The Henry Jones Art Hotel, Hobart review: Stay in a revived jam factory

The Location

Beside Victoria Dock on Hobart's historic harbourside, where the settlement of Hobart town began. A salty precinct, where wheeling gulls preside over a working fishing fleet, tourism outlets and restored warehouses from the 1820s.

The place

The hotel spans a row of revived warehouses that once housed Tassie's iconic IXL jam factory. The hotel was named for one-time factory worker Henry Jones, who rose from sticking labels on jam tins to running an empire involving jam, fruit, timber, shipping and mining. Most rooms and suites offer water views; others overlook the preserved IXL Atrium, or show glimpses of the old jam factory's rough-hewn interior. The spacious rooms blend weathered beams and crumbling bricks with stylish décor. The hotel has an in-house restaurant and bar.

The experience

The hotel showcases many works by local painters, sculptors and artisans, and is itself an award-winning feat of creative architecture. All rooms exhibit original artworks, most of which can be purchased, while furniture and fittings - making use of Tasmania's famous timber veneers - are part of the theme merging history with a sense of place and cultural identity. Signs dotted about the place recall the days when the jam factory was "heavy with the fragrance of boiling fruit, [and its] floor slippery with spilt jam".

Don't miss

Hobart offers a range of local art and craft galleries. Cruises of the Derwent River depart from nearby docks, and there is a range of typically creative local eateries to check out while strolling the waterfront precinct.

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