We booked a river view room and although the room itself was fine, we were quite surprised that we had a great view of the neighbouring cement factory. We also found that the much publicised wharf "scene" was average at best and hardly "vibrant"; I would say "lacklustre" was more accurate.

This was not what we were expecting at all, I had visions of sitting by the river every night, drinking fine wine and Tassie beers and eating top class food amongst a good crowd, and spending quiet late afternoons after a days touring relaxing in my room, looking at the view. Well some of that I DID manage...

The room itself was very nice and subtly decorated, with a sweet little sitting area which to our surprise had a small fridge which meant we could have our own cold drinks. The water in the bathroom was replaced every night which in my experience doesn't always happen - nice touch. It WAS a nice place to while away an hour or so between touring and going out to dinner, but no view to gaze at - I should have saved money and asked for a "car park" view room.

The wharf area had a nice fish and ship restaurant which we ate at one night and enjoyed immensely, but the other restaurants and bars were a bit "blah" and we didn't bother.

I found the front desk staff to be helpful and friendly, but the desk is unmanned late at night.

My other niggle is the parking. You park outside in the public carpark and the hotel provides you with a pass. However one night our pass had fallen off of the dashboard and we got a ticket - which was patently issued about 1 minute after the warden came on duty and with no thought about whether the car belonged to a hotel guest. Yes, we should have checked that the pass could be seen but I would have thought, as the hotel has a log of car rego's, that this could have been checked. It was our last day and basically the ticket summed up the whole experience.

Overall there were too many issues - the lack of ambienece at the wharf, the cement factory views (just to the left of the edge of the photo of the hotel if you are interested, and believe me we walked along the wharf to check whether the photo was real or faked), the parking situation.

A "4" for the room but spoilt by little niggles which can't be changed, so couldn't even complain and give the staff a chance to fix it! Stay here if you want a nice room near to some OK eating places, and spend your days touring the wineries - oh, and don't waste money on a view as there isn't one!

Fantastic Hotel. As soon as I walked in the door I was greeted with quick, friendly service from ALL the staff. The room was great. Large King size bed, couch and large t.v. Also included great kitchenette facilities including toaster, crockery and cutlery. Magazines such as Delicious, Madison and Vogue were also in the room. This hotel made me feel less like I was in a hotel and had the feel of being at home which is great when you travel a lot. A great place to unwind and relax. Very close to town - one minute drive and five minute walk. Close to cafes and restaurants with great food and great service. I would definately stay here again.

We stayed 3 nights in a river view suite (level 2) which at the time was AUS$330 per night.

The bad:

The rack rate did not include car parking at $4 per day out the front of the accommodation in an open public car park (not secure). Why don't they include this in the room rate? So silly and immediately puts people off-side.

The view of the 'river' actually overlooked industry (see attached pics). They don't show you this in the advertising material, that's for sure!

The showerhead was TERRIBLE. Non-adjustable and very high up, it sprayed in a circle around my body, with no water in the centre - and made it almost impossible to wash my hair. The shower was also poorly designed and the water leaked out so much you ended up using the spare towels to mop up the flood.

The doors slamming from other adjoining rooms shook the walls of our apartment frequently! (This is the design of the doors, not guests fault - and very annoying)

Internet prices were astronomical. $9.95 for one hour - and $24.95 for the day. Are they kidding? Is this 1970? Needless to say we didn't use the internet here.

Gym is not included (of course, nothing is) and is AUS$11 per visit.

No pool.

The good:

The apartment was clean and felt very new.
The 'river' view, although not what I expected, was better than the view over the carpark ('city view' on the other side)
Being on the river was a nice location to walk around Launceston, because it still feel like you're getting away from it all at the end of the day.
Nice bars around the precinct.
Mud restaurant food was very nice (but on the downside relatively expensive and and staff were snotty)

Overall:

OK and new, but can't say they are offering the same level of service for the price as other hotels around the world.

We recently samples the Peppers Seaport Hotel in Launceston.

Our room was a very spacious one bedroom apartment with a balcony overlooking the river.

The only disturburbing aspect of our stay was the Tamar River . It really should not be called a river, rather a very muddy trickle..!!!

The Peppers Seaport was an absolute delight. Very modern with all amenities one could hope for and quite spacious.

We have, on a previous visit, stayed at Hatherley House and rest assured that all future visits to this little town will be spent at Peppers Seaport.