You just can’t get good staf
anymore – except at the
Islington. No request is too ridiculous,
no concern too small, and they’ll
deliver endless cafè lattes to your
room for no extra charge.
The attention to small details,
from the conservatory’s
help-yourself baked treats, to the bath
crystals and the hotel’s own “dream
blend” tea delivered at turndown,
feels more like staying with a doting
aunt than in a downtown hotel.
There’s scarcely any need to
visit Hobart’s slew of exciting
new cafés when the tarif includes
an à la carte breakfast featuring
free-range eggs, and local salmon
and bacon. Dinner is a seasonal
modern Australian menu dedicated
to the twin principles of free range
and organic.
The minibars keep it minimal,
with only water and juice in
all but one room. The conservatory’s
honesty bar, however, is a taste of
Tassie terroir in spirits, beer and wine.WHERE2kmsouth of
central Hobart.COST
From $385, with
breakfast.AT A GLANCE
11 rooms and suites;
bar, restaurant, free
self-parking, adults only.
IN ROOMFree WiFi,
iPad, smart TV, bath,
pillow menu, Aesop
toiletries, heated
bathroom floor.BEST
ROOMThe Signature
Room, decked out in
sumptuous Biedermeier
style with chocolate
silks and an Austro-
Hungarian bed fit for
royalty, occupies a
corner of the old house.ISLINGTON HOTEL
The Islington dances across three centuries with ease.
The converted Regency-style mansion in South Hobart’s
dress circle features the owners’ jaw-dropping collection
of 19th-century antiques and artworks by 20th-century
greats (including a Warhol portrait of Mao Zedong in the
hallway), while the meticulous attention to comfort is pure- A hotel for travellers looking for unique rather than
universal, the Islington is all about unwinding, whether
fireside in the conservatory or in rooms that range from
the subtle modernism of garden suites to the attic room’s
historic charms. Hobart’s attractions are on the doorstep, or
stay in for a lazy afternoon gazing at Mount Wellington with
a glass of something local from the honesty bar.321 Davey
St, Hobart, (03) 6220 2123, islingtonhotel.com
The sense of place is palpable
in rooms celebrating Indigenous
warriors, errant sailors and whaler
ghosts. Macq01 is that rarest of
beasts: a themed hotel that’s not
inefably twee.
Take a free tour around Sullivans
Cove and Salamanca Place with
one of the hotel’s storytellers for a
potted history delivered with panache.
Head to the hotel’s Old Wharf
restaurant for local seafood,
from Bruny Island oysters to blue-eye
trevalla with clams and leek in
shellfish sauce. Breakfasts, too,
are a taste of Tasmania: a spread
of house-baked pastries and local
meats and cheeses alongside hot
plates of ricotta fritters, free-range
eggs and streaky bacon ($30).
Minibars run with the island
theme. From Bay of Fires
sparkling rosé, to Willie Smith cider
and pre-mixed cocktails by Sud Polaire
(with cocktail-making gear), this is an
exercise in Tasmanian pride.WHEREHobartwaterfront.COSTFrom $270, without breakfast.AT A GLANCE
114 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, gym, free valet parking.
IN ROOMFree WiFi, smart TV, Bose sound system, some baths and balconies,
cofee machine, pillow menu, Appelles toiletries.BEST ROOMSSplash out on
one of two luxury waterfront suites with a private deck, fireplace, butler on call
and stunning views across the river to Mount Wellington.MACQ01
The spirit of Tasmania has a new
address. The timber-clad Macq01,
anchored beside the Derwent on
Macquarie Wharf, captures the
island’s colourful past in 114 rooms
themed around historical figures.
Grim tales of convicts and
charlatans are softened by
spacious and textured interiors
with covetable grey woollen
couches, alpaca throws and
arresting art including Troy Rufels’
photomedia landscapes and
Duncan Meerding’s timber lamps.
Ground-floor public areas such as
the Lounge, with a river-stone fire
pit and Indigenous artefacts, have
lavish water outlooks. With valets
in colonial maritime uniforms,
storytellers with theatrical flair
and objets de quirk lurking
aroundevery corner, this is
the hotel for Tasmania’s global
moment.18 Hunter St, Hobart,
(03) 6210 7600, macq01.com.auMacq01 lobby.Garden Room.HOBART
&
TASMANIA
172 GOURMET TRAVELLER