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History,architecture and design buffs alike will find a lot to enjoy at The Tasman,set within three adjoining buildings on Parliament Square,just a block back from Salamanca Place. The architects (fjmtstudio) and design consultants (Joseph Pang) behind Marriott International's first Luxury Collection hotel in Australia have reinvented,beautifully and sensitively,a former hospital,St Mary's (dating back to the 1840s) and an art deco wing that used to house various government departments including a printers office. The gleaming new steel and glass Pavilion completes the trifecta. You'll find smart,modern plaques with black and white photos and notes explaining the older buildings'storied past dotted around the hotel.
THE LOOK
The interior-design ethos of the Heritage,Art Deco and Pavilion buildings reflects their era but in a quiet way so that moving between them feels seamless. Warm tones,velvet cushions,Italian Frette bedlinen,marble bathrooms and intuitive technology feature throughout,whether you've got floor-to-ceiling harbour views from a Pavilion room or the gently curved furniture and geometric patterns of an art deco one. Works by local artists,Tasmanian wood and repurposed sandstone sit happily alongside state-of-the-art inclusions.
THE ROOM
I'm staying in one of the new suites,the St David's Park Suite,at one end of the Heritage building and,as the name suggests,with a quiet,leafy outlook. Generous proportions,high ceilings and huge windows combine with luxe furnishings to evoke the most covetable Manhattan or Milan apartment. An inviting lounge area with a press-of-a-button fireplace would be cosy on cooler days while the sleek four-poster bed is hard to leave. There is also an enormous walk-in wardrobe and an even bigger marble bathroom with a handcrafted blackwood timber bath. Bespoke toiletries from Grown Alchemist and Beauty&the Bees incorporate Tasmanian botanicals and honey.
If your preference veers more towards acres of sunlight and clean,modern lines,The Pavilion has two corner suites with expansive views as well as the rooftop Aurora Suite with its impressive outdoor terrace.
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