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We stayed at the Wrest Point Casino in Hobart from Friday 11 June 2010 until Monday 14 June 2010 in one of their executive suites in the Tower.

We arrived at about 8pm on the Friday night of the long weekend which, as you may envisage, was a pretty busy time for the reception and concierge staff who handled it all with ease and a politeness and correctness that was good to see. The check in was smooth and uncomplicated with no dramas.

The room on the 11th floor was immaculately clean and, as one would expect, the bathroom was also immaculately clean and well stocked with the usual soap, shampoo, conditioners, towels, face washers and sanitary sachets.

The tea and coffee making facilities were adequate with sixteen (until I stopped counting!) coffee and tea sachets - more than enough for the two of us (and we looooove our tea and coffee)!  Sufficient milk was supplied and the mini bar was well stocked had we desired a "quiet one".
The only disappointment was that there were no half bottles of Tasmanian wine in the mini bar. This of course could be that Tasmanian wineries don't supply them in that size but that is unknown at the time of writing.

The king size was bed was very comfortable and the pillow supply was plentiful. In fact, this was probably one of the more comfortable beds I have slept in while away from home and, as you can probably imagine, I have slept in a few! The room size was more than adequate for the two of us with a separate table and chairs and writing desk supplied.

The internet connection was fine and the "pay per use" card was well priced at $10 and easy to use and understand the instructions. Interestingly, there was an unsecured wireless network "booming in" from another motel across Sandy Bay Road but we chose to go with the in house secured and encrypted network for the online "sensitive" usage and used "the other mob's" unsecured network for any general browsing. Some people will never learn!!

The electricals all worked in the room and the light fittings were very modern and pleasant. One wonders how long it will be before they update the in room televisions to flat screens but, with that number of rooms, I guess it's something that will take a little time. The cable TV channel choice was adequate.

The elevators were also immaculately clean and the valet parking was efficient. If there were any improvements that could be made to the in-room side of things, it may be that a wider writing desk could be deployed in the room as, in this day and age of lap tops, the standard width writing table is always about 15 cms too narrow. Other than that - excellent. The room rate was $155.00 per night.

We ate on all three days at the casino's restaurants. On the evening of arrival we chose to go to their Coffee Shop buffet dinner "sitting" at a cost of $32.50 p.p.

We both agreed that for the quality of food available, this was good value. We enjoyed the sushi entree that we chose from the extensive range of entree-type offerings and picked and chose from the large range of salads available as a side to the sushi. The tandoori chicken and coconut rice was very pleasant as was the lightly curried beef. Neither of use tried the roasts that were available, even though the chef on duty tried his best to tempt us! It did look good. The batter on the fish was a tad tough but trying to keep battered fish warm is not the easiest of tasks and so may be forgiven as we were very late getting down to the coffee shop restaurant.

The sweets available were "death on stick" for determined dieters, especially the chocolate fountain that was tempting beyond belief. We both thought the cost of $32.50 was reasoned and value.

We had their breakfast buffet in the same venue the next morning. This was at a cost of $26.00 and, again, was excellent value. It was interesting to watch fellow diners appreciating the quality of the offerings including a few who obviously thought the 'all you can eat"  was a challenge, more than a description. It certainly set us up for a great day of touring the far south of the State!

On the second evening, we were both feeling like only a light snack and so settled for a visit to their Riverside Snacks area where she of exemplary taste had a burger and I was more than pleased with their fish and chips. With both meals only $9.75 we both thought they were great value. My only small criticism was the smallness of the lettuce and salad portion on the fish plate but, hey, at the price, you've won me! The fish and burger were both very well cooked from staff who, obviously by the weight of numbers, must work "flat chat" in the kitchen. Well done to them!

On the third evening, we indulged in the hospitality of the Loft Bistro and this was a real winner. Sally had the Fisherman's Basket and I settled for the Nachos. Both meals were well presented by friendly and polite staff and both were good value for money (around the $23 mark). The house red was adequate and selection of various beers was good.

We never got to the revolving restaurant which friends have described to us as "special" but we hope to next time around.

All of the prices quoted above were accurate at the time of writing (June 2010) and did not include Federal Rewards Club discounts which do reduce them further.

All in all, the room was excellent and accurately described as four and a half star, the staff were A1 and the restaurants were more than adequate. Worth a stay for a special weekend? You betcha!

Wrest Point Casino is in Sandy Bay Road, Hobart - a few minutes from the Hobart CBD and famed waterfront area and Salamanca Markets.

Peter & Sally Kaye, June 2010.