Hadley's Orient Hotel: Hobart, AUSTRALIA

Ahhhh... it has been such a long time since I've been down to Tasmania. I used to play with the Symphony orchestra down here when I was younger, and they would fly us down from the mainland to do some concerts and recordings. It was a great thing for a young musician to do, and I do remember how clean the air felt in comparison to the busier cities of Sydney and Melbourne where I was living at the time.

So, I was really happy when I saw that one of the groups that I was playing for would be doing a concert down in the southern-most state of Australia! And we would be put up in a quaint heritage listed hotel called Hadley's!

Walking into the reception is like stepping back in time! Of course, with a few modern amenities like power, sanitation, lifts, and all the rest of that nice stuff... but complete with creaky and uneven floorboards! The music that the pipe in is also really cool, older big band sorts of jazz... a bit off for the time period, but much better than the schlok that usually is used to create an atmosphere of sorts...

Hehe... the breakfast area! This is soooooo cool, it really feels like it should belong in a Poirot movie or something! A murder... and then everyone gathers here for the big reveal!

A well stocked bar is open in the evenings to relax and unwind after a long day of travel and rehearsals...

... along with a cosy lounging room attached if you don't want to sit at the barstools. I have the feeling that I should break out a deck of cards, a cigar, and a long smoking jacket for this area!

So, we move to the rooms, which are small but dripping in style! Well, you aren't living here, just spending the evenings... so, you don't need anything as fancy as a serviced apartment! I actually do prefer the smaller rooms... I always feel weird in a large apartment, as I don't trave with enough stuff to fill it out, and I end up using only a small part of the larger room anyway!

Hehe... I haven't seen such a funny welcome gift in ages!

Even the way that the little toiletries were presented was classy! Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing this sort of lid for the soaps of hotels.... it does stop them getting wet and slimy in the humidity of the bathroom before you have even used them! Or in my case, I pilfer them all to take back to my kids... why are kids so obsessed with things in small packages?

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good side for the outdoors view... but even still, I would definitely LOVE to be put up here again! I'm not sure that I would pay for it though... but that is the perks of being a travelling musician!