The Priory Country Lodge
Style Glamorous gothic
Setting Heather-flecked Highlands
Elegant, smart, diminutively grand – sand-stoned, stained-glass-windowed The Priory Country Lodge was built in 1848 for a Presbyterian Minister later run out of this Central Highlands town for short-changing his congregation. Chock-a-block with story-telling antiques, lavish contemporary fabrics and nerd-pleasing fishing and hunting paraphernalia, it is a one-of-a-kind Gothic retreat that can serve up both snuggled-down romance or get-out-there adventure.
Need to know
- Rooms Two additional suites have been converted from stunning outbuildings, including a pavilion suite with wood fire and balcony, and a room with its own ensuite dry sauna
- Rates Double rooms from $388.66 (AU$363), excluding tax at 10 per cent.
- More details Rates include cooked breakfast and a two-course dinner.
- Facilities Hunting room, flatscreen TV, DVD and CD library, free WiFi. In rooms: Küdos spa toiletries, Jim Thompson silks.
- Check-out 11am, but flexible. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
- Children No kids allowed, unless the property is hired out exclusively; this is sophisticated, grown-ups only territory. More...
- Eco-friendly Heating at The Priory Country Lodge is solar-powered.
- Also Play country gentry a spot of huntin', fishin' and shootin'; licensed gun owners should bring their own, but fishing equipment is at hand. The Central Highlands fly-fishing season runs from September to May.
Food and drink at The Priory Country Lodge
-
Hotel restaurant
Dinner is served on a grand antique table in the formal dining room; breakfast is in the kitchen on a huge writing desk salvaged from the Queensland Club in Brisbane. Food is meticulously prepared using organic, local produce (although the resident chickens met a grizzly end). After dinner, your host will retire and leave you in lamp-shaded luxury with a platter of local cheeses and port. -
Dress code
Lord and lady of the manor; plenty of tweed. -
Top table
If you're worried about communal dining, ask for a more intimate table à deux downstairs. -
Last orders
Dinner is an early affair in the Highlands; while every effort will be made to accommodate guests' needs, don't expect to eat much later than 9pm. -
Room service
Not available overnight. Otherwise, light snacks are always on call to your room. -
Hotel bar
There's an honesty bar with a range of spirits and an impressive wine list leaning towards the cold-climate, delicate but fruity tipples that Tasmania is famous for.
The Priory Country Lodge 2 Wentworth Street, Central Highlands, 7030
Join us – it's free!
Sign up now for exclusive hotel offers, money back on every booking, and Smith extras (like the one below) whenever you book with us. more
Smith extra at The Priory Country Lodge
A bottle of wine with dinner.
In the know
Our favourite rooms
We love The Lake Suite – all white cotton sheets and tartan throws – with its double doors opening to a marble bathroom under the eaves with cute-as-pie views out of the gabled windows.
Packing tips
Boots and cashmere jumpers for winter; classic cotton layers for summer. Leave the heels at home.
Also
Don't be rude about the rather starchy Victorian lady whose painting presides over one of the Lodge's several gorgeously appointed lounges; you don't want to get on her bad side. She is said to haunt the property, albeit in a friendly way. A slamming door in the dead of night was indeed heard during our stay...
