Mr & Mrs Smith

Saffire

Freycinet Peninsula, Australia

Hugging Tasmania's pure shores, Freycinet Peninsula boutique hotel Saffire is a natural gem, with sunset-strewn beach views from sleek suites, tasty local seafood and a seductive spa. At first sight it resembles a close encounter with a shiny UFO, but this jaw-dropping stingray-shaped sanctuary embraces the landscape, encouraging you to chill out in style. Iconic Wineglass Bay is just minutes' away.

Need to know

• Rooms 20 suites.
• Rates Double rooms from $1338.94 (AU$1,364), excluding tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional service charge of 1.5% per booking on check-out.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency (AU$1,364) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates include à la carte breakfast, lunch, activities, a welcome spa treatment, open bar until 6.30pm and free minibar treats. Dinner for two can be included in the rates.
• Facilities Free WiFi throughout, spa, gym, gardens, beach, mountain bikes, kayaks, board games, library of books, CDs and DVDs. In rooms: flatscreen TV, CD/DVD player, preloaded iPod, minibar, Gaia toiletries, Reidel glassware, Bugatti kitchenware, flowers.
• Poolside With the beach so close Saffire doesn't offer a communal pool, but the four Premium Suites feature private plunge pools.
• Check-out 11am, but flexible subject to availability (a late departure fee may apply); check-in, 2pm.
• Children Welcome: Saffire supplies free baby cots and extra beds for older children for AU$100 each a night. Babysitting with a local nanny can be arranged for AU$35 an hour, for a minimum of two hours, given 24-hours' notice.
• Also Deluxe and Luxury Suite rates include one 60-minute spa treatment a suite; Premium Suite rates include a 120-minute treatment a suite. In keeping with the healthy natural setting, smoking is not allowed.

Food and drink at Saffire

• Hotel restaurant Chef Hugh Whitehouse presides over Palate, Saffire's top-notch contemporary restaurant on the sinuous second level of the stingray-shaped main Sanctuary building. Tasting menus of local oysters, crayfish, scallops, mussels and fish are a big focus, with fruit and vegetables grown on site and delicous regional produce such as goats cheese, beef and lamb. Typical dishes span Szechuan pepper-encrusted yellow fin tuna with sweet ginger dressing and vanilla panna cotta with roasted pear. Sussed local staff are a dab hand at matching each course with over 320 wines, including Tasmanian tipples.
• Dress code This is laid-back Tassie, so casual chic rules. Bring a jacket or pashmina for evening dining as it can get chilly once the sun goes down.
• Top table Bag a table for two by the curving floor-to-ceiling windows at Palate for romance-fuelled views over the villas to the Hazards peaks. Groups should ask for a larger table on the upper level under the glam Hazards-shaped lighting installation.
• Last orders Palate stays open for dinner until 9pm. The bar whips up free drinks until 6.30pm and keeps pouring until the last guest leaves.
• Room service Available 24-hours, and your wish is pretty much Saffire's command.
• Hotel bar Taking its cue from eclectic Fifties cool, the Saffire Lounge, adjacent to Palate, offers a homely bar for retiring with a book or cocktail. The inviting fireplace draws you in on winter nights and there are boardgames if you're feeling competitive. For an aromatic way to pass time here, check out the professional wine lover's training kit, Jean Lenoir's Le Nez du Vin, a red case of 54 bottled scents for honing your nose. Alternatively, just grab a novel from the library upstairs and settle in with a glass of the real thing. Both the bar and Palate offer outdoor terraces, with a barbecue deck for balmy evening feasts.

Also worth knowing

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

Saffire 2352 Coles Bay Road, Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania 7215