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Nestled on the tranquil shores of Geographe Bay in Dunsborough. Our absolute beachfront location makes Whalers Cove Villas the perfect choice for couples, groups and families. The 2, 3 and 4 bedroom villas are free standing, private and have a friendly village-style atmosphere. Dunsborough is the gateway to the Margaret River region where you can experience fine wines, restaurants, beaches, shops and other recreational activities such as golf and fishing. The villas are an easy walking distance to the local cafes and shops in the Dunsborough Town Centre. There are fabulous Mountain Bike Trails, amazing Artists Studios, natural Spas Powered by the Surf, Walking Trails and Whale Watching in season, all close at hand. Please note that we do not accept Leavers.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Romantic
Charming
Location
3 Lecaille Ct, Busselton, Western Australia 6281 Australia
Whalers Cove Villas
174 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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We recently stayed in Villa 17 ‘Oriele’ and have to say it’s the best family accom we have stayed in down south in a very long time. The newly renovated kitchen and living area decor was amazing!! The cleanliness of the Villa was second to none and the beautifully maintained gardens are just beautiful. The location is perfect, direct access to the beach, only a short walk to the town centre and access in and out of Dunsborough is so convenient. We loved it so much that we have got in quick to book for next Easter :)
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Date of stay: April 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
As strange as it may sound, we have just never got the appeal of Dunsborough ... UNTIL our stay at Whalers Cove Villas this past weekend. With it's prime beachside location, lush and serene gardens, well furnished and homely approach to your home away from home, we are total converts and are already planning our next trip to Whalers Cove Villas. We stayed in Villa Superior which offers a private back garden with bbq facilities, three spacious ground floor bedrooms and 1 loft bedroom, a fabulous open plan kitchen with three living spaces (dining area, main lounge and tv area) and two big bathrooms. We could walk to the coffee strip, do a bit of boutique shopping, then have a drink or two in the local pubs, before walking back home. The managers Tony and Michelle were so easy to book with. Very attentive and caring. Absolutely spot on! Can highly recommend.
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Date of stay: September 2022
Value
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Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Whalers Cove is in a nice, quiet neighbourhood just by the sea. It took us less than 5mins to get from our villa to the beach. We stayed in Mayflower and boy was it a treat! Our 2 young kids were happily running up and down the loft and were simply delighted with 2 sets of bunk beds!! Mayflower is big enough for the kids to have their own space while the Mrs and I could sit back and have a cosy drink while enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. Tony, who was running everything on his own, was a delight to deal with. Checking in was a breeze and he was ever so helpful with whatever we requested for.
Supermarkets and restaurants are just a short drive away but the restaurants were nothing much to shout about. The night sky was filled with the brilliance of a million stars and the kids were astounded when we saw a shooting star. Overall, Whalers Cove is a brilliant stay and I'll definitely give it my stamp of approval. Once again, thanks Tony for everything!
Michael LeCaine Singapore, Jun 2024
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Date of stay: June 2024
Value
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Location
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Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I book over 60 room nights a year at various types of accommodation worldwide, using a number of booking websites and choosing booking terms most suitable for my planned trip. I had never come across an accommodation provider like Whaler's Cove Villa.
I made a "free cancellation up to 30 days before check-in" booking at Whaler's Cove through a reputable booking website, at a rate higher than the "pre-paid rate" that was also offered online.
The confirmation email was very clear. It stated that my credit card had been used as a guarantee for the booking. No payment had been taken and that I would pay at the property in the local currency, along with any additional charges incurred during my stay.
The was no mention at all of any deposit payment required in the booking terms and conditions.
Therefore I was quite surprised when I got a notification from the bank that my credit card had been charged a deposit of approximately 30% of the total cost of the stay. Sensing something might not be right, I immediately cancelled the reservation and emailed the operator, as the bank had warned that the transaction should be "cancelled" and not "refunded" as I would have incurred foreign transaction handling charges and possible loss in currency exchange on BOTH transactions had the amount been charged on the card and then refunded!
I understand it is common for hotels to authorise a credit card to validate it with a nominal amount when used as a guarantee for a booking, but usually no money is actually charged until check-in.
I received a rather dismissive email confirming a refund and suggesting that I should have cancelled earlier if my plans had changed. However, I had cancelled less than two weeks after making the booking, and it was more than 10 months ahead of the free cancellation deadline in November 2020!
These operators, instead of honouring the terms and conditions under which I had made a reservation, had decided that unilaterally they could amend the terms and impose their own conditions which clearly were in breach of the terms and conditions of the original booking. This is not an acceptable or defensible practice.
I gave them a chance to explain and possibly offer an apology if they had made a mistake, but their attitude can only be described as obtuse. They insist that they could charge a deposit despite advertising a completely different policy on the booking website.
Fortunately this is the only unprofessional accommodation provider I have come across on several trips to Australia. There are other lovely places to stay and I would strongly recommend other international travellers to avoid providers like this who seem to lack basic understanding of contract law.
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Date of stay: December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from WhalersBeachfront, Manager at Whalers Cove Villas
Responded 28 Jan 2020
This person booked through Hotel.com a subsidiary of Expedia. In spite of using the Expedia Management Portal to enter and display all policies and Terms and Conditions not all these seem to be transferred to the secondary booking sites. Whilst our requirement for a 30% deposit is clearly shown on our settings in the portal and subsequently on the Expedia booking site the same conditions are not shown on the Hotels.com site. All our bookings require a deposit to confirm the booking even through OTA's unless full payment is made to the OTA via say Paypal, then we get notification of a virtual credit card to use on the day of arrival. This person was advised correctly that no charge would be made by Hotels.com and that all charges would be made by the accommodation business, which is what we did. This person did receive a full refund within the free cancellation period. What she did not explain is that in the email she sent us she had another booking for another accommodation business and had not bothered to cancel the booking with us hence leaving our villa locked up preventing us from getting another booking. This person is complaining about maybe a few dollars in bank fees that we all incur when using credit cards and do overseas transactions. We too had bank charges for processing a credit card transaction. At all times we made every effort that all booking sites have consistent terms and conditions and it is not always within our control as the third party sites don't always make it easy to make our policies clear. This person made no attempt to advise us that another booking had been made elsewhere and hence cancel the booking with us promptly. We gave her a full refund upon cancellation.
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Great place to stay in Dunsborough. Walking distance to town and beach. The Villa’s are very spacious and clean, large kitchen and living area. Beds are very comfortable and nice bathrooms. It’s the second time we’ve stayed here and we will be back again. Very friendly and helpful owners that accommodated us with a earlier check in so thank you
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Parking is great available at your front door
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We recently visited Whalers Cove as a family and really enjoyed the stay. The proximity to the shops and the beach was fantastic. The villa was very clean and well maintained too. We will be visiting again - highly recommend!
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Date of stay: September 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed in villa 15 for a much needed mid week break. Beautiful villa, clean and friendly customer service. Great location for children. Stayed here several times many years ago and still maintained beautifully. Will definitely be back again. Thankyou
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Date of stay: August 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed in Oriole Villa for 4 nights. It was spotlessly clean and well-equipped with quality homewares. The gardens were neatly maintained and the resort was lovely and quiet. It’s close the beach and a short stroll to the shops. Highly recommend.
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Date of stay: April 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Whalers Cove Villas are simply the best beach accommodation in in Dunsborough. There are about 20 well-designed villas to choose from and the ones on the beach were so wonderful because you walk out onto the lawn and straight onto the beach. The pretty lawn area was full of couples and families enjoying their stay and there's one house on the end where you can watch life on the beach from the lounge and kitchen. Whalers Cove was just perfect for us because it's the closest to the beach (we checked other resorts) it has a lovely village atmosphere as you drive the curve around the villas, and it's within 5 minute walk of Dunsborough's shops along a stunning beach. The big advantage here over the stiff sea breeze of Yallingup and Margaret River resorts is that Whalers Cove is on the sheltered side of the coast. We saw people staying at the end house with the timber balcony enjoying drinks most afternoons overlooking the calm beach when Yallingup was all windy and choppy. The villas at Whalers Cove are apparently individually owned so it's hard to describe different interiors. All were very spacious with freedom to stretch out. Most are rammed earth with timber interiors, and every one we saw seemed to have happy people enjoying a down south beach experience. The caretakers were also happy people with great tips on which wineries to see and where to go, a sure sign of a good, well-run resort. Also, the pretty shades of blue and white in the water in front of Whalers Cove out to sea really were wonderful every day. We were very happy here on this pretty, calm beach all day.
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Date of stay: June 2009
Value
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Location
Cleanliness
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our second time at Whalers Cove (first three years ago) and it was better than ever. Amazing place to stay (Villa Hibernia) just seconds from the beach. Quiet yet very social. Easy to get into Dunsborough and travel anywhere in Margaret River area. The whole resort is very clean with beautiful gardens. Pam and Nikki, the Managers, were also very friendly and helpful. Can't wait to come back.
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Date of stay: December 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
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Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â The website allows you to pick and choose your chalets with a good selection of pictures so...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from WhalersBeachfront, Manager at Whalers Cove Villas
Responded 17 Dec 2011
Thanks for the great review and it is always a positive reflection for us when we have repeat visitors - especially from overseas! The tip to go to our website and click under villas so that you can then view each villa is really important. All of our villas are individually appointed and as such there is a wide choice for the guests to choose from. We are going to be launching a new website soon with updated photos as some of our villas have been recently refurbished. Dunsborough is the best location to base yourself as it is the gateway to the Margaret River Wine region with the added advantage of being on the quiet shores of Geographe Bay and not exposed to the windy west coast. Whilst staying with us our guests can indulge themselves with a visit to the many day spas on offer, play a round of golf on the Dunsborough Lakes 18 hole championship course, visit award winning wineries, enjoy world class fishing and surfing and take part in whale watching, tranquil walks through pristine national parks and exploring magnificent underground caves. We look forward to another visit from you in the not too distant future.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
There are more places to choose from in the Dunsborough area.
PRICE RANGE
AU$413 - AU$580 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
whalers cove villas hotel dunsborough
LOCATION
AustraliaWestern AustraliaMargaret River RegionBusseltonDunsborough
NUMBER OF ROOMS
16
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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