Karijini Eco Retreat Review

I don't know if it was because I am foreigner (non Australian), or because I am young (compare to the others customer) or if because I was alone but the staff was really weird and the service was pretty bad (I won't speak about the fact that they asked for a dessert to everybody but not to me during dinner). Honestly I paid like everybody for a dorm. I have been respectfull and at least I don't need to be looked and served as a weirdo. Anyway, clean room, clean camp, really nice location. If you are a backpacker stay in your tent. If you are a grey nomad it is the place for you.

Nice and helpful staff.
Place with what it takes comfort to spend an unforgettable moment in the reserve.
PS: Do not forget to raise your eyes at night to the stars ...

Had a nice lunch and decent coffee. The gravel roads around karijini are a disgrace.

Good place with the epic joffre gorge at the door step and very helpful staff. Disappointed with the on duty manager's attitude when asked if she would be interested in crediting a night so that other people walking in the day could have a place to stay the unused night, instead of being pushed back due to being full. She acknowledged that that would happen, but she just referred us to, in her words, the 'strict' T&Cs. Shame such a remote place like this with no phone signal in the area, does not show collaboration and flexibility from its management for the benefit of everyone.

Camped there and for 20 dollars a night one shower was cold and the other was shared by all the guests so was very busy. Most expensive least equipped site I have used. Bar and food there was nice though.

A great base to explore Karijini National Park, there are multiple camping and accommodation options and I stayed at a standard campsite. The camping grounds are very good but limited and basic facilities for the number of people using them but not a major problem. Joffre gorge is only a short walk and the road in to the Eco Retreat is paved except for the last few kilometers. The staff are friendly and the meals in the restaurant are good but of course at tourist restaurant prices and you would expect. The roads in the National Park when I visited were very corrugated and to see all of the park you are driving on these for a very long time. The National Park is spectacular and a must see.

Great place and very friendly staff, great restaurant!

We camped at this retreat within the Karijini National Park under a million stars. The facilities are basic but complete for camping. The young staff are all faily new and when it was busy at the restraurant, are still working out the little issues. But they are all super polite and enthusiastic, we didn't mind it at all, in fact their happy spirit is infecious, I'm sure with their awesome attitude they'd become a great team in no time. We also had dinner at the restaurant and the meal was yummy and fresh (fine food quality) considering everything is done in an open kitchen and all ingredients need to be shipped in.

Lovely camp sites with bush outlook and views over the park. Proper flushing toilets and hot showers are great. Very friendly and helpful staff. We ate in the restaurant one night and the food was great, the kids loved the carbonara and my rib eye was done perfectly!

The time of year was June, and it was very windy at night. Great stars, a lot of flies during the day, and bog standard backpackers as staff. Great burgers, bad coffee and nice showers.

Stopped off for a drink. Very good. Enjoyable outback experience.

Campsites set in the natural environment. Found the staff to be friendly and helpful. Had dinner at restaurant twice absolutely delicious thank you. Also walking distance to Joffre Gorge which is quite spectacular.
The weather was perfect late July. We stayed five nights which gave us plenty of time to explore. Will definitely stay at the Eco Retreat again.

Comfortable glamping tents with an excellent restaurant, close to Joffre gorge

Stayed in their cabins for 2 nights. The most luxurious way to see Karijini. Highly recommended.

Relax, unwind, enjoy nature in the comfort of your own Eco Tent. Truly an amazing location, best time to visit is early Spring. Optus mobile service, nice warm water shower, restaurant what more could you ask for.

AMAZING place to stay. Its near lots of amazing gorges to visit and its worth the walk. But it needs more showers and toilets.

Very nice people, a beautiful lunch. We just visited for the day.

stay for 20 bucks in the car or tent and let the sun wake you up.. beautiful

Totally not worth it, 20$ person a night (60$ total for us), camping site's floor is to hard to place a tent properly, no tables nearby, the cafe/restaurant's prices are ridiculous 7$ for 1.5L water bottle, 10$ for 5kg of ice and the mains round the 30$.
There's no rubbish bins anywhere around and the toilets are better cleaned in the free camping than in the Eco Retreat, last but not least there's what I believe to be a generator working all night..
The only positive side is the close distance to the gorges, certainly not positive enough to make us go back

Remote, beautiful country. Kilometres of red dirt and rock. Friendly people both visiting and locally.
Utilise the Eco-lodges facilities and be sure to book in for dinner! Absolutely beautiful food, a bit pricey but when your that remote, to have the quality that they did it is all worth it.

Restaurant Review Only
Set on the grounds of the infamous Karijini National Park, the Eco Retreat resteraunt which forms part of the Eco Retreat accommodation has a small deck area located next to the reception, guest bbqs and Cafe.
Our expectations where high (not sure why?) when we arrived (after a 80 minute drive from Dale's Campground) and we were greeted by the hostess who struggled to find our name for the booking but seated us efficiently nonetheless.
As we were the later booking (730pm and late due to the roads) there were only a handful of guests still dining.
We ordered some garlic bread for a starter and when it arrived we thought our eyes deceived us as we looked upon some flat bread with a smidge of garlic and looking like it had been cooked on our gas burner we had left behind at our camp-site.
Mains were a huge improvement in presentation, all 4 of us ordering the steaks ranging from rare through to medium, perfectly cooked and arriving promptly and close together. Juicy, a good size with duck fat potato's on the side to round off this deliciously fullfilling plate.
No deserts shown on the menu but we were able to order a chocolate lava cake and citrus (lemon and lime) tart which looked half good when they arrived but left me feeling I was right with my initial thought that lime doesn't belong in the same tart as lemon, very bland and the gelatine appeared to have seperated in the tart leaving a poor flavour mix on the palate.
The cake was ok but not of exceeding quality.
Overall experience was average, not worth the drive if you aren't staying at the lodge and maybe not even if you are staying there.
The only saving grace was the wine and the steak

Charged me 499/- per night for tent. Felt like that will not survive the night! No service! Outrageous! Continental breakfast do not include eggs!

Stunning setting. Natural well spaced camping bays. Beautiful views. Helpful and polite staff. Excellent restaurant. Crocodile curry was to die for..... wish we didn't have to leave. Can't wait to go back.

My partner and I stayed here last week! It was amazing, good facilities, lovely and clean. The staff were great! The waiter took time to chat with us at dinner about lots of things which was cool! My partner had a sore back but the shop was out of panadol and their staff member Andrew (I think) quickly went to his eco house and gave us his personal stash which was too nice!! Look forward to coming here again soon

I had lunch at the Eco Retreat, the device and the food were both excellent

Quiet location, great view of the sky. Nice, clean tents. Friendly, helpful staff. Would like to come back sometime!

Stayed in the campground for 2 mights last month, lovely surrounds but facilities were a disgrace. Only 2 showers and 2 toilets for 25 sites (50+ people) one of which was a shared disabled unit and not very clean. Huge queues morning and night! Understand that this is meant to be an 'eco' retreat but more amenities are required if they don't want people to spoil the bush!

Nice and central to the gorges,good hot showers and a great spot to spend 4 nights.

Stayed 2 nights in campground. Toilets blocks were being closed due to ending of the season so closest was at reception but price was still peak price! Two showers with people lining up to use them. Overpriced for the use of a bit of red dirt as you take care of everything else yourself,including take your rubbish away. I will return one day but not stay there, Dales campground is far better.

Karijini is beautiful. 4 stars for the amazing restaurant. Food was the best I've had in ages!

I Loved it, tents are perfect, I specially liked the bathroom with half opened roof, little frogs were always on the sink, toilet and shower, I loved them they're so cute,they've never made any noises.

Unpowered campsite $20 pp Garbage has to be taken away without trash cans, can not be wildfire, and is no different from camping in the wild, just have toilets and shower facilities but it is also very poor, hot water is hot and cold! There are many stones on the ground in our camping area without turf, and there is no way to shade the trees! I will never come again, it is better to sleep in the wild!

(FYI my review is about 6 months late) My husband and I enjoyed our stay here on our honeymoon and would recommend it as the national park is amazing and the staff are friendly and helpful. Accom is clean and comfortable and the food is pretty good (they were happy to accommodate our vegan diet & it was still yum). However we both think that "Eco" and "Retreat" are a bit far fetched and a bit of false advertising. We were disappointed that the tents were so close together and ours was very close to the road and restaurant too (not much of a retreat). We were also disappointed in the amount of single-use plastic packaging being used in the likes of tiny shampoo/conditioner bottles (I think of which contain palm oil too or maybe that was the soap), disposable coffee cups, miniature jams, vegemites & other breakfast spreads etc etc. So we think they can definitely and easily be much more environmentally responsible. A part from that, a positive experience though!

Basic, for the price of unpowered site I would have preferred to pay less and stay at Dales Campground. It was clean and friendly staff.

The lodges looks great, caravan and campsite full and close to one another. We went to the restaurant to get a drink because it was hot afternoon. One can of beer and a gateraid $18.00 We thought was too expensive .

I stayed on the bring your own camping site.
Pros: has showers and toilets. Has an restaurant, has cooking areas with provided bbq and hot plate, had a sink to do your dishes.
Cons: restaurant is super expensive (understandably due to being middle of no where) they don't serve fries (not sure why)
Campsite is too close to your neighbour's so I have to walk though their camp to go to the toilet, not allowed to have a coal bbq but you can have gas bbq. I find coal bbq just as safe and can keep you warm at night.

Roads are terrible could do with more grading for the amount of traffic it gets ,needs more amenities not enough over priced

The milkyway in the evening, waking to beautiful song birds, the spectacular gorges clise by, fabulous service, fantastic Resturant..best food I have had in the Pilbara

An extraordinary place to stay. A real oasis in the middle of nowhere.

Great experience! Felt like in Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park. Tried the crocodile at the restaurant, that was reeeeeally good and tasty!

An upper price accommodation and services but not many option in this region.

Superb experience in beautiful surroundings. Helpful staff, great food. Tents were well organised and safe.

My partner and I stayed two nights camping at the Eco Retreat and found it only had one shower for the whole campsite. The shower is very dirty and run down. The disabled toilet is also very dirty and there are no hand towels available to dry your hands.

Even though the restaurant is very cosy and the chef is amazing we had to wait a long time for a table even though there were many free tables.

There are no mirrors or sinks in the toilets or showers so everyone brushes their teeth out in the open communal sinks at the front of the toilets. People also wash their dishes in the sinks so it can be a bit uncomfortable.

Overall we wish we had chosen to stay somewhere else and wouldn t stay here again. It is close to gorges I think that saves them.

Basic cleanliness 3/10.

The last 3 km of gravel Road in was absolutely shocking do not bring in a caravan unless it is an off-road one.
Prices are ridiculously expensive at the kiosk.
$6 50 for a Magnum.
Beer choice is poor and expensive.

On the bright side though the gorges are beautiful, and the eco caravan and camping sites are well spaced.
The campsite was pretty well full and the one toilet block sufficed.
At the end of the day it's what you make of it.
I only gave the 3 because it wouldn't take much effort or cost
to Grade amd smooth out that Gravel Rd

The tents are practical, but the bathroom is not easy to use at night ... turn on the light outside ... when you turn on the light many flies and moths come off

The glamping tent has everything you need and is very clean.
We were especially thrilled by breakfast and dinner in the beautiful surroundings.

Back to nature venue for city folk with deluxe food and brilliant staff!

Excellent place to stay in Karajini. The location is close to many of the gorges. We stayed in the campground for the majority of our stay. It's beautiful and calm, plus you are surrounded by the pleasant sounds and sights of nature. The staff at the restaurant and reception are great. The food is wonderful at the restaurant but book ahead as it's popular!

Isolated, but great. GreT for hot or cold drinks and meals. Great accomodation

A nice place with great amenities for camping. A bit more expensive than other camping facilities in the National Park. Walking distance to joffery gorge

Iconic " Glamping" experience in an amazing outback setting. Friendly staff, good food and interesting tours add to the experience

Good food and service, nice dining area, very polite and helpful staff.

Very nice place with generous size camp sites. Convenient location to see all of Karijini attractions. Added bonus of some facilities if you like that sort of thing.

Very expensive for what you get. Not enough showers and toilets for the number of camping spots. Seems that they are using the term "Eco" as an excuse to provide second rate facilities. The park is amazing however, and if you want showers it's the only place to stay in the park. Definitely worth at least a few nights stay.

Karijini is a magical place and the Karijini Eco Resort is the best place to appreciate all of it from. Glamping tents in the heart of Western Australian, the staff were incredibly friendly and professional and the whole experience there was beautiful. I can't recommend this place enough.

Fantastic 'glamping' experience, lovely staff and brilliant meals. Well worth a visit. We'll be recommending Karijini Eco Retreat to all our friends.

First, the weather in December was very hot. We had a small campervan and the nights were very hot with no wind. There is no shades. We stay only for 1 night because of this.

I was expecting better facilities. The cooking facilities were very limited for the entire retreat as said in other reviews. Only 3 small bathrooms and there were queues morning and night. 20 AUD for this was really expensive.

Bit disappointed. Some staff were friendly and helpful, others not at all.

Perfect way to experience the outback! Dinner at the restaurant didn't disappoint! Sitting back watching the sunset while eating a beautiful meal

Super friendly staff and really good accommodation. Would definately come back

Amazing service, super friendly staff always willing to help with suggestions on what hikes to do, would definitely recommend

The eco tent was very good in a number of respects but the en-suite was poorly designed. The shower had no barrier against the water going over the toilet and floor, so it meant walking into the main tent with wet feet. The height of the en-suite walls meant a tall person had their head above the wall and this compromised privacy to some extent. Unfortunately, we were there during some rain and found the en-suite was drenched, including the towels. It also meant a visit to the toilet involved sitting in the rain as there was only a shade cloth overhead, this meant going wet into the main tent and was a problem if the visit to the en-suite as during the night and involved returning to bed wet. Obviously, it doesn't usually rain but it can do.

Awesome location. Amenities for the camping were a bit light on for the Easter weekend.

The eco retreat is well put together and definitely feels more manicured than your typical campgrounds.

The main reason for the average review is that they advertise solar powered showers as if to insinuate you will get a nice hot shower (which is quite a selling point when you re camping in remote places), however, we were disappointed to endure a cold shower on this occasion. It was around 4pm, the sun was still up and the showers weren t overly busy.

Other than this we had a great time at Karijini and the eco retreat is a nice place to base yourself to see the sights if you re after a little more than what Dale s campgrounds and the overflow sites have to offer.

4 toilets 4 showers for near on the whole park to share, which means cold showers . $299 per night for a small cabin that only has 2 bunk beds in and 2 small dull lights . That Gets cold at night as spaces in floor. Better off staying elsewhere and doing a day trip to Dales gorge as that is the nicest of the two places . We would never stay here again
And wont be recommending to anyone

The prices at the campsite are $ 40 per night, the showers and toilets are clean and actually sufficient, drinking water !, a camp kitchen with grill per camp area.
A big compliment for the restaurant kitchen / service / organization; We haven't eaten so well in a long time!
Krokodil Green Curry, wonderful, salad and starters great, chocolat-cheesecake as dessert, just to put in. Fabulous !!! We enjoyed it really, every time again

Fabulous experience. There is a great restaurant plus an impressive canyon about a hundred meters walk. It is central to the many fabulous Pilbara canyons (via a 4WD), and has a wilderness feel. Numbers of campers are fairly limited.

A great place to use as a base for visiting the park

My friends and I stayed at Karijini Eco Resort over the Easter break (apart of a 12 day camping road trip). The average temperature during the long weekend was 35-40 degrees celcius, daily. We were extremely underwhelmed and disappointed to say the least.

Rubbish managment: Firstly, the Karijini Eco Resort has a no-rubbish policy, as in whatever rubbish you bring externally or produce internally during your stay, you must take with you which results in unsavoury bags of rubbish festering in your car for days.

Facilities: The cooking facilities were a basic outdoor BBQ with only one preparation surface and sink for at least 10 camping sites. The bathrooms were in good condition but did not cater for the number of people that were staying. There were queues morning and night. Lastly, the campsites themselves were completely devoid of trees and any form of shade, which was extremely uncomfortable in the hot weather.

Reception/bar/venue management: Customers that purchased any food or alcoholic beverages that were not a dine in meal, were told they could not sit in the restaurant area but instead were made to sit outside the main dining area.

This is not say the Karijini Eco Resort was a completely disappointing experience. The staff were knowledgeable and always eager to help. However, $20.00 per person per night for a unpowered campsite, is not justified in the facilities provided. We would recommend trying to Dale's Gorge Campground.

Good facilities and well managed oasis in the middle of nowhere

Location is great . Staff nice and helpful . Comfy accommodation

Well laid out, we had an Eco tent w 4 double bunks and shared ablutions. Clean linen and towels. Basic and comfortable and short walk down into the gorge. Kids loved it after being in swags in the desert for two nights, it felt posh. Burgers were reassuringly expensive. The artesian drinking water is some of the best we ve tasted in the NW. Definitely worth filling ur water tanks here.

Stayed at the camp site, great sites and it was great to have a good shower. The gorges are great but less in walking distance than Dales, had to drive to see most of them. I suggest you take reef shoes and a floating device when visiting any gorges in the park - its the best way to see them.Great spot.
The restaurant is just a gem in the bush, great to sit and have a beer and the food was fantastic, considering its location its not over the top expensive. Such a great treat after spending so much time camping and driving. Recommend it.

Great experience. The tent was very comfortably furnished. We also had our own bathroom area. We recommend. Was great.

Fantastic service,food. Great coffee. Excellent setup

Nice restaraunt, great staff, ordinary facilities although that was determined earlier in my research

Eco retreat is a joke. Lift your game. The gorges were great.