Moss hotel

A STYLISH Hobart boutique hotel is the PERFECT new arrival in PITCH and TONE.

GREEN IS A COLOUR readily associated with Tasmania: it’s there in the verdant landscape and dense swathes of old-growth forest, and it’s implied in the fresh-air-fed lifestyle lived by its eco-conscious inhabitants.

So it seems fitting that the latest boutique hotel to join the small but impressive roster of design-driven properties in our southernmost state should come with a name evocative of its surroundings: Moss Hotel.

Retrofitted into two historic Georgian buildings on the waterfront of Hobart’s Salamanca Place (number 25 was built in 1841 by a former convict to be used as a grain store while number 39, built in 1835, started its life as a wine and spirit store, and has remained a hotel ever since), access is gained through a green glass door that hints at the experience to come.

Climbing the sandstone-lined staircase, a cosy lounge space that effectively serves as the property’s reception opens up in front of you. With its subdued lighting and requisite open fire burning low, the area envelops guests rather than merely welcoming them. More sandstone and original wooden beams above are rustic yet proud, evoking the storied history of the building, and the inclusion of a large woven wool wall hanging, rendered in various shades of green, introduces a soft, tactile focal point.

Check-in is a casual affair, all the better to hasten the arrival into one of the property’s 41 rooms. Pushing open the door, the interiors are sleek and well formed. There is ample use of warm wood in the fittings (produced by local artisans) throughout, contrasted against dark walls, and with lighting that enhances the feel created by all of the complementary elements.

A generous king-size bed dominates the space, while a duo of locally made chairs have a retro Scandi vibe, with tones of green used on the upholstery, and layered with fluffy sheepskins.

While the rooms are arresting on their own, it is the bathrooms that really stand out: covered from floor to ceiling in glossy green ceramic tiles laid out in a mesmerising chevron pattern, offset with pearly-white basins and soaking tubs.

After lavishing so much attention on the decor throughout (including a lush plant wall), you would understand if the incidental touches weren’t such a focus, but that’s not so: in-room stationery comes in the form of a notebook covered by vintage images and swatches of green, while bedside tables are set with crisp fresh apples, yet another element confirming Moss Hotel’s sense of place.

Hobart is no longer playing second fiddle to mainland cities when it comes to eating out, with an abundance of top-flight cafes, restaurants and bars to choose from.When in town, head to

for breakfast, where the space is tiny but flavours are big; grab coffee at North Hobart favourite score baked goods at Battery Point’s book a table at vibrant for its Asian fusion menu and clever cocktails; try for Italian with a hint of Japanese; and feast onTasmanian comfort food at in the Henry Jones Art Hotel.

TRY A SUBURBAN ESCAPE

Nowhere is it written that a weekend away requires booking a hotel room in a far-flung country town or smack in the middle of the city. The rise in the number of swish accommodations taking up residence in unassuming innerand outer-city suburbs is a trend to get onboard with; the room tariffs are often slightly more reasonable than in flashy city hotels and you get to live like a local for a while, discovering places you might never have thought to explore. Here, some suburban stays worth investigation.

MARSDEN HOTEL, BURWOOD

Located in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Burwood, this boutique hotel (below) boasts understated luxury appointments and a range of destination eateries and bars including pretty-in-pink patisserie Artisaint and the rooftop Skye Bar, complete with pool and stunning views.

Combing a heritage home with a sleek new build, this 26-room boutique hotel on Sydney’s North Shore offers stylish interiors and access to all the beaches, cafes and shopping the area has to offer, plus Taronga Zoo down the road.

THE ALBERT, MOSMAN

Retrofitted into a row of terrace houses in the funky Sydney suburb of Potts Point, the boutique property has 16 rooms and four suites, all fitted out in a restive, muted palette with splashes of blue and green to complement the dreamy, watery works by Sydney artist Martine Emdur hung throughout.

SPICERS POTTS POINT HOTEL CHADSTONE MELBOURNE – MGALLERY BY SOFITEL

Located adjacent to the designer-filled Chadstone – The Fashion Capital shopping centre, this luxury property (above), some 17 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, has two chic dining spaces, a heated indoor pool and a Holism Retreat day spa.

ZAGAME’S HOUSE, CARLTON

The focus of this 97-room hotel is on all things design, with a side of sustainability for good measure. There’s a cosy street-side cafe, an art-daubed rental car – Freya the Fiat – available for guest use and a fur-friendly policy throughout.

THE WILLIAM INGLIS – MGALLERY, WARWICK FARM

Overlooking the track at Warwick Farm, this equine-themed five-star hotel boasts luxuriously appointed rooms, an extensive health and wellness centre, a restaurant, cafe and bar, and stables, of course.

TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Living out your wildest dreams in the middle of the city is a cinch at Taronga Zoo Sydney’s luxe eco-conscious Wildlife Retreat. Comprising 62 rooms, the retreat, owned and operated by the Taronga Conservation Society Australia, offers privileged access to the zoo’s inhabitants, while promoting an agenda that leans satisfyingly towards education, conservation and sustainability.

Considerable time and effort has been lavished on getting things right so as not to dilute the long-term objectives of the property, with the five low-rise lodges – designed by leading Australian creatives Cox Architecture – sitting lightly in their environment. Reconstituted timber and metal were used in their construction and plentiful sandstone and native plantings soften the built edges; the property is targeting a five-star Green Star rating.

While the communal hub of the property is the ‘nest’, a central lounge bathed in natural light and looking out to million-dollar views of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and city skyline through floor-to-ceiling windows, its heart and soul is the Sanctuary, a purpose-designed and built native habitat created exclusively for guests.

It is here that you can interact with a cuter-than-cute array of Australian native animals (led by zookeepers), including two resident echidnas (old man Robbie and the younger Wednesday), Tammar wallabies, a red-necked pademelon and koalas. And it is also here that the strength of the message being told at the Wildlife Retreat becomes clear: with the privilege of access comes the responsibility to protect and safeguard these creatures and their environment for generations to come.

PERTH HAS BEEN GOING through quite the transformation in the last year, with long-planned development finally coming to fruition across the city. From new five-star hotels to refurbished classics, it’s time to reassess a weekend away in the City of Lights (fact: Perth earned this nickname in 1962 when residents turned on their lights so that astronaut John Glenn could see them from space as he orbited in the

Friendship

As well as boasting 205 rooms and suites, a slick rooftop bar and outdoor heated infinity pool, the late 2019 arrival of the luxe Ritz-Carlton brand also added another destination diner to the city’s roster: Hearth, overseen by executive chef Jed Gerrard, serves up a modern Aussie menu utilising plentiful seasonal Western Australian ingredients.

THE RITZ-CARLTON, PERTH

Celebrated street artist Matt Adnate is the namesake of this 250-room hotel, which is impossible to miss on the inner-city skyline due to its monumental 25-storey exterior mural.

ART SERIES – THE ADNATE

The grand heritage-listed Royal Hotel, originally built in 1882, has been meticulously restored and renovated, resulting in a venue that presents as much like a gallery as it does a pub. The 50-seat Fleur restaurant is a local hit.

With 80 locations in Japan and three in the US, Furaibo makes its Australian debut in Perth’s Raine Square, serving up its crowd-pleasing menu of izakaya dishes, including its signature tebasaki (chicken wings).

FURAIBO

This restaurant, lounge bar and gardens are housed on the site of the 120-year-old Coogee Hotel in the southern coastal suburb of the same name. The menu is filled with dishes made from the produce grown on site.

Having designed bars throughout Asia, Ashley Sutton returned to Fremantle to open (after three years in the making) this micro bar with interiors referencing the below deck on a ship from the 1800s.

DARLING, DARLING

The first synagogue in Perth, built in 1902, the Fremantle Synagogue now houses a collection of bars and dining spaces, including the hidden basement bar, accessed through a fake library wall.

Relaunched into Fremantle Harbour after renovations to give it a retro 80s-diner feel, the pick of the menu is the $6 fish wings platter, sprinkled with one of the at least eight different salts created in-house.

KAILIS FISH MARKET