Saffire Freycinet

Coles Bay, Tas saffire-freycinet.com.au

Perched on a comfy couch in Saffire Freycinet’s communal lounge, you feel like you’re suspended in a beautiful bird hide in the sky. Have the binoculars ready – swallows swoop past the three-storey steel-framed windows or a white-bellied sea eagle may glide by. Above is Earth’s moody blue roof, below is the watery expanse of Great Oyster Bay and, beyond that, the huddle of rocky peaks known as The Hazards. Tasmania’s East Coast has a natural allure. Still, all must compete with Saffire’s impressively opulent Signature Suites (top right). The size of a small cottage, they have a luxe double bathroom, an outdoor deck, Scandi-style décor and views of that mesmerising mountain landscape (Private Pavilions, right, have a plunge pool, too). Settle into the main lounge for pre-dinner drinks and canapés – here, the mood is set with gently flickering flames in a five-metre-long fireplace, the soothing sound of a triple-height water feature and a gloriously open bar. With a glass of Tassie’s finest in hand and the twilight unfolding before you, this kind of luxury might just prove to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Romance factor Dining With low lighting, white linen and impeccable food and service, the lodge’s Palate restaurant is elegance personified. Try the unctuous slow-braised mutton shoulder agnolotti with Jerusalem artichokes. You’ll love this... Dual rain showers and deep bathtubs screened by electric louvres open to reveal a Japanese-inspired courtyard with raked gravel and a pink-granite mountain vista.