Located above Hobart’s bustling Liverpool Street, the newly-built Crowne Plaza Hobart offers a contemporary design-led experience, locally inspired dining and innovative spaces to work and play. The 235-room hotel also features Hobart’s first Club Lounge that allows guests to cosy up with complimentary evening drinks and canapés. The connection to Tasmanian culture is showcased throughout the hotel’s design, with the harbour city well represented through cool shades of blue, silver and grey throughout. In contrast, the hues of Mount Wellington are seen through warmer, earthy shades of red and brown illuminating the trims and vignettes scattered throughout the property.
The room – Superior King
The rooms are well-appointed and feel rather spacious. In-room tech is great, with touch control of curtains, lights and privacy plus an easy to use Smart TV.
The king bed is comfortable, as are the pillows.
The bathroom wasn’t huge by any means, but the layout was practical. The walk-in shower is set in the centre of the room, adorned with a frosted glass design for privacy. Antipodes amenities are very much on-brand with the hotel’s eco-friendly side.
A small selection of tea and coffee is supplied, along with a minibar (which was out of action due to COVID-19).
Our room featured a “Harbour view”, which was quite a stretch, although the River Derwent could be seen poking through buildings. On lower levels, the water is almost impossible to see.
On the other side of the hall are “Mountian View” rooms which look out over the city and towards Mt Wellington. Personally, I prefer this view.
Dining
Crowne Plaza Hobart offers two locally-inspired restaurants, Core and The Deck. Both restaurants are located on level 4 and offer similar menus from the same kitchen, focusing on farm-to-table dining and low waste processes. The Deck sits above the busy Liverpool Street shopping area, with Mt. Wellington showcased as a backdrop. For those not brave enough to face the elements, Core is located inside.
Unfortunately, we were somewhat disappointed with our dinner at The Deck. The staff were fantastic, as was the atmosphere and location, but the food just didn’t live up to expectations. Both meals were served cold, and in my opinion, offered poor value. I should mention that we stayed during Crowne Plaza Hobart’s first days of operation, so it would be fair to assume some of these issues have now been ironed out. Since our stay, both dishes have been removed from the menu.
Thankfully, breakfast was another story. The buffet is served at Core from 6:30 am and is included in some room packages, or $34 per person ($15 for children). An extensive selection is available, including baked goods, cereal, hot dishes and barista coffee. While it’s normally a self-serve affair, table service was required during our stay due to the pandemic. The staff were friendly, helpful and overall excellent.
Crowne Plaza Hobart is also set to become home to Hobart’s highest rooftop bar, AURA, which is set to open in Summer.
Club Lounge
Crowne Plaza boasts Hobart’s first club lounge, offering stunning panoramic views of Mount Wellington and the CBD from level 10. Although relatively small, I love the modern ambience of the lounge. It’s very stylish, functional and tastefully decorated, providing the perfect setting to work or relax. Complimentary tea and coffee plus 2-hour meeting room access is available all day, while drinks and canapés are on offer from 4 – 6pm. Guests who book a room on club floors (level 10 and 11) will have access to the club lounge.
The Gym
The gym at Crowne Plaza Hobart is quite small and basic, but functional nonetheless. Although we planned to test out the gym, we didn’t find the motivation with the bed being so comfortable.
Summing up: my take
The relatively new Crowne Plaza Hobart is a fantastic addition to the Hobart hotel scene. The hotel features a beautiful modern design, and apart from lack of parking and a pool has everything a traveller might need. Throughout our stay the staff and service was amazing. My only service complaint is that upon checkout I was asked if I experienced any issues. After mentioning that my room service order was forgotten, the staff member didn’t seem to care, a stark difference to my interactions with all other staff members.
So, would I visit again? This answer is yes! Although, next time I’d book a corner room which is slightly larger and offers improved views.
