We booked our reservation over the internet through the entertainment card website. I also rang to confirm our booking, which was confirmed. The hotel charged my credit card three weeks prior to our arrival which I thought was a bit odd. Anyway, on arrival we were told that we had accidentally been booked in the month earlier, and as we didnt turn up, they charged us for the room. The day we had actually booked for wasnt entered correctly, and so we had no where to stay. I had the proof that it was their mistake, as it was printed out from my email. The receptionist spent over an hour trying to find us somehwere to stay but everwhere was booked out. In the end we drove an hour and a half out of hobart and and had to pay a fortune for accomodation elsewhere. Rydges refunded us the money they had previously charged us but were unable to offer us anything else for the inconvenience they caused us, the extra costs we suffered and the stress we indured. We are a family of two adults with 3yr old twins. At one stage I thought we would be sleeping in the car. I am disgusted that they cant even offer us free accommodation in their hotel at a later date as a courtesy apology. I would never recommend them to anyone.

The motel is a bit out of Hobart. The front of house were very friendly and helpful however The hotel is a bit outdated being refurbished in 1989, but the brown of the tiles in the bathroom reminded me of the 1970's. A sign in the bathroom read that you could not have a shower with the door open as the fire alarm would be activated. The spa was not operational which was a bit disappointing. We got a good family deal where the "kids ate free" on wotif (same deal availble on the hotel website but when I tried to book though the website it didn't let me) which also included a buffet brekky. We took up the offer of the kids eating free for dinner in their restraunt, however, we were the only people eating there that Friday night.

I arrived at the hotel late in the afternoon which was perfect as it's on a bit of a hill away from the harbour and city and has a lovely view. The main building is historic (I think it used to be a school or something) which fit in with my concept of Tasmania as a quaint, historic location. The dining room was very quiet, but the steak was cooked perfectly and the girl serving was friendly. There was a small bar with a fireplace and the service was good old-fashioned friendly, and the other guests struck up conversation - a bit like staying in a B&B really. To be honest it was quite a refreshing change from the standard large city hotel. The room was larger than expected with a separate lounge and sleeping area. The bed was brilliant - looks like another hotel chain coming up with their own brand of bed but it was certainly the most comfortable hotel bed I've slept in. Top marks from me Rydges Hobart.

First for the good stuff...this hotel is close to some great North Hobart resturants, has ample car parking, a nice walk to the city (20 mins), lovely views and, in our experience, friendly generally helpful staff (although they wanted to charge us an upgrade fee to move us to another room when we expressed dissappointment at our room's very poor condition and cleanliness) ....it also has major potential to be a lovely graceful hotel...subject to a very very significant refit and refurb. On the bad side...we booked over the internet and, on arrival, felt that based on the very poor state of repair of our room, which was very run-down (marked & stained walls etc), dirty with very old appliances and very very dated (vintage not heritage) decor, we could certainly not recommend it to others (at least at the rates currently being charged). In our view the hotel was not of the quality advertised, and the value for money was bad. This is not a luxury hotel, if you want a romantic getaway it is definetley not recommended - it would suffice if you want a roof over your head for a night. We moved to another location the following day - $50 night cheaper and literally at least twice the quality right in the heart of Hobart's beautiful Battery Point. I would recommend consulting the Hobart Tourist Office and asking them to book you into a privately run B & B - you'll get much better value and not feel like you are staying in poorly maintained 1970's era country motel.

20 min walk to city centre, over half hour walk to Salamanca. All downhill, so it's an uphill walk on the way back. About 30-40min from airport ($50 taxi ride) Staff were friendly and efficient, but the room itself was sorely lacking. Maybe because we booked a standard room...we found it was desperately in need of renovations. Room was deary, carpet was really old, tiles were cracked and had grime stuck in it. Big patch of mould growing on shower ceiling. Fridge wasn't thoroughly cleaned. Was quite a dissappointment coming from the Rydges hotel chain.