The Tasman

The Panoramic King Room is the sweet spot for most guests, with harbour views framed by floor-to-ceiling windows, a marble bathroom with bathtub, and distinctive wooden ceiling inlays. The Heritage Suite delivers a living room with gas fireplace and preserved stone walls. At the top of the range, the 108-square-metre Aurora Suite occupies the Pavilion rooftop with a private terrace, a handcrafted sandstone and glass fire pit, an island bath, and panoramic views over the waterfront and kunanyi/Mount Wellington.

Peppina, the hotel's Italian restaurant led by Chef Massimo Mele, anchors the food programme. The light-filled atrium space is framed by mature olive trees and an open kitchen turning out handmade gnocchi, braised meats, and seasonal Tasmanian seafood. Breakfast here is worth booking for on its own: a European-style spread of local charcuterie, Pyengana cheddar, smoked ocean trout, house-made granola, and pastries. Mary Mary, the cocktail bar hidden behind sandstone walls in the Heritage building, leans into Tasmanian botanicals and Indigenous flavours, with share plates available from the Peppina kitchen. The Deco Lounge rounds things out with all-day coffee, light plates overlooking Parliament Square, and a seasonal weekend high tea.

The Tasman does something no other Hobart hotel attempts: it makes the city's layered history feel like a feature of the stay rather than a backdrop to it. Booking a Heritage room and then moving to a Pavilion suite on a return visit gives you two genuinely different hotel experiences under the same roof. The waterfront location puts Salamanca Place, the MONA ferry at Brooke Street Pier, and Battery Point all within walking distance, which means the hotel works as both a base for exploring southern Tasmania and a destination in its own right. For travellers who care about where a building has been as much as where it is now, The Tasman is the clearest choice in the city.