This lovingly restored Tassie cottage is a vintage design dream

Lara PiconeBy Lara Picone
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Live out your vintage design dreams in this beautifully restored Tassie cottage.

Perched prettily in a tree-lined street in the fringing suburb of West Hobart, a stay at Lumière Lodge is akin to style nirvana for those with a penchant for vintage aesthetics. A Pinterest board rendered real, owners Kerran and Sam have infused their heart and soul into the restoration of this storybook three-bedroom Victorian cottage. Carefully and faithfully acknowledging the past, while still somehow imbuing it with a softly contemporary feel.

At Lumière, the ritual of arrival has been purposefully planned to transport guests to a bygone era. Billie Holiday’s velvet croons (side tip: be sure to follow Lumière’s Spotify playlists) welcome in tandem with a gently glowing fire warming the dining and kitchen space. Here a provincial English aesthetic is folded into the cottage’s original architecture and interspersed with hand-chosen vintage oil paintings, quirky taxidermy animals and strategically placed silk bows.

Exterior of Lumière Lodge. (Image: Lean Timms)
The luxury cottage stay, Lumière Lodge. (Image: Lean Timms)

Large French windows, Neff appliances, a deeply generous marble-topped bench and an abundance of elegant vintage crockery, flatware and glassware practically beg the instigation of an impromptu dinner party. While by morning, the soft Tasmanian sun filtering into the space through the flagstone courtyard’s deciduous trees welcomes hands cocooned around coffee cups and croissant crumbs brushed away.

Fresh bread and jams for breakfast at Lumiere Lodge
Breakfast is best enjoyed in the light-filled kitchen. (Image: Lean Timms)

Set off from the original hallway, each room is a vignette seemingly styled for a specific moment. In the front study, one imagines enjoying a fireside glass of burgundy from the cellar while reading amid a pastiche of art and paraphernalia. A cosy lounge area with chestnut leather sofa and velvet wingback armchair invites whisky-sipping, walnut-cracking (from a bowl overflowing with the nuts), and deep conversation. It’s a room where it feels you might solve worldly issues or unearth a richer appreciation for your fellow guests.

The fireplace at Lumiere Lodge
A fireside chat doesn’t get cosier than this. (Image: Lean Timms)

During the restoration, a 1960s-era extension was demolished to make way for a more sympathetic and usable layout, while rooms were rearranged and repurposed, such as the original dining room, which became the main bathroom. This large, pink-drenched space is ambiently lit for enjoying a bath by a beautiful stained-glass window tenderly reinstalled from elsewhere in the cottage.

The pink bathroom at Lumiere Lodge in Hobart
Bathe beside the stained glass window in this pink-washed delight. (Image: Lean Timms)

Take the petite staircase upstairs to the dollhouse-like attic where a third, and comprehensively dusty-pink bedroom, complete with a compact bathroom, is an elegant retreat. It perhaps would have made an appropriate dressing room for a visiting 1920s Hollywood starlet with its gorgeous claw-foot bathtub positioned for a soak and a stargaze. Having been lowered in through the sash window by crane, while guided by hand, the bath’s existence here is a testament to the dedication Kerran and Sam have given to creating moments of exquisite detail at Lumière Lodge.

The bedroom attic at Lumière Lodge.
The doll-house-like bedroom in the attic. (Image: Lean Timms)

What’s there to do at Lumière Lodge?

The white timber cottage is the perfect place to relish cool Tassie evenings by one of the beautifully restored original fireplaces. This gorgeous stay enables guests to simply be together – reading, cooking, chatting or just silently connecting. You can also opt in for The Lumière Luxury experience, which is an evening hosted by chef Lilly Trewartha that includes a multiple-course, full-service dinner party.

Table set for a dinner party at Lumière Lodge
Dinner parties are anything but casual at Lumière Lodge. (Image: Lean Timms)

What does staying at Lumière Lodge cost?

Expect to pay from $600 per night for 1–2 people. This rate increases by $100 per person, per night ($1000 per night for the whole home). However, in the off-season (during late winter and early spring), you can expect a lower rate.

The kitchen at Lumiere Lodge in Hobart
Lumière Lodge served as the perfect base for exploring Hobart. (Image: Lean Timms)
Lara Picone
Working for many of Australia’s top publications, Lara Picone has had the distinct pleasure of writing, editing and curating content about the finer things in life for more than 15 years. Graduating from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, her editorial foundation began at Qantas: The Australian Way magazine, before moving on to learn the fast-paced ropes of a weekly magazine at Sunday Magazine and picking up the art of brand curation at donna hay magazine. Pivoting a near-problematic travel lust into a career move by combining it with storytelling and a curious appetite, her next role was as Deputy Editor of SBS Feast magazine and later Online Editor of SBS Food online. She then stepped into her dream job as Editor of Australian Traveller before becoming Online Editor for both International Traveller and Australian Traveller. Now as a freelancer, Lara always has her passport at-the-ready to take flight on assignment for the Australian Traveller team, as well as for publications such as Qantas Magazine, Escape and The Weekend Australian. As ever, her appetite is the first thing she packs.
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I checked into Hobart’s most delicious hotel and didn’t want to leave

    Rachael ThompsonBy Rachael Thompson
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    Welcome to Hotel Addict, a monthly column where I check into Australia’s best hotels, exploring not just the rooms, but the stories, service and settings that make each stay unforgettable and worth adding to your wishlist.

    I arrive at The Tasman in Hobart at 10pm. Two McLaren 620Rs are parked out front, and a welcome cup of mulled wine – made from local chardonnay, not red wine – lands in my hand. It’s already clear this isn’t your average hotel stay. The last time I was in the Tassie capital was in 2022, when my family stayed at MACq 01 and cheered on my brother-in-law who raced in the Sydney to Hobart. This time, I’m moving away from one of my favourite Australian hotels and checking into this award-winning stay. 

    What I love most about Tasmania is the dedication to good produce. Farmers, chefs and locals alike create and grow some of the country’s finest offerings – plump oysters, world-class gins, irresistible cheese and fresh berries. And much of it can be savoured from the comfort of the unique accommodations peppered across the island, each impressing with its attention to detail. Perhaps none do it as well as this month’s chosen hotel, though. 

    Having opened its doors in December 2021, The Tasman was named in The World’s 50 Best Hotels list for 2024, putting Hobart firmly on the map for international travellers. Visitors and locals are also drawn to its onsite restaurant Peppina, an Italian eatery helmed by Tassie-born and Napoli-raised chef Massimo Mele, whose food philosophy centres on using the best produce, simply.

    The view from the The Aurora Suite at The Tasman
    The hotel is a short walk from Salamanca Place, the waterfront and Battery Point.

    The building is located in the heart of Hobart CBD in the Parliament Square precinct – a short walk from the waterfront – making it a convenient base for exploring the city. Designed by Sydney-based architects fjcstudio with heritage guidance from Design 5 and interior design practice JPDC, the project involved melding and restoring three distinct architectural styles – 1840s Georgian, 1940s Art Deco and the new Contemporary Pavilion – while celebrating the city’s maritime heritage. The result is an elegant fusion of heritage character and modern sophistication. 

    There are 152 rooms and suites divided into Heritage, Art Deco, and Pavilion. My room is in the Heritage part of the building and features dramatic ceilings, a mini bar stocked with local treats and a huge marble-swathed bathroom with an enticing freestanding bath and Tasmanian dairy cream and leatherwood honey soap. 

    I decide to order room service since the onsite speakeasy, Mary Mary, is closed and I don’t have a dinner reservation. The late-night menu tempts with seafood chowder served with crusty bread and a ham and cheese toastie – but whenever I see a cheese plate, I can’t resist. Have I ever had a truly great one in a hotel? Not even in Bordeaux. But this time, it’s different: the spread is beautifully presented with thinly sliced apple and pear, three local cheeses, honey and an assortment of crackers made onsite. I pair this with a gin and tonic made with Forty Spotted Classic Tassie Gin and Tasmanian Tonic Company gin – it’s my perfect night in.

    Forty Spotted Gin and Tasmania Tonic Company tonic at The Tasman
    The minibar is stocked with local treats. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

    The next morning, I opt for the buffet breakfast. Hotel buffets can be hit or miss, and I generally see them as a waste of money, but my sister claimed the offering at Peppina was her favourite she’s ever had. Coincidentally, one of her closest friends is in town for a conference and, having stayed here before, chose The Tasman and breakfast at Peppina again; more assurance of its deliciousness.

    The space is light and bright with two productive olive trees boosting the mood. I load up a plate of chickpeas, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach, pickles, the world’s creamiest mushroom quiche and slices of cheddar. A bit unconventional, but it’s all perfect, and I’m convinced this is the best breakfast I’ve ever had. I finish with a pear and lemon pastry, which is on par with the baked goods I savoured on a recent trip to France. 

    Peppina restaurant at The Tasman
    Peppina celebrates seasonal Tasmanian produce.

    I spend the rest of the morning and afternoon walking around Salamanca Markets and the waterfront areas in the historic Sullivans Cove precinct, enjoying 12 Bruny Island oysters for just $20 – a steal! Back at the hotel, I squeeze in a quick gym session. It’s small, but the preserved sandstone walls give it a unique charm that makes the workout feel more like a novelty rather than a chore. 

    There’s no spa or swimming pool onsite – a disappointment I have to admit – but what it does have is a wine cellar and that might excite me even more. The cellar is stocked with Tassie drops as well as notable international bottles. During my tasting I decide to stick with local sips, which will be paired with a charcuterie plate, and to my delight, another cheese plate. Our sommelier Adrian guides us through eight different wines, including a very tasty 2023 Syrah, Bubb + Pooley and a 2024 Pinot Noir, Stoney Rise. The region is known for its cool-climate wines, especially sparkling wine and Pinot Noir, and Adrian’s animated commentary on each pour transforms the tasting into a performance. That or the wine is just working its magic…

    A cheese plate and wine glasses lined up in a wine cellar at The Tasman
    Sample Tassie drops in the wine cellar. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

    I make the tipsy pilgrimage back to Peppina to try their dinner offering. I dive into a memorable line-up of kingfish ceviche, Bruschetta al Tonno, and gnocchi with pink oyster, nameko mushrooms, mushroom-celeriac broth and parmesan cream. Retreating to my ultra-comfy bed and almost eerily quiet room, the blend of character and comfort makes me feel like there’s nowhere I’d rather be after a full day of eating and exploring.

    Although part of the Marriott family, The Tasman’s respect and celebration of its location allows it to exude personality and charm, making it feel worlds away from the impersonal atmosphere often found in large hotels. Where many hotel kitchens are fine but forgettable, The Tasman stands out for its dedication to great produce. And with rooms starting from $300 per night, it offers luxury at a more attainable price.

    Details

    Address: 12 Murray St, Hobart TAS 7000

    Best for: Couples, foodies and design-savvy travellers.

    Family-friendly?: Yes

    Accessibility: The Tasman has a number of accessible rooms for each room type.

    Parking: Paid parking is available.