The Florance

We’d booked the Florence as part of a long awaited holiday from the UK, but had our flight from Sydney to Tasmania cancelled at 6.00am the morning we were travelling and already at the airport with no alternatives for travel that day. We called at 6.30am to explain the position but we’re told very curtly that reception didn’t open until 9.00am and to send a message or email. Understanding that we were out side the standard cancellation period of 7 days, we wanted to explain the situation rather than message/email so waited until later in the morning. There was no leeway despite the circumstances except an alternative date or a credit, both unlikely to be used as we’re UK based, and no compromise as we’d used ***********. It was suggested we claim on our travel insurance (amount would be net of the excess) or from the airline. The reason a exception could not be made was that ‘we’re on an island and a small business who’s been effected by Covid’. Covid effected everyone and was ages ago so the only result here is the hotel gets to possibly rebook the room and we are left out of pocket for no reason of ours and fighting it out with the airline. If this hotel is trying to ‘recover’ they need to be more accommodating of special circumstances! Be aware!!

What a great find this was - thanks to Trip Advisor. It fully lived up to expectations. Although our room was overlooking one the the main roads into Launceston, it was very quiet both day and night. The CBD and the majority of its restaurants were no more than 2 blocks away, with plenty of choice. A perfect place to stay if in Launceston.

Stayed here on two occasions, once at the beginning of our two week trip to Tasmania and once at the tail end. The hotel is in a beautiful building in a convenient location and our room (king sized) was at the front of the hotel (across from the city's central park) on a relatively busy street. Despite this, there was no street noise and we had a comfortable stay. Breakast appeared to be the same each day, with a bag available in the conservatory that consisted of a banana, apple, breakfast bar and muesli. Self serve coffee and tea service were available. Between 8 and 9 am you could get soft or hard boiled eggs, toast and avocado. I should note that we had to do a last minute cancellation of our original booking in April as we we had some difficulties with an ETA, and Kate gave us credit for our stay minus a 25% cancellation fee as she said *********** would charge her a 15% cancellation fee and she needed to charge another 10% for administrative costs. Travelers should also be aware that the hotel is not always staffed and when we arrived there was a sign on the door to call a number to gain the access code for the hotel. We, however, did not have the ability to call an Australian number, but fortunately there was someone there who could let us in. while staying at the hotel, we also enjoyed a pub (whose name I forget) that is just down the street. There are numerous restaurants available within walking distance and there is plenty of free parking at the hotel.