Where to stay in Margaret River wine region depends on what you’re there to do. But whether it’s wine-tasting, sampling local produce, surfing, hiking, or gallery-hopping, there’s no shortage of fab places to stay in Margaret River, from luxury lodges and beach resorts to sleek apartments, holiday houses, heritage hotels, and safari-style glamping in tented bungalows.
The Margaret River wine region is home to many of Australia’s finest wineries and gourmet producers, from olive growers to cheesemakers, and plays host to some of the country’s best food and wine festivals – from Margaret River Gourmet Escape to the Truffle Kerfuffle. It’s also your destination for many of the country’s if not Western Australia’s best beaches, towering forests, ancient caves, and breathtaking coastal hikes.
Distances are not short, however – it’s around 120 kilometres from Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse in the northernmost point to Cape Leeuwin on the southernmost tip – so it’s important to choose where to stay in Margaret River region carefully, based on how you plan to spend your time.
Driving from Perth to Margaret River, some 275kms away in southwest Western Australia, takes around three and a half hours. If you’re self-driving from Perth to the Margaret River wine region, see our guide to things to do along the way from meeting the adorable woylies, whale-watching and dolphin spotting, to swimming, surfing, diving, and even sky-diving. If you want to stop overnight on the way, that guide includes tips to where to stay in Bunbury and Busselton.
As usual, the list below is by no means comprehensive, but is our guide to where to stay in Margaret River wine region, from glamping in safari-style tents to spacious apartments, holiday houses, boutique hotels, beach resorts, and luxury lodges.
Where to Stay in Margaret River Wine Region from Glamping to Luxury Lodges
Here’s our pick of where to stay in Margaret River wine region, from glamping in safari-style tents to spacious apartments, holiday houses, historic hotels, beach resorts, and luxury lodges.
Where to Stay in Dunsborough
Dunsborough is the northernmost town in the Margaret River wine region and vies with Busselton as the gateway to Margaret River despite the fact Busselton actually lies in the neighbouring Geographe wine region. Some of the best Western Australian beaches skirt the shore of Dunsborough’s sheltered bays, Geographe Bay, Meelup Bay, Eagle Bay, and Bunker’s Bay, and it’s a great base for swimming, beachcombing, hiking, diving, and wine-tasting. Dunsborough accommodation includes everything from beach resorts and bed and breakfasts to holiday houses and apartment rentals.
Pullman Bunker Bay Resort
The spectacular Pullman Bunker Bay Resort, 10kms northwest of Dunsborough, near Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, overlooks breathtakingly beautiful Bunker Bay beach (I think it’s my favourite beach in the region), and boasts some of the most luxurious lodgings in the area. Once again, there’s a wide variety of choices when it comes to accommodation, including studio villas, studio villas and one-bedroom villas with lake views, two- and three-bedroom villas with native garden views. All are contemporary styled and well-appointed with superb kitchens and huge sofas that are perfect for families and groups of friends. Most impressive of all is the stunning swimming pool (one of the largest in the region) with sweeping bay and beach views, and direct access to the gorgeous white-sand beach and aquamarine water. There’s an award winning spa, a couple of bars, a bistro, and well-regarded restaurant. Reservations essential.
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Psst… Luxury Escapes has a fab offer for Pullman Bunker Bay right now, starting from 2 nights for A$549, valued up to $1,362, valid for two people, including daily breakfast, a welcome bottle of wine, food and drink credits, and discount at Vie Spa.
Bay Village Resort & Spa
In the heart of Dunsborough and just a 2-minute walk to the beach and Geographe Bay, the Bay Village Resort and Spa has a wide range of attractive lodgings, including super-comfy, spacious apartments, cottages, chalets, and villas, some with hot tubs. They are made for travellers settling in for a beach holiday and are incredibly well-equipped with full kitchens, with crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, and linen, and washing machines and dryers. Strangely enough, the only thing they don’t provide are towels for the beach and pool. The Villas are the best of the lot with big verandahs with outdoor dining and superb barbecues overlooking a lovely park with glimpses of the sea. These really are ideal for families or groups of friends travelling together, with and free movies, free wifi, daily cleaning, and parking. There’s also a pool and an on-site spa offering everything from body scrubs to detox wraps.
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Empire Spa Retreat
The heavenly Empire Spa Retreat, just 4.5kms out of Dunsborough, offers even more beautiful accommodation with ten luxurious suites in a variety of types – loft suites, courtyard suites, balcony suites, luxury villas, and studios. They’re all set across a stone and timber farmhouse with a big open fireplace, inviting lounges, and an atrium-style dining room offering views of the vines from inside and the timber deck outside, all of which is made for entertaining. The contemporary decor of the accommodation is straight out of an interior design magazine and really eclectic with wonderful textiles, fine linens and layers of cushions on the beds, Southeast Asian baskets as lampshades and decorative wall pieces, native flowers in vases, and big light-filled white-tiled bathrooms. The courtyard suite with a private walled terrace is adorable but check into the luxury villa and you seriously won’t want to leave. There’s no beach access but the 12 acres of vineyards and alfresco dining overlooking a lake and dam make up for it.
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Where to Stay in Yallingup, Smiths Beach and Injidup Beach
Where to stay in Margaret River wine region if you’re planning on punctuating your wine-tasting with some waves is a no-brainer. The home of surfing in Western Australia, Yallingup and neighbouring Smiths Beach and Injidup Beach boast some of the best surf breaks in the world with sandy coves pounded by crystal-clear waters. As you can imagine, the area has a laidback vibe. Fishing is also popular and the calmer southern end of Smiths Beach is fine for swimming. Accommodation in Yallingup, Smiths Beach and Injidup Beach includes historic hotels, beach resorts, sleek apartments, and holiday houses.
Caves House Hotel
If you like your hotels to ooze history, then where to stay in Margaret River wine region is an easy decision for you. Don’t even think about checking into anywhere but handsome, historic Caves House Hotel in Yallingup, a 10-minute drive to Canal Rocks. Built in 1903 by the Government of Western Australia to provide lodgings for visitors to the newly-opened nearby caves, this was the hotel that kick-started tourism in the Margaret River region. Despite a modern renovation that hasn’t been the most sensitive, the heritage-listed hotel has retained some of its old-world atmosphere, especially in the stone work, fireplaces, and heritage rooms. a restaurant and a bar. Rooms have flat-screen TVs, free wifi and tea and coffee making facilities. There’s a bar and restaurant with three different dining areas including al fresco eating that’s very pleasant during the balmy summer evenings. The property is set on 35 acres of shaded, sprawling gardens and is just 5 minutes’ walk from Yallingup Beach.
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Smiths Beach Resort
Stunning Smiths Beach Resort is directly opposite Smiths Beach and Canal Rocks – you will be able to smell the salty air, hear the waves crashing against the shore from your balcony in the silence of the night, and gaze up at the stars. Bliss. But unfortunately there are no beach vistas, only sand dune views. The sleek property, which almost blends into the landscape, is situated eye to eye with the sand dunes. While this may be disappointing to guests, it’s an environmentally sensitive move on behalf of the award winning architects and it really didn’t affect our stay. We were happy to be in such close proximity to the beach and the accommodations are the kind you don’t want to leave: sleek, stylish beach houses, villas and apartments, decorated in a minimalist style with stunning kitchens and super spacious dining-living areas that are excellent for entertaining. There’s an alluring pool and if you don’t feel like cooking, there’s ‘Lamonts’, a fab café gourmet deli, and a superb restaurant ran by well-regarded WA restaurateur Kate Lamont, which offer plenty of local produce, from regional wines and craft beers to chilli sauces and artisanal chocolate bars.
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Olio Bello
A 320-acre working olive farm that produces award-winning olive oils, lovely Olio Bello offers fancy glamping opportunities in their stylish and super comfy, safari-style bungalows, pictured above. These spacious (60m²), environmentally-friendly tents are open-plan with bedroom and living all in one, plus front and rear decks and views of the serene lake. There’s air-conditioning and heating (it gets hot in summer and chilly in winter) and a kitchenette and dining area. You have a choice of lakeside and lakefront luxury tents, with the lakefront being closest to the water, so close you can see it sparkle and shimmer from your bed. There’s an olive oil tasting room offering the full range of products for you to sample, including estate-pressed extra virgin olive oils flavoured with citrus oils, roasted garlic, and chilli, and an excellent little cafe on site where you can tuck into delicious meals and snacks prepared with regional farm-fresh produce, such as hand-made pasta with Shark Bay crab and lime oil.
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Margaret River Town
If you’re only here for the food and wine, then the answer to where to stay in Margaret River wine region is undoubtedly Margaret River Town. The largest town, lying at the heart of the region, Margaret River Town is the best base for wine-tasting excursions by day and drinking and dining in town in the evenings. The main drag is dotted with boutiques, galleries, cafes, gourmet delis, bars, pubs, and restaurants. The excellent Margaret River Tourist Office is on the main street and there are good supermarkets open till 9pm. Accommodation in Margaret River Town includes apartment rentals, bed and breakfasts, holiday houses, and motels.
The Traill
In the heart of Margaret River Town, within a minute’s walk to cafés, restaurants, wine bars, pubs, and two excellent supermarkets stocking regional specialties, The Traill has elegant light-filled apartments with spacious living rooms, beautiful big bathrooms, and well kitted-out kitchens. After a full few days exploring the region, including a couple of days hiking the Cape to Cape with Walk into Luxury, we were very happy to pop some bottles of wine in the fridge, buy some fantastic local produce, and cook and eat in one evening. While the French provincial touches of the Marine Penthouse where we stayed were charming, we noticed that the Deco Penthouse has a long terrace overlooking the main street of town. There’s good free wifi and there’s a car space out back if you’re self-driving.
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Losari Retreat
Just a 9-minute drive from Margaret River Town and a 20-minute drive to Prevelley Beach, Losari Retreat offers luxurious apartments with fully equipped kitchens with coffee machines and dishwashers, big bathrooms with a rain shower, and private terraces with hot tubs and barbecue facilities. The property is set on 66 acres with serene gardens and a small lake, bordering pristine National Park, so you can go hiking in between wine tasting. There are several wineries very close to the property. There’s also free wifi in the reception area.
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