Mr & Mrs Smith

The Islington Hotel

Hobart, Australia

A grand old Regency house with a sophisticated glass, marble and sandstone facelift, The Islington Hotel sits genteely above Tasmania's capital Hobart with views of Mount Wellington. With a gorgeous garden and more art and artefacts – Asian and contemporary Australian – than you can shake a Sotheby’s catalogue at, it’s a small luxury hotel with the feel of an expansive but intimate private home.

Need to know

• Rooms 11, including five rooms in the original 1847 house and six garden rooms in the modern extension.
• Rates Double rooms from $305.44 (AU$313), excluding tax at 10 per cent.
  Prices have been converted from the hotel's local currency (AU$313), via XE.com, using today's exchange rate.
• More details Rates include breakfast and minibar soft drinks.
• Facilities Library, music room, outdoor pavilion with open fire and barbecue, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: flatscreen TV, in-house movie and cable channels, DVD/CD player with library, iPod dock, minibar, Basic Earth Botanicals and Beauty & the Bees toiletries.
• Check-out 10am. Earliest check-in, 2pm, but both are flexible subject to availability.
• Eco-friendly The Islington Hotel sources most of its food locally and grows some produce on site. It composts food waste, recycles wherever possible, and buys green energy and carbon offsets, to make the property carbon-neutral overall.
• Also This is more of a couple’s retreat – no under-16s allowed. Spend some languid downtime in the Andrew Pfeiffer-designed gardens, shaded by the 100-year-old willow.

Food and drink at The Islington Hotel

• Hotel restaurant The main dining area and fireside snug are housed in a two-storey sandstone conservatory with a chequered black-and-white marble floor and huge, fern-filled urns. The Islington’s talented chef cooks up a delicate but flavour-packed storm, with a mix of Mod Oz and European influences. Local, seasonal produce reigns – Cressy lamb, Highland wild rabbit and fresh-from-the-water fish and oysters – to be paired with a selection of superbly swillable wines.
• Dress code Understated but well-pressed and designer.
• Top table Nab the corner table overlooking the reflective infinity pond with its ghost-white Murano glass stalagmites, or ask for a private dinner at the grand colonial table in the library.
• Last orders Dinner is served from 7pm till 10pm, Wednesday to Saturday.
• Room service You can order dishes from the main menu to enjoy in your room during breakfast and dinner hours, and light snacks such as cheeses and soups are available at other times. Picnics can be arranged in summer.
• Hotel bar An extensive honour bar, featuring all-Tasmanian wines, beers and local gin, whiskey and vodka, is available for guests whenever they fancy a tipple. The Asian-themed and darkly lush rose-hued drawing room is a soothing place for a late-night glass of tawny port, or house-speciality martini.
  

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

The Islington Hotel 321 Davey Street, Hobart, 7000