Conflicted

Wrapping up put three night stay at The Tasman.

I boked a Heritage Suite via my TA on Mariott STARS. Average room rate was $1,200 a night as was willing to splurge for a special occasion. We didn't get an upgrade and I didn't expect one as the hotel was 100% occupied and I was happy with the room I booked.

I’m really conflicted about how I feel.

A month prior to arrival I asked the Chief Concierge, who they promote heavily as a Clefs d’Or, for restaurant recommondations specifically stating we don't really eat Seafood and one of us has a Crustacea allergy. I receieved a copy and paste list, saying they might do exceptions... except most of them have set menus and clearly state they only do vegan or normal.

I ended up choosing the restaurants myself and asking them to do the booking. Upon confirming the reservations via text I found that they also failed to tell a restaurant it was a milestone birthday and the restaurant confirmed they have many issues with the hotel's bookings. The hotel respodned saying they notify restuarants on the day, but I believe this was just to save face.

It wasn't a great start.

Apart from that, all of the staff we encountered (and I didn't see the Chief Concerige once, perhaps he's hiding from us) have been delightful. To be fair, I asked for some balloons to be delivered within 1.5 hours while we were out and they did, so points for that.

I did OLCI and my TA specifically requested: A quiet suite, not overlooking the restaurant and with a good view. The first room we were allocated was directly overlooking the restaurant and we could hear furniture being dragged all night until 1AM and then again from 6AM. We could also hear people through the vents. I was furious. I had to take sleeping tablets just to get through the night.

I rang the next morning and asked what was above us and they said the bar is immediately below. As it turned out, the sound were bar stools being cosntantly moved which resnoates through the old sandstone. My TA called the GM and they found a suite one floor up after initially saying they were sold out.

The hotel, however is quite beautiful. It's steeped in history with three historic buildings and two new modern glass wings that have Water views. Oddly enough our suite could actually be described as partial water view.

The first suite was much bigger with a huge hallway and bathroom running the length of the room, but the second room was good. The main thing was it was quiet.

There is no door between the bedroom and living room, but everything is of a high quality and done in Australiana style. One irritation is the digital controls never worked properly. The first room's fireplace wouldn't turn on and in the second room several of the buttons are inoperable.

The food is all extremely high quality, locally sourced and organic. Breakfast is wonderful with an a la carte menu. The welcome amenity of Champagne is a decent bottle, though when we asked for it to be iced on the second day as we didn't open it that night, they just put it in an empty bucket.

We went to the bar and had cocktails last night which were great. Having eaten so much fancy food we craved a good Burger and the bartender initally said it's only on room service, but I suspect given we boked via STARS and the original issues, they made it happen. So they can and do go above and beyond.

Overall, unsure how to feel.

It wasn't a cheap stay, but had the two intial failures not happened, it would have been really good.

So, in short, it seems the Concierge and Rooms Division Manager failed at simple requests that had a negative start, yet all of the other staff are friendly and welcoming.

The only comperable rooms were MONA Pavillions or the top suite at the Crown Plaza, but this does feel far more lux.