The $75 million upgrade transforming one of our most epic coasts

More than $75 million is being spent reinventing the foreshore along Broome’s Cable Beach.

Until recently, the area was dominated by a large bitumen car park, ageing amenities and steep beach access paths that did little justice to one of Australia’s most spectacular stretches of coastline.

The infrastructure also interrupted the connection between the foreshore and the beach itself. Unless you stood at the fence, the famous Indian Ocean sunset was largely hidden from view.

While works remain ongoing, visitors are getting a proper insight into how this Western Australian gem is being improved. New foreshore areas, a splash park, playground and grassy spaces beside the beach are just some of the changes transforming the area.

The investment comes as tourism to Broome continues to grow, fuelled in no small part by the rising popularity of expedition cruising.

The former pearling and fishing outpost has long been the gateway to the Kimberley. Whether boarding an expedition cruise, setting off along the Gibb River Road or flying into the wilderness by light aircraft, most journeys begin or end here. Between March and September, expedition vessels sail between Broome and Darwin, with operators including Seabourn, Silversea, Ponant, Coral Expeditions and Kimberley Expeditions offering access to one of the world’s last great wilderness coastlines.

Accommodation, however, has struggled to keep pace. Tourism Western Australia has identified hotel capacity as one of the key constraints on future tourism growth, estimating Broome could require hundreds of additional rooms over the coming decade if visitor numbers continue to rise. A recent Tourism WA accommodation study found that while visitation has recovered strongly since the pandemic, investment in new hotel stock has been comparatively limited.

You might expect operators in such a market to rest on their laurels – after all, occupancy is rarely an issue – in peak season anyway. But Paspaley has relaunched the former 71-room Kimberley Sands Hotel as Pinctada Hotel Broome, following an extensive refurbishment.

The hotel opened in 2009 as Pinctada Cable Beach Resort & Spa, developed by Marilynne Paspaley. In 2015, the operating lease changed hands and the property was rebranded as Kimberley Sands. After the operator entered administration in 2020, management passed to Trepang Hotel Group before the Paspaley Group’s Pinctada Hotels & Resorts, led by managing director Marilynne Paspaley, resumed operation of the hotel in 2025, closing it for its reinvention.

The relaunch reflects Paspaley’s steadily expanding tourism interests. Alongside its long-standing pearling operations, the family-owned company now operates Pinctada McAlpine House, Pinctada Hotel Broome and the boutique expedition vessel Paspaley Pearl, which began Kimberley sailings last year before continuing on voyages through Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

The hotel’s name derives from Pinctada maxima, the Australian South Sea pearl oyster that underpinned Broome’s economy for more than a century and remains central to the town’s identity. Paspaley’s own association with Broome dates back to 1935, and the return to the Pinctada name deliberately reconnects the hotel with that heritage.

The refurbishment extends throughout the property, with refreshed guest rooms introducing a softer palette inspired by the Kimberley’s natural colours while retaining the generous room sizes for which the hotel has long been known. New beds, premium linens and smart TVs feature across the accommodation, ranging from standard rooms through to courtyard suites and the 61-square-metre Master Pearler Suite.

Public spaces have also been updated. The restaurant and bar now centre on a Mediterranean-inspired menu of shared plates including steak tartare, tiger prawn saganaki and Berkshire pork belly, while an expanded all-day lounge and adjoining garden create additional places for guests to unwind before or after exploring the region.

Located just minutes from Cable Beach, the hotel is well placed for travellers spending several days in Broome before or after a Kimberley journey. Town Beach, Gantheaume Point and the town’s historic pearling precinct are all within easy reach.

Meanwhile, Moonlight Bay Suites, owned by another local family, has recently completed a significant refurbishment. Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa has upgraded leisure facilities including its Kimberley Pool, playground and mini-golf course, although there are no publicly announced plans for a broader refurbishment of its accommodation, last comprehensively updated in 2016.

For visitors, however, Broome’s appeal remains much the same as it always has. It’s where red pindan earth meets the Indian Ocean, camel trains make their slow procession along Cable Beach at sunset, and Australia’s pearling story continues to shape the character of one of the country’s most distinctive gateway towns.

See pinctadahotelbroome.com.au