marvellously rejuvenating. A flower forcing its way up from a crack in the cement between a water tank and walkway. Acceptance came slowly, but it came.

A concern before arriving was the distance from Nanga Bay Resort to Shark Bay's natural attractions. As we suspected, nothing is close in Shark Bay, so driving is just what you do to get from one place to another. Staying at Monkey Mia for the dolphins would have been an experience shared with the horde of others staying there, reducing it seemingly to just another beachfront hotel experience. Denham offers all the small town amenities, as well as the terrific Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery and Information Centre, but didn't feature what Shark Bay has in spades: open bush. Nanga Bay Resort provided us with quiet surroundings and a pace dictated only by us. Of course, we spent our days exploring the World Heritage area by car and would have been bored silly staying just at the resort. Fishermen seemed to value it, though, along with their families. It reminded me of camping along the beach as a child, only this time with many of the comforts of home.

Would we stay at Nanga Bay Resort again? Nah. Been there, done that, and the area provides other experiences. However, there is nothing else between Hamlin Pool and Denham, giving Nanga Bay Resort its own niche. It's one of those places that could be so much more with just a little bit more interest of the owners. I hope they come to the same conclusion.

By the way, do not miss Eagle Bluff, a little side trip off the road to Denham. You're welcome in advance.