Saffire Resort, Tasmania, Australia
Dec 30, 2014, 2:32 pm
Saffire Freycinet
2352 Coles Bay Road Coles Bay, TS AU 7215
Saffire Resort, Tasmania, Australia - Review (0 Photo)
Saffire Freycinet
Nestled on the edge of Frecynet National Park, in Tasmania, on what once was a trailer park, the Saffire resort blends in seamlessly with it's surrounding in one of the most stunning place on earth. Designed to maximize the beauty of what is Tasmania, every floor to ceiling window acts as a picture frame of Freciynet National Park.
Getting to Hobart Airport, Tasmania was a breeze. In fact, domestic air travel in Australia is incredibly easy unlike North America. Last baggage checkin is 30 minutes before the flight, and security is a breeze (i.e. no shoes to take off). There are many quick flights from SYD or MEL to Hobart. The airport is small, and it lost its "international" Airport designation when the New Zealand flight was cancelled.
Upon deplaning at Hobart airport, I was met at the baggage carousel by a Saffire staff holding a baggage cart and a bag containing water and some nuts. I was warmly welcomed and escorted to the Lounge. Saffire Resort has its own Airport lounge (located landside) for passengers flying into Hobart. The Lounge is large and airy, and bigger than most airport lounges for this size of airport. It is tastefully decorated with artwork and photos. Coffee, tea, drinks, snacks and internet access are available. It even has shower facility - separate for men and women. The lounge agent mentioned that the most number of people who ever visited the lounge at any one time was 6.
Saffire Resort is located about 175km North east of Hobart or 2 1/2 hours drive from the Airport. Most people rent a car and drive to the Resort. There is also an option for a driver from the hotel or fly via seaplane. I chose to drive, and the ladies at the Saffire lounge had all the paperwork and car key ready. My car was waiting right outside the lounge. After being shown the directions to Saffire on a google map printout and given a bag containing water, maps, driving instructions and snacks, I bid goodbye to the ladies and off I went.
After 3 and a half weeks on the road it felt good to be out of the cities. The drive to Saffire resort is nothing special, and it is a relatively easy drive on the A3 with only about 4 turns from Airport to resort. I did make a stop at the Berry farm close to Swansea for an ice cream.
I was told to my surprise that most Australians, being outdoor enthusiasts, have never been to Tasmania.
I could feel that there's a love and hate relationship with folks from Sydney amongst Australians. When I told the guests I met at the resort, who were from Melbourne and Perth, that my colleagues from Sydney referred to Tasmania as a foreign outpost, they turned serious and said "Those folks from Sydney are arrogant pricks." I heard a few of these comments. I chuckled.
The Resort
Upon arrival I was warmly greeted by Brody who took my car key, and escorted me inside. The entrance to the lobby/reception is dramatic and is framed by the Floor to ceiling window to the park. The lobby is actually on the 3rd floor.
The Saffire resort contains 20 beautiful suites (more like luxury cottages) overlooking Freycinet National park. There are three types of suites, and one can't go wrong with any one of them. I booked the Premium suite, one of four on the resort which offered the largest square footage, a bedroom separated from the living and dining room, a heated plunge pool, a fully equipped stainless steel kitchenette, a mini bar, two restrooms and a large deck. There is a private courtyard with a zen like rock garden and a bench located before the main door to the suite. The suite is also equipped with a Geneva sound system and a fully loaded iPod with thousands of songs. Fast wireless Internet is complimentary throughout the resort. The latest DVD movies and books are available in the library/reception. For the 5 days, I never turned on the tv or read the papers. iPads are placed throughout the lounge and library for guests to use.
The floor to ceiling windows in the living and bedroom offer stunning views of the National park, especially during dawn and sunset, where the color of the sun and the skies are most vibrant. I could sit in the room and stare at the view all day and still be inspired. I kept the blinds open every night to be woken up by the run rise and the magnificent view.
The large bright and spacious bathroom is one of the best I have experienced. The floors are heated, and the shower offers four different nozzles - 2 overhead rain showers (ideal for couples wanting to shower together), a hand shower and a body nozzle, all are independently pressurized, so turning on all four nozzles will not reduce the pressure. All the toiletries are locally produced, and made of 100% natural ingredient. The bathroom overlooks the courtyard that contains the small heated plunge pool.
The blinds and lights are electronically controlled. The materials and finishing are made of excellent quality. The most unique part of the room and main building is the ceiling - absolutely gorgeous hand crafted wood planks. It really adds to the dramatic feel of the room and the open spaces.
Housekeeping is done twice a day. At turndown service, a thermal pot of hot water and herbal tea along with a piece of homemade chocolate brownie is left in the table with a sheet of paper containing the wether forecast for the next few days. In addition, a lit candle is placed in the bathroom. In the afternoon, a piece of homemade cake is left in the room.
The main building, with it's majestic wavy roof, houses the reception area, a gift shop, the main restaurant, a lounge area, a reading room, the spa and small fitness area (consisting of 2 treadmills, a stationary bike, a set of free weights and a cable machine) and an art gallery featuring local artists. The three story building has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the roof lines of the suites and the jaw breaking view of the park.
Dining
The food at the resort is divine!
The food at the restaurant is the best that I have eaten at any five star establishment. The menu changes daily for lunch and dinner. All ingredients are as fresh as it can be and all are locally sourced.
The resort offers a buffet Lunch made of the freshest ingredients and two types of protein of the day. I had sublime grilled squid, lamb, beef, trout, salmon, and two types of home-made dessert of the day.
Dinner is the key highlight of the stay. The resort offers an extensive menu that is changed daily. One of the key delight is the Degustation Menu, consisting of five courses from the best of the a la carte menu - with each dish paired with the individual wine. The wine list is extensive, and featurs some outstanding Australian wine and vintage. One will never be bored by the selection. I highly recommend booking the room and food option, where virtually everything is included, including some outstanding wine and liquors.
Day 1:
Entree:
- Freycinet marine farm oyster - crisp fried shima wasabi mayonnaise
- Organic beet root and goats cheese tart tartan horseradish cream
- Chawanmushi - Japanese inspired dish white miso custard, scallops, shaved local squid, smoked eel, shiitake, shellfish consume
- Ragout of white rabbit, tomato, olives, chorizo, oregano, cAvolo Nero, casareccia pasta
Main
- Roast pink snapper, prawn, spanner crab and buckwheat risotto, soba cha, shellfish bisque
- Clover hill Pasteur fed lamb, roast loin, 10 hour slow cooked shoulder, heirloom carrots, white lentils, hazelnuts, peplta
- Lemon and cumin crusted venison - rare roasted eggplants, burghul, barberries, herbs, pine notes, preserved lemon, yoghurt
- From the grill, Market fish - parsley and lemon butter, potato pure
- Char grilled cape grim beef, cafe butter, fresh fries
Dessert:
- Selection of local and imported cheeses, homemade quince paste Cheese for the gods - grilled Heidi racelette cheese, walnut brioche, fig compote, chestnut flowers honey
- Roasted banana Creme caramel,napalm sugar, coconut granita, macadamia nuts
- Lemon delicious pudding, lemon curd ice cream
DAY 2:
Entree:
- Freycinet marine oysters - freshly shucked sweet mirin, sake and wasabi sorbet
- salad of blAck figs, labneh, lemon jam, almonds
- Cylinders - sugar cured ocean trout and avocado, yellow fin tuna sashimi and hand shelled crab
- Roasted squab, Italian style red braise, seared scallops
MAIN:
- Main Pink ling with mussels and crab chowders
- Mount Gnomon Wessex saddle back pork, wrapped in Tunisian pastry, pigs trotters, Maderia poached prunes, cauliflower, black pudding crumbs
- Bruny island goat - slow cooked, potato gnocchi, Persian raisins, baby beet roots, turnip ricotta rosemary
- From the grill, Market fish - parsley and lemon butter, potato pure
- Char grilled cape grim beef, cafe butter, fresh fries
Dessert:
- Selection of local and Imported cheeses
- Date and vanilla Creme brle tart Pave of sour cream ice cream and pine lime sorbet, citrus curd, lime geranium, Italian meringue
Resort Activities
The resort offers quite a few complementary guided outdoor activities as well as paid, which can be planned ahead of time by the resort team. A five day stay was way too short to enjoy everything the resort offered.
The unspoiled beach is an easy 2 minute walk from the suite. I took the opportunity to run on the beach 3 of the 5 mornings. Very nice way to start the day. The sand is extremely soft and helped to cushion the run and the morning sun radiated the beauty of the surrounding. Temperature was perfect each morning - about 17 degrees.
The guided tours are of high quality and is accompanied by a knowledgeable guide from the resort. Below is an example of my 5 day itinerary.
My itinerary included the following:
Day 1: Arrival. Went for a long walk on the deserted beach, and swam in the warm clear water (19 degree Celsius).
Day 2: Morning: Boat cruise of Freycinet national park and Souten island. Absolutely stunning and breathtaking. Highly recommended. This tour does cost money but well worth it. The Souten island is uninhabited and composed of some of the most stunning pink granite cliffs I have seen. When the sunlight hits it, it just glows. The resort supplies everyone with wind breaker jackets to keep warm when out in the water. We saw dolphins along the way and they followed the boat for a few kilometers. What a beautiful sight. Our guide gave us a great overview of the history of the island and the plants and animals inhabiting the island. We went to see the seals and bird colonies. For 4 hour trip, the beautiful scenery stole the show. We stopped half way and anchored in a pristine bay and had coffee, drinks and snacked prepared by the resort.
Afternoon: Visited the vineyard surrounding the resort and engaged in some wine tasting. Free activity, again escorted by our guide.
Day 3: Morning: Kayaking - free activity. Escorted by our guide, we went kayaking in the bay and was given some information about the area. Again, all the supplies and instructions were given by our guide, including life jackets. We were given a brief introduction on how to kayak by our guide. We docked our kayak at the oyster farm, and had drinks and snacks midway through. Again, weather was perfect and the water was warm and still. It was us, the birds, oysters and fish!
Afternoon: Visited the oyster farm and shucked some oysters. Free activity. This was really the highlight and unique tour. Even if you don't like oysters, I would highly recommend the tour from an experience standpoint. We put on the rubber suit and walked precariously to the oyster nets floating in the bay where our guide gave us the fascinating story of the oysters and oyster farming. We walked over to the table that was positioned over the water, which became our oyster shucking station. Tablecloths and champagnes were brought out and we were shown how to shuck oysters ( much harder and more dangerous than I thought). We each attempted to shuck, but failed miserably. Fortunately our guide was an expert and so right in the middle of the water we ate fresh oysters and drank Champagne as the sun set for the day. It couldn't get better and fresher than that. An experience that I will always remember.
Day 4: Morning Hiking to wineglass bay. Free activity and again escorted by our guide. Beautiful view, and a relatively easy hike. I chose to go for the longer 3 hour hike around the bay to burn off all the calories from Breakfast and to ready myself for the fantastic lunch and dinner.
Afternoon Biking along the beach, unguided. I took the afternoon to bike along the beach. It was a perfect trip. The resort provides the mountain bike along with a helmet and a backpack containing the lock for the bike a map, a medical kit, a pump for the tires, sun screen, and bottled water. The ride on the beach was very easy along the water. I biked along the beach for about 10km until I reached the national parks and then returned.
Day 5 Morning: Quad bike. Paid activity with guide. Quad biking in the sands. I didn't particularly enjoyed this as much as the biking along the beach.
Afternoon: Spa massage. The resort does have a small spa with three treatment room. A $200 spa credit came with the room rate, so I took advantage of the massage, and booked the sports massage which was really well done. The spa gets booked up quickly and so I would recommend booking before you arrive. Inside the Spa is also the 24 Hour gym, although I can't imagine anyone using it since the activities offered are pretty intensive.
The guided activities were offered daily and some rotated every second day.
There were maybe 3-4 other guest on the tours that I took, and on a few of them it was just the myself and the guide.
I was exhausted at the end of each day and was glad to climb to bed.
Service
The service was outstanding from the moment I arrived to the day I left. Everyone I met greeted me by name and took time to ask how I was doing and offered advices…. This was especially true for the dining staff, especially at lunch, where they made a great effort to engage in conversations with each guest. I hinted at the fact that I might want to ride a bike on the beach, and next I knew after returning from lunch, a mountain bike and back pack was placed in my suite. One morning at breakfast, I mentioned that the coffee is fantastic in Australia, and the server gave me the brief history of coffee in Australia, pointing out the difference between a Long Black, Flat white and Machiato. I didn't know that a German latte was different than a North America Latte. Everywhere I went in Australia, I noticed that there was clearly a coffee culture here, and Starbucks has not made ground. Then he asked me if I would like to try the different types of coffee to taste the difference. Clearly he was a coffee sommelier… and with all that enthusiasm, I couldn't say no, and took up his offer. One by one I sipped the various creations each day, as he explained to me the subtle differences in texture, milk formation, and beans. My favourite was still the the long black (not to be confused with an Americano)…
Overall
A fantastic resort! The ambience, service and activities were exceptional. It reminded me of my memorable stays at the Singita Lodges in South Africa and the Amangiri in Utah - spectacular setting, excellent service, and quality activities. THe resort certainly elevates Tasmania and Australia as a 5* travel location.
If I had to do the trip again, I would stay a week and include two days of down time in the suite, enjoying the view, catching up on my reading and totally relaxing. Most people I met tended to stay 2-3 days...
Dec 13, 2016, 8:28 am
SERVICE
Haven't done any of the other Aussie "luxury lodges" so can't say how it compares to its peers, but at least for Saffire I will take issue with the poster above saying that Aussies can't do European/Asian-level luxury service: I thought the service here was impeccable. It is true that it is very Australian in style, so more friendly than formal -- all first names -- but the attention to detail and personalization was just as good, if not better, than you might see anywhere else. Staff all knew who we were and offered their congratulations on our wedding, and had heard of the preferences and interests we provided in advance (which actually made me wish I'd put more thought into what I said, as seeing how they operated, I'm guessing they would have made an effort within reason to make sure any favorite foods were on the menu, for example).
The hotel also did an exceptional job of making everything effortless. When we arrived, we were greeted by name without even needing to introduce ourselves, whisked out of the car with glasses of sparkling wine, and given a brief tour of the highlights of the property, before being brought to our suite where our bags were already waiting as well as another bottle of sparkling. There was no need for a formal check-in process, neither at the front desk nor in the suite. When we left there was a brief check-out process but otherwise we left our bags in the suite and they were loaded in the car for us.
THE ROOMS
From looking at the property map, it appeared that there are 6 luxury suites, 10 signature suites, and 4 private pavilions. We booked a luxury suite and were upgraded to a signature suite (because we booked through Virtuoso and/or because of the honeymoon), which is not a huge difference though the bathroom upgrades are definitely nice to have. Given the relative room counts I suspect upgrades from luxury to signature are reasonably easy to come by if you book through Virtuoso, but then the property is small so the risk of a sell out is elevated.
Our suite was lovely. It was very large, and felt more spacious than some proper two-room suites I've had at city hotels despite being just one large room. The views are really spectacular and the rooms are set up perfectly to take advantage of it, with the bed and sofas both looking out at the view. (There is a TV, hidden away, awkwardly positioned for watching from the couch, and just about impossible to watch from the bed, but I can't imagine many people come to Saffire to watch TV.)
Toiletries are custom Saffire-branded and very nice.
THE FOOD
The food was consistently great and a highlight of the experience. I'm not sure how much more to say, really. We did a degustation menu with wine pairings for dinner the first night, and then a la carte with a single wine the second night. If anything I might protest that the portions on the degustation (and the pours on the wine pairing) were a bit too big -- we were stuffed and past tipsy by the end of the meal. But everything was fresh and exquisitely prepared.
Breakfast and lunch were less elaborate, but just as good. Breakfast in particular exceeded expectations with some relatively unique options that were notably better than standard hotel breakfast fare. Lunch was the least elaborate meal of the day, served in the lounge rather than the dining room and consisting of a buffet of prepared salads and a choice of two hot main courses, but everything was consistently delicious, and it was hard to get too hungry in between breakfast and dinner anyway.
I'm not an expert by any means but I thought the wines were also excellent, with a heavy emphasis on Tasmanian wines in the inclusive menu.
THE ACTIVITIES
We did a few of the offered activities, including the marine farm, the Wineglass Bay Lookout walk, archery, and the Tasmanian Devil experience. All were great. The staff were highly knowledgeable and friendly and could answer pretty much any question that guests presented. They also did an excellent job of being prepared for any eventuality, with sunscreen and bug spray always at the ready, and light jackets and other gear available for guest use as needed.
We also got massages at the spa, which were a bit of a mixed bag. My husband quite enjoyed his though I didn't love mine. We went for the relaxation massage and in retrospect I would have preferred something more like a deep tissue massage, which they don't explicitly offer but the remedial massage seems like it might have better fit the bill.
For anyone else staying at Saffire, I would definitely recommend reaching out to the hotel as soon as you book your stay to indicate interests for the activities: the schedule is generated entirely from guest requests, so as long as you give them sufficient notice they will certainly make sure your requested events happen. A schedule is also then published and if you have empty timeslots you can also request to add or change activities upon arrival.
OTHER
We booked through a Virtuoso agent (http://travelbykatie.com/ , highly recommended), and it's probably worth anyone else doing the same, as there don't seem to be many public discounts from the standard rates, so you might as well take advantage of the Virtuoso benefits. That said we did have to ask at check-out to get the $100 spa credit applied, though once we asked it was done immediately with no issue. And the noises from the property in advance suggested they perhaps did not intend to honor the 4pm late checkout. As it turned out the hotel was showing as full the night of our departure so I did not push the issue but I would not book depending on the late checkout.
Only complaints I might make are minor. One slight surprise was that the website gives an impression of the activities being private, whereas they were generally group affairs -- which is totally fine and a nice way to meet other guests, and I guess probably should have been obvious, but it was a bit of a surprise relative to what I had pictured in advance.
And they also might rethink the way the all-inclusive package is presented. There were a few minor things that were chargeable that I would not have expected: for example, I knew that there were premium bottles of wine available for purchase and that's fine, but was surprised to see that all non-wine beverages were listed with prices at dinner, even soft drinks (A$6 for a Coke). I suspect they don't actually charge if you order a soft drink with dinner, but especially if so it seemed a bit tacky to put it on the menu. Likewise cocktails are available at no added cost in the lounge before dinner, but are apparently chargeable if you take them at the dinner table, which seems silly. Especially because the minibar selection is included, and contains some fairly pricey options -- I saw the 200 mL bottle of local gin that was offered in the minibar on sale at a Tasmania-focused shop at the airport for A$50. (We didn't end up consuming much from the minibar since we had already had so much food and drink at dinner.)
I also do wonder how much full-price traffic they get: several other guests we met during our visit were travel agents and I suspect were staying on significantly discounted rates. I couldn't justify the price for just any trip, but for a honeymoon or other special occasion trip it was really quite delightful. Maybe we'll return for an anniversary someday.
Last edited by SanDiego1K; Jan 7, 2018 at 10:16 am Reason: Copied from thread in Oceania forum; comment about prior poster is not relevant in this thread
Dec 30, 2017, 4:27 pm
There are three room categories. We are in the mid level category. I believe the difference between this and the entry level is a bit more space, and the bath tub with the view. Our room is very large with very high ceilings,. The bedroom area is elevated by a few steps from the spacious living area. The entire set-up is really great - oh that view! There are 4 top end category rooms called pavilions. They have a separate living room, and bedroom, with a plunge pool in the back ( not facing the view) and a full kitchen. We likely would have booked the pavilion category had it been available but now that we are here we love our room ( suite) so much I'm not sure I'd bother if I came back. The weather isn't "hot" so haven't seen the need for the plunge pool, but I suppose for some it's nice to have as the resort does not have a pool.
The beach is a short walk in front of the hotel,, and there are many great activities along with a nice spa and tiny gym ( so many other things to do I don't think the gym is utilized much!).
Food has been very much farm to table utilizing wonderful local produce and protein. Delicious fresh oysters whenever you want them, local cheeses, and local wines from Tasmania and Australia. My favorite Tasdie has been the Sparkling Rose, although I've also enjoyed the local dry Riesling, and a couple of nice local pinot noirs. And if you want there is quite a nice wine list with wines from around the world you can order for an additional charge.
Overall, this has been a real "Wow" stay. Just wish we were staying more than 3 nights. I would recommend at least 4 for anyone as it is over a 2 hour drive from the Hobart airport and is so nice to have extra time to settle in and relax, and to also enjoy the activities.
Lastly, how does this compare to Southern Ocean Lodge? We were there in January 2014 and I would rate this higher. Both are lovely but we have found the service here to really outshine SOL. The mgmt is clearly doing an excellent job. Everyone knows our names and all the staff introduce themselves in a friendly but very professional manner. I would come back here, not sure I'd return to SOL despite the fact we loved our stay there! In summary I'd try both but if I had to choose I'd choose Saffire for our own personal preferences! ( and I think better food too)!
Dec 30, 2017, 6:00 pm
thanks!
fdw
Dec 30, 2017, 7:13 pm
Dec 31, 2017, 12:21 am
Dec 31, 2017, 10:14 am
hope SOL / baillies are not going downhill, considering past comments here. they picked up longitude, sydney didnt work out, think they also gave up on tasmania (permitting/planning for both)
MONA also has pavilions, some here have stayed
saffire owner >
federalgroup.com.au
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Jan 1, 2018 at 7:45 am
Dec 31, 2017, 3:30 pm
Dec 31, 2017, 9:26 pm
Jan 1, 2018, 12:04 am
That is really too bad as I have tried a number of the Australian properties and the SOL is next on the list. Are there particular service issues that you encountered? Are there also much activities to do near SOL? I would love to go back to Saffire but I didn’t remember enough things to do for a long stay especially with kids
In general, f&b just lacked the polish expected, unlike Saffire, where the servers were extremely professional and knowledgeable. If you look on T.A., some people rave about the f&b, while others seem to have encountered some of what we did.
Activities were ample to keep one occupied for a couple of days, but just hanging in the big room and enjoying a drink and the view was nice in itself. The sundowner to the nearby meadow with the kangaroos is nice once, as was the longer trip to see the sea lions. The tour to a nearby sanctuary to see the koalas and then to see the Remarkable Rocks could have been outstanding, but the guide was awful and there were too many people crammed into the vehicle. It should have been divided into two groups and ended up being very unsatisfying. After finding the manager on duty to say that we were rushed away from the sanctuary before even seeing a single koala, she arranged a guide to take us back later in the day for a private viewing (nice touch).
We also borrowed their bikes and pedaled in the area, along with doing the walks nearby the lodge. Very picturesque. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed going to SOL, but its shortcomings really became apparent after staying at Saffire a few days later. The honey on Kangaroo Island, however, is fabulous.
Feb 8, 2018, 7:01 pm
Feb 8, 2018, 7:48 pm
Feb 8, 2018, 8:08 pm
Another FTer has stayed at the MACq01 recently , possibly comment later , but they didn’t quite like it . It is unlike Saffire even though has same ownership . Good for watching sailing / yacht races / regattas though .
We too are undecided where to stay next time as was more like nice B & Bs on previous visits , cannot recall name of suggested places , or was it also friends ‘ lodges ?
You will have a lovely time in Tassie
Last edited by FlyerEC; Feb 8, 2018 at 11:18 pm