News & Events

Tassie Hotels on Condé Nast Gold List

Three Tasmanian hotels, Freycinet Lodge, Bay of Fires Lodge and the Henry Jones Art Hotel, have been chosen by Condé Nast Traveller as the best hotels in the world as a part of the magazine’s 2008 Gold List awards.

Condé Nast Traveller is the United Kingdom’s premier travel magazine. The annual Gold List is a selection of the best hotels from around the world, voted by readers and the magazine’s editors to have the best service, rooms, food, ambiance and design, location and leisure facilities.

Freycinet Lodge was selected for the excellent food served at its two restaurants; the Bay of Fires Lodge for its spectacular coastal location; and the Henry Jones Art Hotel for its superbly appointed rooms.

Tasmania scoops best hotel award at Condé Nast Traveller Awards

The Henry Jones Art Hotel in Tasmania scooped the pool in Condé Nast Traveller’s UK reader awards leaving icons such as Huka Lodge, the Observatory, Hayman Island and Bedarra trailing behind in its wake.

The award, which was announced at London’s Claridges Hotel last week, was for Best Overseas Leisure Hotel for Australasia and the South Pacific. The Henry Jones scored consistently highly in categories which included ambience and décor, facilities, environmental friendliness, location, service and staff, food and value for money. The overall score was an impressive 90.80, out of a total of 100.

As Tasmania basks in the reflected glory of The Henry Jones Art Hotel’s prestigious award, it can also be proud of a second Tasmanian entry on the same best hotels list – Cradle Mountain Lodge, which comes in at number seven.

As a consequence of its award, the Henry Jones Art Hotel which is located in an old jam factory on the very spot that the first settlers arrived in Hobart in 1805, also features at number 39 in The World’s Top 100, which is compiled from entries in all categories that make up the Condé Nast Traveller Reader Awards.

Condé Nast Traveller’s annual reader awards are regarded as the most authoritative in the British tourism industry.  The magazine has an unbending ‘truth in travel’ policy and is renowned for its editorial integrity.  Questionnaires were posted in the April issue of the magazine and results were collated and analysed by an independent market research company.  On presentation of the award, which was received by Tourism Tasmania’s UK  public relations representative Susie de Carteret, who was representing the Henry Jones Art Hotel, Sarah Miller, editor of the magazine expressed her excitement at this particular award .  No doubt everyone in Tasmania will share in her sentiments.

Tasmania wins at Australian Gourmet Traveller's inaugural Travel Awards

Tasmania has won two awards in the inaugural Australian Gourmet Traveller 2007 Travel Awards, which recognise Australia’s foremost travel experiences.

The Islington Hotel was named Australia’s best boutique hotel and the Maria Island Walk was awarded the nation’s best eco-tourism experience by a panel of knowledgeable writers, editors, authors and television presenters.  

Tasmania’s the Henry Jones Art Hotel and The Freycinet Experience were runners-up to the two winners in their respective categories.

Gourmet Traveller’s judges wrote of Hobart’s Islington, “There is no other small hotel in Australia in the same league”.

Since opening in early 2006, Hobart’s exclusive 11-room Islington Hotel has received a string of accolades and awards, including being named in the 2006 ‘Hot List’ of respected international travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler.

The four-day Maria Island Walk is a fully-guided walk on an island which is a national park. The judges praised this family-owned venture for raising awareness of Maria Island’s beautiful, rich and fragile environment.

The Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine is one of the country’s premier travel and food magazine, with a readership of over 300,000.

Tasmania No. 1 Island in Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific

In one of the biggest acknowledgements of its profile on the world stage, Tasmania has been named 'No.1 Island in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific' by leading North American travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

Welcoming the news today, Tourism Tasmania Chief Executive Felicia Mariani applauded the award as one of the finest high-profile endorsements of the State in one of Tasmania's major international markets.

"To be voted number one is outstanding recognition by the readers of North America's top selling travel magazine and is testament to the strong appeal of Tasmania as a 'must see' destination."

"The criterion for the islands category included natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people and value, which match perfectly with Tasmania's tourism brand qualities," said Ms Mariani.

"Tasmania's natural environment, award-winning food and wine, and distinctive heritage are just the right mix for a memorable island holiday experience and this unique combination continues to be highly acknowledged and praised around the world," she said.

"The accolade builds on Tasmania's 2005 ranking as second best island destination in Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific. It was great to be ranked so highly last year, but we are now recognised as the top island holiday destination in the region," Ms Mariani said.

"The 2006 Worlds Best Awards are considered the most prestigious travel awards of their kind as they are determined by travellers themselves as opposed to expert panels or travel writers," said Ms Mariani.

"Importantly, this rating has come from travellers demonstrating enormous awareness and preference for Tasmania and our unique island attributes compared to other island destinations.

Wineglass Bay Named One of Frommer’s Favourite Beaches, 2006

The staff of Frommer’s travel guides have named Tasmania’s Wineglass Bay one of their favourite beaches in the world.
Wineglass Bay was the only Australian beach among the nine beaches named by Frommer’s on 12 May 2006.
‘After hiking for less than a half hour through Freycinet National Park, we came to a wooden ledge overlooking the most spectacular sight I had ever laid eyes on,’ says Frommer’s Jennifer Anmuth. 
‘I nearly ran the rest of the hike to plunk down on those smooth sands. What I remember most are the moments I spent just sitting there, as a gentle breeze blew and waves lapped at my toes, staring in amazement at this endless pool of clear blue water spilling over a shore that was literally as perfectly circular as a wine glass’s rim.’
The Frommer’s accolade is just the latest international praise for a beach that has been lauded by a host of travel magazines over many years, including Outside, which has named it one of the ten best beaches in the world.

Next Great Beach Resort, Travel + Leisure, 2006

Tasmania’s Avalon Coastal Retreat at Great Oyster Bay has been listed in Travel + Leisure (US) list of the World’s Next Great Beach Resorts.
According to Travel + Leisure, ‘The east coast of Tasmania has been a well-kept Aussie secret for some time – and for good reason. Thanks to sheltering hills and warm offshore currents, it’s the antipodean alternative to the Mediterranean, with one of the country’s best year-round climates.’
Grabbing the attention of Travel + Leisure was the stylish Avalon Coastal Retreat, overlooking Great Oyster Bay.
‘A onetime farmhouse, it has been transformed by local architect Craig Rosevear into a three-bedroom Modernist glass house with astonishing views across the Freycinet Peninsula and National Park. The B&B doesn’t have a restaurant, but guests have access to a kitchen stocked with smoked eel and gamekeeper sausages from the Wursthaus Kitchen, Tassie’s “it” purveyor.’

Australian Tourism Awards 2005

Hobart’s Henry Jones Art Hotel won the Australian Tourism award for New Tourism Development, 2005. The hotel has won a number of major awards since opening in 2004, including the Australian Hotel Associations Award for Excellence – Best Overall Hotel in Australia, 2005.
In the same year Condé Nast Traveller named the Henry Jones Art Hotel as one of the best new hotels in the world.

Another Tasmanian winner at the 2005 Australian Tourism Awards was the Gordon River Cruises taking out the Significant Tour and Transport Operators category.

World’s Most Beautiful Beaches, Condé Nast Traveller, 2005
Tasmania’s Bay of Fires was named the second most beautiful beach in the world (behind Anse Du Grand Colombier in St Barts) by leading UK travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller in its June 2005 issue.

Sustainable Tourism Achievement, National Geographic Traveler, 2004

Tasmania ranked third in world in National Geographic Traveler magazine by an independent panel of more than 200 specialists in sustainable tourism and destination quality.

Tassie named ‘Hot Spot’ by British Travel Agents, 2004           

Tasmania has been named as one of four hot spots for travel by the Association of British Travel Agents, alongside New Zealand, Croatia and Bulgaria. ABTA is Britain’s leading travel trade association, representing more than 90 per cent of the UK travel industry.

Voted Best Island by readers of Travel + Leisure, 2002           

Travel + Leisure (US) readers voted Tasmania the best island in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Tasmania was a close second, behind Bali, in the category of Best Island in the World. The magazine said:
‘Although its name still conjures images of convicts and devilish cartoon figures, these days Tasmania is earning a reputation for a mix of luxury and adventure.’

Voted World’s Friendliest Island by readers of Condé Nast Traveler, 2001  

Readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine have voted Tasmania the world’s friendliest island in the magazine’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards.
This is the third year running that Tasmania has received a significant accolade from the prestigious North American travel magazine. In 1999 and 2000, Tasmania was named the World’s Best Temperate Island. In 2001 Santorini scooped that award – Tasmania came seventh – but the state was named number one for friendliness.

Award-winning Restaurants

Launceston’s Stillwater River Café is a multi-award winning restaurant on the banks of the Tamar River. Chef Don Cameron and his team were the national winners of the Renault Haute Cuisine Best Restaurant Award (2001-2002), winner AHA/RCA awards for Best Fine Dining and Tasmanian Retaurant of the Year (2005) to name just a few.

Fee & Me in Launceston, three-time winner American Express Award for Best Tasmanian Restaurant (2000, 2001, 2002). RCA (Restaurant and Caterers Association) multi-award winning restaurant, including Best Restaurant Tasmania (1999, 2000, 2002, 2004) and Best Fine Dining Restaurant Tasmania  (1999, 2000, 2003).

Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine 2005 Australian Restaurant Guide, two stars awarded to Lebrina of Hobart, and Laucneston’s Fee & Me and Stillwater River Café also received two stars.

Hot Destination, Travel + Leisure, 2001

Travel + Leisure Magazine, January 2001 edition, lists Tasmania as number three in its 100 hottest destinations, after Copenhagen in Denmark and Treviso in Italy: ‘Our spies Down Under are reporting that Tasmania is the next hot eco-destination.’