24 Incredible Tasmanian Stays to Book Now
Tasmania might be Australia’s smallest state but it’s big on unique places to stay. From a defunct bank to a medieval-style tower in the wilderness, we’ve found 24 of the island’s best places to rest your head. What are you waiting for?
Image credit: Aaron Jones
The Keep, Goulds Country
1/25With its high rocky perch and austere stone exterior, The Keep, just over an hour’s drive from the larapuna / Bay of Fires area, resembles its namesake fortified structures in castles across Europe. That’s where the similarities end, though – after all, it wouldn’t do to greet approaching enemies from the outdoor granite bathtub, or a picnic rug overlooking the Tasmanian wilderness with a glass of local pinot in hand. Hunker down with your loved one for a few blissful days – what better place to pretend you’re under siege?
Image credit: Marnie Hawson
Shore House, King Island
2/25Set within the dunes behind Little Porky Beach on King Island’s west coast, Shore House epitomises the beach-house aesthetic with its expansive deck, breezy open-plan living/dining space and floor-to-ceiling glass doors. Add to that four bedrooms, a sauna and sunken spa. Nothing is far away here, including celebrated cheese, seafood, honey and even – ahem – small-batch Cloud Juice (rainwater). Stock up and just kick back.
The Point, South Arm Peninsula
3/25If you plan to use The Point as a base to explore south-east Tasmania, you might find yourself stymied. So arresting is its hilltop position, amid 20 hectares of farmland overlooking Frederick Henry Bay and with access to a coastal walking track and beaches, and so tempting its features – firepit, stone bath with ocean views, floor-to-ceiling windows – that everything else seems beside the point. The house, just 20 minutes from Hobart, is an adults-only escape with beds for six.
Image credit: Marnie Hawson
The Butcher’s House, Bothwell
4/25This circa-1833 cottage in the highlands an hour north-west of Hobart brings the colonial past into fascinating focus. Built by a Scottish free settler using convict-hewn bricks, The Butcher’s House has variously served as a butcher’s shop, dairy and refuge for Irish exiles. Now it’s a cosy stay with romantic touches such as a clawfoot tub to sink into after traipsing around the snow-dusted Central Highlands, playing golf at historical Ratho Farm or exploring Bothwell’s heritage-listed buildings.
Secret Bank Society, Ringarooma
5/25Occupying the entirety of an Art Deco bank building, the simple exterior of Secret Bank Society, around 90 minutes from Launceston, belies a drama-filled interior with fireplaces, curated artworks and a 16-seat antique dining table. The visitor book has useful information – a woman who delivers handmade sourdough; Josh the butcher next door has the best meat in Tasmania’s north-east. Make this your secret hideaway.
Olive, Winnaleah
6/25Wear your walking shoes and pack light – you won’t need much more than a flannie, food, drinks and a good book where you’re going. Olive is a teeny little box of cosiness in a lush valley located in Winnaleah, a 10-minute drive north of Derby. To get to your small but perfectly equipped abode, it’s an 800-metre hike from where your car is parked. Should you feel the need to explore further afield, the photogenic turquoise water of Little Blue Lake is just a 20-minute drive away.
Image credit: Lean Timms
CNTNR, Scamander
7/25The word “cabin” seems too humble a description for CNTNR’s Rivercabin, a converted 40-foot container placed just so on the banks of the Scamander River on the east coast. With Freycinet National Park about an hour and twenty minutes’ by car and the larapuna / Bay of Fires area just over an hour away, it’s surrounded by surf beaches, mountain-bike tracks and hiking trails. Nights are for oysters and Tassie sparkling by the firepit, followed by a starlit spa.
Stillwater Seven, Launceston
8/25Stillwater began with a much-lauded restaurant and continues with seven pitch-perfect rooms upstairs in the former flour mill, each with views of the kanamaluka / River Tamar. There’s a choice of Premium or Deluxe suites or the pet-friendly Courtyard Suite with its private patio. A bar stocked with local small-batch spirits, Tasmanian wines, board games and house-made pastries on the first floor is just for guests.
Aquila Glamping, Richmond
9/25Tasmania’s burgeoning wine scene is reason enough to head to the Coal River Valley but Aquila Glamping makes another good case for the region. It’s an easy 30-minute drive from Hobart, then settle in on the deck of one of Aquila’s off-grid Eco Pods or the luxe Glamping Tent. You’ll be in the perfect position to gaze at rolling hills and vineyards with a glass of something local and sparkling as the sun sets.
Calstock Estate, Deloraine
10/25A grand rural residence occupying 12 hectares of green pasture and charming gardens, Calstock is a former racing stables that produced Malua, a thoroughbred that won the Melbourne Cup in 1884 (check out the Deloraine & Districts Folk Museum’s memorial). Visitors can choose from the Stables Suite, a two-bedroom apartment within the historic stables, or the two-bed Woolstore Loft overlooking the stables and gardens. A sumptuous bedroom in a wing of the manor house is also available for one-night stays.
Image credit: Monika Kulon
Piermont Retreat, Swansea
11/25Family-owned and -run retreat Piermont has evolved over 25 years, with a series of charming stone and rammed-earth cottages now scattered across the property and the 180-year-old main house serving as the Homestead Restaurant. There are 15 cottages with one, two or three bedrooms plus log fires, spa baths and decks facing Great Oyster Bay on Tasmania’s east coast, just over 90 minutes’ drive from both Hobart and Launceston. You have all you need for a restful stay but should the need to explore strike, the seaside delights of Swansea are just minutes away.
Chambls Shack, Verona Sands
12/25Much mythologised, the beach shack is part of a sepia-tinted Australian dream. But not owning your own coastal retreat needn’t prevent you from living that dream. Allow us to propose Chambls. It’s an eclectic little 1970s shack fronted by floor-to-ceiling windows on Verona Sands beach (one hour south of Hobart) that sleeps five. Spot seals, read in the window seat and snooze on the sofa. Make it an annual booking.
Hundred Acre Hideaway, Bruny Island
13/25If the romantic name of this retreat has captured your imagination, think how you’ll feel submerged in fresh mountain water in a woodfired hot tub, midway up Mount Mangana, gazing over Cloudy Bay at dusk. Through rising steam you might spot wallabies, pademelons and potoroos fossicking and as the sky darkens – if you’re in luck – the aurora australis light show in the sky begins. There are two cabins, each with outdoor tubs.
Paradise Road Farm, Sheffield
14/25Paradise Road Farm is a 40.5-hectare working farm in northern Tasmania, a part of the island where rain falls heavily and often so be sure to bring wellies, raincoat and woolly socks for padding around one of two cosy cabins. The current owners have adopted regenerative farming principles to raise their Angus-cross cows. Areas of remnant bush are also being regenerated and platypus now make their home in the creek.
Spring Bay Mill, Triabunna
15/25With beach shacks, a 32-tent glamping field and the Ridge Quarters offering 12 double rooms with private bathrooms, Spring Bay Mill, about an hour and twenty minutes’ drive north-east of Hobart, is designed for events – think weddings, business conferences and even school camps (lucky kids!). It does allow bookings even without an event, though, so gather a group and occupy four or more tents to enjoy the clean air and views to Maria Island.
Image credit: Renee Thurston
The Lazy Prospector, Zeehan
16/25The rustic appearance of The Lazy Prospector belies a dedication to total comfort. Days can be spent lazing on the daybed suspended from the roof and sipping tea by the woodfired heater. Evenings call for red wine by the firepit, a fragrant soak in the deep bath then sound sleep in the plush bed – especially welcome if you’re planning to get adventurous on Tasmania’s rugged west coast.
Bay of Fires Bush Retreat, Binalong Bay
17/25Just north – about five minutes, in fact – of Bay of Fires Bush Retreat are the rust-red boulders, long stretches of blazing white sands and ice-blue water of the larapuna / Bay of Fires area. Location: tick! Now to the accommodation. Here the Bunk House comfortably accommodates six, while there are 10 Bell Tents that each sleep up to three and the King Room is a more traditional arrangement. Double tick!
Luna Lodge, Wattle Hill
18/25Move over, glamping, there’s a new eco-stay in town: the geodesic dome. Luna Lodge, about forty minutes north-east of Hobart, has two of these dome homes, each with king bed, kitchen, walk-in shower, barbecue and outdoor stone tub. The Tranquility Dome has a deck; the Castle Dome includes a four-poster bed and secret door. The main drawcard of dome life, though, is those views from within your geodesic cocoon – and just a short drive away are fruit farms, vineyards and southern beaches waiting to be explored.
Seaforth Shack, Strahan
19/25A renovated two-bedroom fishing shack 10 minutes’ drive from Strahan, Seaforth is cosy, comfortable and cute. There’s a topnotch kitchen, plenty of records and games, a fireplace and even an outdoor heated shower (don’t worry, there’s one inside, too). Set among four hectares of bushland, the shack comes with soothing sea and mountain views and water access via a track.
Avalon Coastal Retreat, Rocky Hills
20/25Morning is heralded with a screech from the resident white-bellied sea eagle at this sleek, three-bedroom Avalon Coastal Retreat. She’ll pass by early – heed her call. The purple dawn brightening to peach is particularly spectacular from the massive floor-to-ceiling glass panels enclosing two sides of the house, overlooking Great Oyster Bay.
Eden Farmstay, Cygnet
21/25This Huon Valley farmstay will delight young visitors with its animals – ranging from chooks to a Highlander bull called Thor – apple orchards, blackberry picking and native wildlife. The kids can feed the animals, collect eggs, dig for potatoes and roast marshmallows around a campfire. The Barn has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fireplace and laundry facilities. Nearby, there are wineries, Cygnet’s gallery-strewn main street and chef and farmer Matthew Evans’ unmissable Fat Pig Farm (book ahead).
Naivasha Tiny House, Reedy Marsh
22/25Here’s one for the lovers. Set in a clearing 45 minutes’ drive west of Launceston, Naivasha Tiny House has everything you need and nothing you don’t. So no reception and no TV, but there is a cosy loft bed, a wood fire, a window seat, a claw-foot bath and a skylight for stargazing. Outside you’ll find a woodfired hot tub. The only thing missing is you.
The Doctor’s chalet, Interlaken
23/25A magical lakefront retreat constructed from shipping containers and ingenuity, The Doctor’s chalet has two bedrooms and a mezzanine floor. The front is constructed almost entirely from glass for uninterrupted lake views. From the private jetty you can kayak around Lake Sorrel’s shoreline where echidnas, wombats and sometimes Tasmanian devils can be spotted, fish for trout or dive into the cool depths. Just what the doctor ordered.
Image credit: Jesse Hunniford
Aplite House, Freycinet Peninsula
24/25Bound by Freycinet National Park on three sides, 81-hectare property Aplite House offers guests a rare level of seclusion in one of the most beautiful parts of Tasmania. The house itself is large, airy and spacious, with polished concrete floors, two bedrooms with ensuites, wood fireplace and a well-appointed kitchen. It feels isolated but is just a short drive away are fabulous beaches, cute towns and excellent restaurants.
