Travelodge Hotels vs Hipster Hotels

Value favourite Travelodge Hotels promises to be “refreshingly simple" so how does it stack up against its natural enemy, the hipster hotel.

1. Convenient locations

Travelodge Hotels: 17 locations in Australia (and New Zealand) in places you actually need a hotel, like in Melbourne’s Southbank, which is walking distance to Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, and downtown Sydney, close to Museum Station and the cafe-rich inner city suburbs of Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Paddington.

Hipster hotel: In a laneway, off another laneway, in the coolest part of town which is nowhere near where you actually want to go.

2. A breakfast that genuinely breaks the fast

Travelodge Hotels: A hearty breakfast with plenty of options, hot and cold, such as bacon, sausages, roma tomatoes, eggs; plus a range of fruit, cereal, yoghurt and pastries. In true buffet style, it’s all you can eat. Options range from $8 to $22.

Hipster hotel: Kale smoothie served in a mason jar, foraged kimchi breakfast tacos and a decaf cold brew coffee – served from a food truck somewhere vaguely nearby.

3. Cook your own?

Travelodge Hotels: You don’t need to eat out every single night. Travelodge Hotels’ kitchenette has everything you need – a microwave, kettle, mini-fridge, even a kitchen sink – without going too MasterChef on you.

Hipster hotel: You want a kitchen in your room? Where would we put the post-modern sculptures?

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

4. Check out the checkout time

Travelodge Hotels: Sleep in! Check out time is 11am.

Hipster hotel: We are early adopters so we choose to throw you out at 10am.

5. Extras, extras

Travelodge Hotels: Keepin’ it simple and uncluttered with complimentary tea, coffee and useful utensils in the kitchenette and Travelodge-Hotels-exclusive shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotions in the bathroom. For anything else, reception will do their level best for you.

Hipster hotel: High-end soap, single-origin boutique teas, the fluffiest robes and slippers money can buy plus a mini-bar stocked with exorbitantly priced liqueurs. Why does the room cost so much again?

6. Shower off, not show off

Travelodge Hotels: A shower that just leaves you feeling refreshed (and wet).

Hipster hotel: Six body-massage jets that flood the bathroom floor and taps that you need a manual to use.

7. Wi-Fi

Travelodge Hotels: Free Wi-Fi for the length of your stay with reasonably priced packages for the serious data-eating internet addicts.

Hipster hotel: $20 a day sounds about right, whether you use a little or a lot. Probably cheaper to use your mobile data!

Weekly travel news, experiences
insider tips, offers, and more.

8. Sleepy deals

Travelodge Hotels: Book your stay on Tuesday and receive bonus goodies such as 2-for-1 breakfast, unlimited free Wi-Fi or late check-out.

Hipster hotel: How can we pay for the thread count if we give you a discount?

9. The Bed

Travelodge Hotels: Makes its own beds (literally), designed to support, with non-allergenic pillows and duvets.

Hipster hotel: Sometimes you just don’t need to sleep on a mattress filled with a curious mix of pure cotton, wool, mohair and horsetail hair.

10. Simple touches

Travelodge Hotels: Artworks that reflect the local area plus some nifty designed new pillows and other small touches that make the rooms down-to-earth and refreshingly comfortable.

Hipster hotel: There is no such thing as simple.

With unhurried mornings, long, sun-filled afternoons, evenings shaped around sunset, this iconic beach offers an all-day experience (and it’s about to get even better).

As the sun slowly rises over the languid waves and fine sand of Broome’s Cable Beach, the morning colours shift from rich apricot to pale gold and frosty pearl. Remnants of life reveal themselves in the subtle shadows – crab claw marks, towel impressions, footprints. Life here is unhurried, but don’t be fooled. This town is continually shifting like the desert dunes that surround it.

And with a $75 million upgrade – offering easier and more inclusive access for people of all abilities – it’s getting even better.

Cable Beach upgrade foreshore redevelopment stage 1 — Discover the Cable Beach redevelopment.

The addition of comfortable and welcoming spaces has begun (and will continue). This means visitors will be able to spend longer enjoying this beautiful environment, while knowing that the upgrade will create a more environmentally protected setting that preserves the natural character visitors come for. Come sunset, soak it in all the better thanks to the already improved foreshore areas, made for lingering while the light changes. And for the kids, a new splash park and accessible dry playground will make it easy to while away the hours.

Think you know what a day at this beach is like? Think again.

Morning colours

car on cable beach at sunrise — Cable Beach comes alive after sunrise. (Credit: Tourism WA)

As the sun colours the sky, Cable Beach shows signs of life (and not just the aquatic kind). Locals and visitors alike float in the cool water as it laps the shore, landlubbers explore the coast on foot, runners pace and beachside yoga classes bring quiet movement to the day.

When the sky is blue and the sun is firmly in position, head down to the well-known Cable Beach House for a long, slow breakfast overlooking the ocean. Think fresh tropical fruit, eggs cooked your way and strong coffee in the warm morning breeze.

Afternoon adventures

camel train on cable beach in broome at sunset — Join a camel train at sunset. (Credit: C J Maddock)

When you’re ready to explore, carve a path along the Minyirr Park Trail – a gentle 1.5-2km track through coastal bushland with spectacular views of the dunes. Refuel at the nearby Spinifex Brewery for lunch with its low-key, outdoor beer garden. There’s even an outdoor playground if you’re travelling with young humans.

Walk off your lazy lunch by watching (or joining) one of the beach soccer or volleyball games, or even try Silent Beats Broome – a silent walking disco through the dunes. Or book a spot on the famous camel trains, watching the sun drop below the horizon along the way. They’re a constant reminder of the fascinating history, landscape and cultural mix in this part of the country.

Evening degustation

server at Cable Beach Club — Stop into the Cable Beach Club. (Credit: Tourism WA)

As the day closes, watch the world-famous Cable Beach sunset from the appropriately named Sunset Grill at Cable Beach Club. This open-air terraced dining spot overlooking the beach is the kind of place where the view takes centre stage.

While you sip on a lychee, lime & lemonade mocktail or a local beer, enjoy the bustle of life and nature outside as the day comes to an end.

For dinner, nab a table at the Bali Hai Cafe, where they offer pan-fried crispy barramundi, Abrolhos Island scallops and deep-sea snow crab. When you’re ready for bed, check in to Pinctada Hotel Broome – a lush, tropical resort with palm-dotted gardens and a large, lagoon-style pool to cool off in.

Beyond the beach

Beyond the wide, open beach and never-ending sky of Cable Beach, there are many more reasons to visit North West Australia. These are just a few.

Unmatched experiences

Shinju Matsuri Festival's popular Long Table Dinner on cable beach — Join Shinju Matsuri Festival’s popular Long Table Dinner. (Credit: Tourism WA)

Engage with the history of the land and its people on an Indigenous cultural tour exploring everything from the local wildlife to the tastes of bush tucker. To understand the importance of pearling to this town, take a tour of Chinatown, or head outside of town to the live pearl harvests at Willie Creek or Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, one of Australia’s oldest pearl farms.

Learn why Japanese pearlers were central to Broome’s pearling success and visit the largest Japanese cemetery in Australia, where 900 Japanese pearlers were buried – a testament to the risks and rewards of this dangerous profession.

And book ahead every spring for when communal tables, freshly cooked local fare and festoon lighting fill the beach for the extremely popular Long Table Dinner on Cable Beach. It’s a highlight of the Shinju Matsuri Festival, along with the Floating Lanterns Matsuri, where you can personalise a lantern and gently release it into the sea to honour those you love.

Dining discoveries

Further your culinary adventure at the laid-back Sunday Sesh at Matso’s Broome Brewery. Chow down on smoked crocodile or Aussie barramundi while kicking back to a local DJ as the heat of the day fades.

For more tunes, the beautiful outdoor Bay Club at the Mangrove Hotel is a great choice for dinner with live music, DJs or an event that stretches on into the early hours. Still hungry? Pop by Johnny Sausage for Italian-influenced meals paired with impeccable wines.

Natural beauties

Gantheaume Point cabnle beach broome — Experience the striking colours of Gantheaume Point. (Credit: Tourism WA)

Avoid the crowds and head to Town Beach for a quieter vantage point to see the phenomenal Staircase to the Moon – a natural illusion where the rising full moon is reflected on the tidal flats, creating a shimmering ‘staircase’ stretching up to the sky.

Just south of Cable Beach are the deep red cliffs and dramatic ocean views of Gantheaume Point, where 130-million-year-old dinosaur footprints can be seen, revealed at low tide. Or head to Roebuck Bay to visit the internationally significant wetlands, where vast tidal flats are home to shorebirds and coastal fauna.

Between October and March, watch turtles nesting and hatchlings emerge from the sand. You’ll be holding your breath as they make their way down to the shoreline, ready to start their life in one of Australia’s most beautiful landscapes.

For more on Cable Beach and Australia’s North West, visit australiasnorthwest.com.

Travelodge Hotels versus Hipster Hotels