Strahan Village

Superior room had a really nice view out over the harbour. Room was large and comfortable and “electric fire” gave a nice feel at night. Easy to get to with parking just outside the door. Destination charger for the car was a bonus. Would have rated higher if facilities like lounge with wood fire and on site restaurants and bar were running not closed for the winter. Having to go down 75 steps and cross a road to get access to meals (including breakfast) wasn’t ideal. The steps ice up overnight and are extremely dangerous, so take extra care when heading down in the early morning (safer to drive down even though it’s not a distance). Actual room is a 4-5, but when lack of facilities are considered during the off season mor a 3-4. Would have no prob staying again in the future

Solid and enjoyable! Lovely location. During late autumn we stayed in the harbour-facing Gordon wing on the top floor, with matching views, be it from the balcony or inside! King-sized bed came in two mattresses, with a range of pillows, and additional cover over the doona. Slept very well. The room comes with a comfy shower, superb bathroom heating (even with one of the lamps requiring replacement, though it is an area showcasing some shoddy asset management type maintenance around a reinstalled toilet holder, overhead hatch, imprecise painting of door handle) and lighting. There’s an electric fire place in front of a sofa with blanky. Next to the bed is a table with chairs suitable for work. Powerpoints were readily accessible. Didn’t spot a safe. The usual coffee/ tea making facilities, provided filtered water and there’s a fridge/ minibar. Airco/ heating features a silent mode. Unfortunately the Wi-Fi featured an Aruba/ HPE captive portal with some daily quota, that we managed to hit without any streaming. Performance perfectly fine (on my dated tablet it did about 70 Mbps on the download according to Fast). Unlimited car parking on the property, some x hours of parking limitations around the Esplanade, where there’s a range of retail showing products from the region. There’s also a theatre and saw mill. Even in the off-ish season - occupancy from the lights on, cars parked seemed to be about 2/ 3s - there was enough for us to do, including Henty Dunes, Ocean Beach, Hogarth Falls (only a 2.4 km walk from the Esplanade), … The boat ride - with upper and lower level choices - from the terminal taking in Macquarie Harbour as far as the Hell’s Gates entrance was sheltered by Cape Sorrell, visit to the mid 1800s penal colony on Sarah Island, and disengaging the marine diesel for battery power up the Gordon River, part of the Southwestern World Heritage area encapsulating the Franklin - Gordon Rivers system. The guided tour featured both pre-recorded spiels and live commentary. (The enclosed photo/ map shows the extend of the area, including aquaculture.) The property provided a bunch of explore and adventure, history and heritage and food and beverage (numerous, though level 2 View 42 Degrees restaurant/ bar were closed the lounge was accessible, fireplace included, and it has a path back down to reception, especially in the area) suggestions. Near the Esplanade we found Hamer’s pub to be great value for money. (The Kitchen Cafe feels more like a lunch room, and could do with some greenery and decoration, but the service was quick and attentive, the food on par with that of the pub.) Ditto the Coffee Shack near the roundabout. Our best dining experience was at Charlotte’s at Franklin Manor, following a brief show around of lounge, billiards, cellar, essentially a French service interpretation using Australian produce. They did a set menu for about a dozen diners, with optional wines pairing. The not so good dining experience was at Risby Cove’s Restaurant where they seemed distracted by some non-performing ICT, despite being less than half full, and ran out of oysters and scallops by a little after 18:15, besides overcooking fish and being uncertain what to do with parsnip. The lamb was fine, unlike the truffle fries which were cold. The highlight was the desert (chocky brownie with ice cream). We didn’t get around to doing Zeehan. By way of Hamilton (pub/ post office/ cafe) we made our way to (snow along and some on the high way above about 600 meters)/ from Strahan (a travel guide apparently refers to it as ‘the best little town in the world’, we’ll be back one spring or summer possibly), Orange Pete’s in Queenstown, the potholes to the Pumphouse near Lake St Clair even.

Stayed in a family room, which was great, although the heater really needs upgrading.