SanDiego1K

There's a lot of love for Saffrire Freycinet in this forum, deservedly so. It's an amazing place. I wanted to get some more value out of traveling so far so decided to bookend our stay with days in Hobart. We arrived too late on day one to justify driving north to Freycinet so decided to start with a night in Hobart. This gave us the opportunity to visit one of Hobart's amazing restaurants and dine at the Agrarian Restaurant enroute to Saffire the following day.

Hobart Hotels:
We will stay at the two properties owned by the same owner of Saffire on this trip.

Islington - This is only only property in Hobart that is a Virtuoso property. I wanted to stay there the first night but they require a two night stay on weekend arrivals - and that includes Sunday night. I love a water view so chose to stay at the harbor on our return for two nights.

MONA Pavilions - adjacent to MONA - I considered it but decided to stay in the heart of Hobart

The Tasman, a Marriott Luxury Collection property, had its opening pushed back to December 2019.

Henry Jones Art Hotel, managed by same company as Saffire, on the harbor, 1/2 block from Macq01, the second Hobart hotel managed by the same company

Macq01

SanDiego1K

We spent one night at the Henry Jones Art Hotel. I was impressed by the public spaces. I was disappointed with our room. The service expected of a luxury property is lacking, but the public space makes it an interesting option.

I've learned to book the room in which I want to stay. Thus, I rarely book entry level rooms. I booked a deluxe spa harbor view room, thinking it would offer the space and the view I wanted. We arrived well into the evening. There was a person at the front desk but no porter and no door man. We parked in front and staff kept the keys. Valet parking is complementary. We were given keys to the room and off we went. The room wasn't minuscule but neither was it spacious. There was a king bed, a sofa, and a dresser. Windows were rather small, thus not the expansive harbor view I had anticipated. But this is the challenge of a historic building. This hotel was built in what was a jam factory. It had the original stone walls and metal roof. The desk was wedged into a dark niche with no lighting, yet the chest for luggage was between the two view windows. It would have made far more sense to reverse their position (and add a light). The bathroom had a spa tub and a walk in shower but only one sink. I did not receive value for what I paid.

We had some time at the hotel in the morning before we left. I found I really liked the public spaces. Breakfast was served in a small room off the lobby and was quite good. There are huge amounts of open space in the center of the old factory. There is another restaurant/coffee shop that seemed to attract quite a bit of local trade. There was very comfortable seating there and beyond. There was a superb shop with locally made Tasmanian goods that I highly recommend. It had small pieces of wood furniture, various tasteful craft pieces, and a range of beautiful jewelry. Saffire has items for sale from the same suppliers but the shop at Henry Jones is far more expansive.

SanDiego1K

As I start writing this we have been to two superb restaurants. I'll update after we finish our Hobart stay. Hopefully we've chosen well. Hobart is becoming a foodie destination. Although I had done a lot of research before coming, I really hadn't expected to find such fine envelope pushing cuisine. Some articles that I found helpful:

https://www.goodfood.com.au/eat-out/...0170814-gxvn5v

Dier Makr
Our first meal, astonishingly good, was at Dier Makr. I asked how they would describe their cooking. They said it was Modern Australian with a vegetable emphasis. So there you have it. This is a small restaurant with two seatings at 6 and 8:30pm. It offers a 7 course tasting menu. You must give your credit card number when booking. It will be charged if you no show. Highly recommended.

FICO
A lady I met at the Henry James Hotel had eaten at both Dier Makr and FICO and considered them comparable in quality. I wanted to see for myself. We were able to make a last minute booking due to a cancellation. Indeed they were. We went with the chef's choices, another 7 course tasting menu. There are two chefs in the kitchen, one Italian and one Australian. The menu is a happy blend of modern Australian/Italian. The calamari, mint and ginger sauce was particularly good as was the strawberry, lemon verbena, and hibiscus merinque. Also highly recommended.

Templo
Templo seats 20 people two times a night, at 6 and 8:30. The 8 course tasting menu had both Spanish tapa and Italian influences, combined with Australian modern. It did not have as strong a focus on vegetables as others and wasn't as focused on beautiful food presentation. Regardless, the food was superb. Also highly recommended.

The Agrarian Kitchen and Eatery
This property has been winning awards right and left, including top new restaurant in Australia and top new chef for their young female star. We arranged our schedule to have lunch here on the day we drove north to Saffire. We are so glad that we did. It also is modern Australian with an even stronger vegetable driven menu than Dier Makr. They grow their own produce and list the suppliers for their meat and seafood on the menu. They have a menu from which you can make choices or you can go with the chef's tasting menu of the day. We did the latter and it was fantastic. The restaurant is about a 40 minute drive north of Hobart. It uses one of the buildings of a former state mental institution.

SojournsOf

We stopped at Agrarian Kitchen on the way back from Pumphouse Point (cute place to stay on Lake St Claire). I was very underwhelmed - I returned my meal as the flavours were completely off-putting. The service was appalling too (but that's Australia) so perhaps they just had a real off day. Templo in Hobart is a nice meal - very casual, very small, but great food and service.

Out of Henry Jones and Macq01, I much prefer Macq01. I'd probably stay at MONA next time as (after a couple of visits) not much in Hobart really interests me.

jja34-1

Thank you for keeping us updated about your Tasmania trip! I'm currently planning a return trip with a friend who has never been before and I will be watching this thread for restaurant and other recommendations.

I agree with you regarding the Henry Jones. It was an overall disappointment. The location is good and the historical aspect is great, but it's not a luxury hotel. I remember arriving and wondering how it had achieved so many accolades when it first opened. I believe it was Virtuoso when I stayed. My room was also dark and the facilities were definitely not up to luxury standard. Fortunately there are many more options in Hobart now. We won't be staying a Macq01 because I prefer being on the Salamanca of the harbor, but I am looking forward to your review of that property.

Do you prefer the main building or the pump house at Pumphouse Point? We are having a hard time deciding, although I'm leaning toward one of the rooms with a better view in the main building. Unfortunately the standalone cottage is already booked for the days we will be there. Also, any recommendations for activities? Thanks.

SojournsOf

We stayed in the pumphouse - I would have been disappointed if I travelled all that way and didn't stay in the pumphouse for the novelty factor. Our room was nice - faced the mountains which (winter) were covered in snow. Was beautiful actually. I think the better view is from the pumphouse personally - albeit it doesn't include the pumphouse, but you can go for a walk for that/enjoy when you're having meals at the main building.

Activities - we didn't do any - we literally read books, stayed in bed and played games by the fire. We did walk around the property though which was nice. I imagine some of the water activities and hikes around the area would be good in summer too.

My only caveat is that I hate the idea of family-style share dinners. Thankfully we shared meals with some fun people and had a good time, but the whole thought of this gives me anxiety.

SanDiego1K

Hotel entrance


Memorial to 12000 women and 2000 children sent to Tasmania as convicts from Ireland between 1803 and 1853. The memorial is in the hotel forecourt and was erected last year.


View to harbor across bed


Corner of room with table and sitting area

We spent two nights at Macq01, managed by the same organization as Saffire and Henry Jones Art Hotel. It is 1/2 block away from Henry Jones. We booked an executive waterfront suite in order to get the space and the view that I wanted. The room was on the first floor in the corner of the hotel, thus with wonderful water views on two sides. Although it was labeled a suite, it wasn't. Putting up a wall would have cut off view. The room was furnished comfortably and we were content with it.

Service, however, lacked. There are butlers assigned to the rooms. We received a note a week or so in advance asking about beverage preferences and offering services for booking restaurants and the MONA ferry. Just the day before we arrived, I decided I really wanted to eat at FICO. I knew it would be a challenge and the butler responded that it wasn't possible. Yet I persisted on my own and was able to slide into a space that canceled a few hours in advance. I asked for iced tea for my husband and there was a pitcher of it in the room. Otherwise, the butler was mia. I can't really articulate what I thought should be done, yet I had that nagging feeling. We'd call the butler for our car and it might or might not be ready when we got to the street.

We had breakfast in the room to take advantage of the view. It was mediocre and incomplete. We had to call for juice and let slide other components we expected to come.

The GM at Saffire knows the GM at Macq01. He contacted him re our arrival. We heard nothing. Perhaps the GM was away??

It wasn't that anything was bad with the stay, it just wasn't that we felt like valued guests. We might as well have been staying in an off the highway Holiday Inn in terms of service.

Nizar

Seems like we won't be blown away by either option but given the choice, which would you recommend ?

Still tasmania related but not so much Hobart, has anyone stayed at satellite island ? Seems more barefoot than luxe though

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/d...-island-hotel/

SanDiego1K

Macq01. At least we liked the hard product.

JetAway

I think the OP experienced the general Tassie attitude toward "service." There's really not enough tourism traffic or competition to encourage higher standards.

SanDiego1K

There's an extensive review of the Islington in the Trip Report forum. This is the only Virtuoso property in Hobart.

Kagehitokiri

great reports!

thanks! by luxury hotel regular SFO777

from hotel website >

Baghoarder

SanDiego1K

Seeking current thoughts on restaurants in Hobart. A few years back, we loved each of these:

Dier Makr

Templo

Fico

Are they still the best? And if not, what is?

Is Agrarian Kitchen worth a stop as we head south from Saffire?

We're only going to be in Hobart one night since we shaved time to go on to Southern Ocean Lodge.

I'm going to tag @vbroucek as I believe this member lives in Tasmania. All travelers thoughts are sought.

vbroucek

Sorry, I am not into frequenting restaurants in my own "backyard"... When at home, I prefer my wife's culinary skills.

TBH, I have not even heard of the first three and the Agrarian Kitchen is IMHO overrated.