Star Bar Cafe and Hotel

My brother and I and our partners had lunch here in April. Menu had a great selection and reasonably priced. Service was friendly, welcoming and quick. Food was tasty and well received. Recommend.

A cautionary tale. Comparisons to Fawlty Towers are often made in light of inept or poor customer service. But Fawlty Towers was funny. In a lifetime of hospitality I have never witnessed such truly terrible customer service as was received at Star Bar. The occasion was Red Hot Summer Tour with a stellar line up featuring Paul Kelly, Missy Elliot, and Kasey Chambers. A lot of people were drawn to Launceston for it so accommodation options were limited. Nonetheless reading through the details for Star Bar it seemed to fit our needs and budget in a central location. I’d rung the week before to request an earlier check in of 1pm so we could catch the start of the festival. Not a problem I was told. On arrival the manager though was instantly rude towards me as if booking in an hour early was a huge inconvenience. I later learned he had also growled at our neighbours for arriving early as the staff were under the pump attending to the two tables of diners in the restaurant. A demand of placing a hold on a credit card was made in case we damaged something, this was not communicated beforehand. Nonetheless I let it slip, we were keen to have a cuppa after the long drive and figured we wouldn’t have to deal with him again once booked in and headed up to our room. Five minutes later I was downstairs again for another conversation. Firstly, there was no television as advertised, just an empty bracket on the wall. He countered that they had removed all the televisions from the rooms as they were a safety hazard, liable to somehow fall off the wall and launch themselves towards hapless travellers. Secondly there was no tea and coffee making facilities as advertised. Not even a kettle or a microwave. He insisted they had also been taken away as a safety measure. Someone could contaminate them was the claim. Instead we were welcome to purchase hot drinks and meals downstairs at full price. Thirdly no cups, glasses, or cutlery. Once again he was looking out for our wellbeing it seems as these common hotel items could definitely cause harm. Such kindness. I asked if we could have a couple of glasses from the bar to at least have tap water but alas this was also potentially dangerous and we could purchase bottles of water instead. No plastic cups were available it seems but I did spot some takeaway coffee cups behind the bar which he grumpily gave me two of. There was also no cover to the toilet seat, no shampoo or conditioner, and the place was filthy. I pointed out that all these things were advertised when I made the booking. He retorted that they were all recent changes made afterwards and was unfazed by my showing them still being advertised on the booking website. I asked a number of times if we could have some compensation for this, even a couple of drinks would have repaired some of the trust. But alas his mantra of ‘It is what it is’ was repeated ad nauseum. The hospitality industry is suffering at the moment and things will likely get worse as the fuel crisis hits. There is absolutely no excuse for providing this abysmal customer service though, it effects the industry as a whole when other travellers recount stories of their experiences in Tasmania. Give me Fawlty Towers please, at least Basil tried.

Parking is an issue here if you don't like paying (and I don't). After 5:30 pm and before 9am it's all free, but in business hours you need to constantly move the car to avoid paying the ridiculous parking fees. That's the downside. The upside is the location in the heart of the city, close to shops, restaurants, etc. The hotel itself is on top of a pub / cafe / restaurant (didn't eat there so no comments). The room was basic but did the job for one night, so value for money. By their own admission, noise levels can be an issue from live bands on weekends (we were there on a Monday) so probably not great for families.