Tasmania has a unique difference not offered in other Australian states – two riverfront cities situated at either end of the state, surrounded by lush green forest, wineries and heritage-listed buildings. Both cities offer top-class conference facilities and accommodation, award-winning dining experiences and hip and happening bars – entertainment for all tastes.
Country Club Tasmania, set on 125 hectares of rolling greens and native bushland just five minutes from the city centre of Launceston in the north; and Wrest Point perched on the edge of the Derwent River and the Henry Jones Art Hotel in the heart of Hobart’s waterfront precinct in the south, offer a multitude of choices for your next conference. All feature state of the art audio-visual equipment that is installed and operated on site, which has the potential to save you thousands on the bottom-line of your next conference.
The properties, experienced conference and event managers have a wide-ranging experience from small meetings to large-scale multi-day conferences, trade shows, indoor and outdoor functions and off-site ancillary events.
Country Club Tasmania has had a significant property refurbishment in the past five years placing it at the forefront of conference offerings in the north of the state. There is a range of accommodation including 5-star Manor suites and one, two and three-bedroom villas, ten conference rooms, five restaurants, three bars, gym, pool and spa and a boutique casino. All of this is surrounded by an 18-hole championship golf course, tennis courts, Arabian horse paddocks and natural bushland. Highlights include the multi-award winning Terrace Restaurant, which has set a new benchmark for dining in what is well-reputed as Tasmania’s foodie capital with two goblets from international wine bible Wine Spectator in its annual wine list awards (only ten Australian restaurants were given this honour), and respected Australian Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine naming The Terrace as having the best wine list in Tasmania for 2008.
Interesting recent additions include the Melbourne-designed Tonic Bar, which features possibly the most extensive and impressive range of wines and beers in the state with eight local, national and international beers on-tap plus more than 15 others by the bottle, an extensive wine list by the bottle or glass, a large selection of spirits and liqueurs and a very popular international cocktail list.
This is matched in the south with Wrest Point also installing the new Onyx bar by the same Melbourne-based architects, who also designed The Botanical and Press Club restaurants and the Victorian Wine Precinct in Melbourne.
Having been at the forefront of Tasmanian accommodation for 35 years and conference facilities for the past 25 years, Wrest Point has not rested on its reputation and continues to add to its impressive list of offerings. The iconic tower accommodation has almost completed a refurbishment of all rooms, including 5-star suites and 4.5-star tower deluxe rooms, adding to its 4-star Water Edge rooms and 3.5 star Mountain Side accommodation which have also been upgraded in the past four years.
The Onyx bar completes three floors of high-class wining and dining that make an impressive entry to the Conference Centre, which can now be accessed through a separate walkway from the gaming floors of the property’s boutique casino. Wrest Point features ten conference and meeting rooms catering for two to 1,600, exhibition space and extensive grounds for outdoor functions.
Wrest Point’s water-borne precinct incorporates The Henry Jones Art Hotel providing a unique option for off-site functions and combined conferences and events. The Art Hotel is an impressive property in its own right, a row of historic 1820s warehouses and a former IXL jam factory transformed into a first-class hotel showcasing the work of Tasmania’s finest visual artists.
The 56-room hotel boasts sumptuously furnished bedrooms and stainless steel and translucent glass bathrooms featuring the latest in European elliptical spa baths and fittings. The IXL Atrium is an impressive space featuring 780 pieces of glass tensioned by stainless steel cable and supported by a Tasmanian oak frame, set three stories above part of the original jam factory that has been converted into a spectacular event space. This is complimented by The Jones & Co room and Art Installation suite for smaller group meetings and functions.
With the additional flexibility of incentive group options and pre and post-conference touring to some of Australia’s most picturesque locations, Strahan, Cradle Mountain and Freycinet, and Tasmania’s compact nature and temperate island lifestyle, you will never want to leave.