Dampier Mermaid Hotel

The Dampier Mermaid Hotel sits above the water at Dampier, the port town on the Pilbara coast just west of Karratha, and it trades on exactly what you would hope for from the position: sunset views over the ocean, a beer garden built for the end of a hot day and cold beer with country style pub grub. Fly in fly out workers and travellers heading for Karijini or the coast road both use it, and the pub grub side of the menu does steady work.

Dogs at the hotel

The pet arrangement here is known from booking platform listings rather than the hotel's own pages: pets are allowed in specific rooms only, with a premium sea view pet friendly room type listed, and there is no additional pet fee.

Guests must contact the property before arrival to be placed in a suitable room. Treat it as reported practice until the hotel confirms it directly: call ahead, name the pet friendly room type and get it locked in before you pay.

The same listings put the pet stock at roughly ten rooms out of more than sixty, all sea view and tiled rather than carpeted, which is why they go early.

Regulars travelling with dogs report a refundable housekeeping deposit of around 100 dollars at check in, returned after a room inspection. Bring your own bedding and keep the dog off the soft furnishings, and the red carpet keeps rolling.

On the pub side, dogs are at home in the outdoor areas, and locals work the shaded outer edge of the verandah in the afternoon for the sea breeze off the archipelago. Quiet windows beat the end of week rush if your dog is easily stirred up by crowds, and the town takes a certain pride in its dogs: this is Red Dog country, so expect yours to collect more attention than you do.

The practical reality in a port town is that dog options are thin on the ground, which makes the confirmed room booking worth the phone call. Once you are settled, the shoreline around Dampier gives an evening dog walk with the same sunset the beer garden is selling, and the marina foreshore keeps a leashed dog busy without needing any driving.

Karratha is the service centre next door for supplies and vet access if the trip needs it. Longer term Pilbara travellers can look at the state wide listings in the Western Australia stays guide for the legs either side, and Broome bound travellers will find Discovery Parks Broome at the far end of the run.