Villa Howden

Conviniently located only 15 minutes from Hobart this unique boutique hotel is a gem. We stayed at Villa Howden for 5 nights and absolutely loved every aspect of it. They maintain very high stabdards with regards to the cleanliness and staff are super friendly and always try to go the extra mile (Sarah is a superstar) to help their guests. Also not to forget they do a very good beakfast here as well. Would definitely recommend to anyone and will definitely be back when we are in Hobart again.

Very poor service. Was ‘upgraded’ to a waterfront view and all we could see was a table that had used glasses sitting there all night/morning. The room had two single beds pushed together and my partner and I had three pillows to use between us. Very uncomfortable sleep for both my partner and I. The place has potential however is not maintained very well. Is not worth what one pays there for a nights stay.

Cute boutique accom with French inspired decor, water views and friendly service.
We enjoyed the plated breakfast (not buffet), boardgames room and a nice cocktail by the fireplace.
Do note that there are no escalators which may be an issue for some people.

A very disappointing stay here for our anniversary, certainly not a 5 star hotel. The lock on our door was broken, so we had no privacy. No dinner or high tea available, despite advertisement on booking.com. Charged for a complimentary bottle of wine. Toilet was dirty, bed frame painted on the wall. Pool has terrible smell from the bins next door. No meaningful solution offered and no attempt at a refund or discount. Would not recommend staying here until it undergoes significant renovation.

Stunning villa & gorgeous room. Staff were very helpful & attentive. Had high tea for two to celebrate anniversary which was delightful and they organised an in house massage as well. Dinner was great though maybe the set price was a bit dear for the size of the meals. Grounds were beautiful but definitely need a bit of attention to bring up to the standard they should be. Would definitely go back! Loved our stay!

The positives: the room was nice and the bed comfy. Amenities in the room were good and the view lovely.

The negatives: we waited for dinner service for 3.5 hours for a 4 course meal (and one of the courses was oysters.which don't require actual cooking). Also, according to Villa Howden, a rack of lamb is one solitary sad shank.even the waitress confirmed this. Other couples ended up leaving when their food didn't turn up for over an hour!

Meals were in general slow and disappointing for a 5 star boutique hotel.

Sound insulation in our room was almost non existent. We could hear a couple in the room below getting amorous and dinner service being cleared away from 3 floors above.

Verdict: overall it didn't seem to live up to a 5 star rating and price was steep for the disappointing meals

Beautiful hotel, room and service were very good. We were there in the lockdown and the staff went out of their way to make the time spent in lockdown as pleasant as possible.

Everything was pleasant and enjoyable about our stay in the Delux Villa Suite - Water View. We had a very comfortable bed and atmosphere. Everything we needed was close by and convenient. The pool was out of order while we stayed there however we have access to it for free once it is working again. So overall, very happy and highly recommend for a comfy and unique stay.

We recently stayed at Villa Howden to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. It was like arriving at a Tuscan Villa and we loved the clean and well appointed room. The view of the water and sound of birds chirping from our room was very relaxing. Thankyou for a lovely stay.

What a beautiful place Villa Howden is. The premises, food and staff were all lovely could not have asked for a better weekend away (all the way from Brisbane).

We had an excellent high tea - for 10 - including a little one of three.
Lovely surroundings - class of it's own. Tasty morsels of sweet and savoury fingerfood - yet filling. Gardens to wander in with French design to complement the buildings.
Service exemplary.
NB - no paper towels in bathroom - Rather - individual cloth towels! Never had that before.
Highly recommend

Thank you for a brilliant stay and for an upgrade to a water view room. Everything was just lovely - the room, the common areas, the dinner, the breakfast, the service and the pool - highly recommend a stay here!

Unable to go to Europe for our honeymoon, we thought a French Villa for our first stop would be lovely, and Villa Howden exceeded expectations! We were very lucky to receive a free upgrade to the Tower Suite as other guests had sadly cancelled due to lockdowns. Would highly recommend booking this room outright, it's such a beautiful and comfy space.

The common area with games and fire place, all with French furniture, is stunning and a lovely place to have dinner and port by the fire.

The staff were super friendly and attentive, bringing us water, glasses for our port and everything we could need before we even thought to ask! We were recommended to visit Robbie Brown's for dinner one night and would highly recommend there too, delicious and great value!

We honestly felt like royalty at Villa Howden and would go back in a heartbeat.

Beautiful location, building and surrounds. Very attentive service without being intrusive. A thoroughly enjoyable stay.

We had a very enjoyable and relaxing stay at Villa Howden. The surroundings are stunning, the service is excellent. Highly recommended!

I had an excellent 3 night stay here with my wife for a wedding anniversary. Great location, quiet and secluded, but only 15 minutes from Hobart and 15 minutes to the Kettering ferry (to Bruny Island). The room was good and the staff were unobtrusive, but very helpful when we needed anything. The communal fireplace/lounge and library/games rooms were a great place to relax over a boardgame or glass of wine in the winter evenings. The included breakfasts were good without being spectacular, but we really enjoyed our dinner experience: 4 course meal - soup, oysters, steak, dessert and glass of wine at under $70 per person (dinner only available Wednesday-Sunday and bookings required). Overall a lovely experience despite some of the negative reviews. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a quiet, more intimate hotel/holiday experience and in our experience well worth the price we paid.

This was a beautiful and tranquil retreat. Staff could not have been nicer. The setting is perfect for two nights to “reset” oneself and just enjoy a book by the fire, a game of chess in the library or a quiet evening meal.

Marvelous in winter and I’m sure picturesque in summer. Great spot to base yourself for a Bruny Island day trip like what we did.

We booked for 25 people way ahead, provided all dietary requirements ahead and paid ahead for Mother’s Day high tea and a friends farewell. Booking was for 1.30pm. They requested we come around 1.45pm. Upon arrival we found they were busy and very distracted and short staffed so decided to enjoy the premises and take pictures etc. By 2.30pm we started losing patience as most of us had other Mother’s Day commitments. We made it a point to sit at the table to get staff attention for service. Food platters came in dribs and drabs of 15 minutes intervals. No drinks provided. When we asked for our glass of champagne which upon booking we were told was part of the high tea, the manager announced that they changed their menu recently and only provide tea now indicating we should have checked the website. We had to pay further for champagne. Our tea order was taken in dribs and drabs. Around 3ish we lost our patience and asked why so much delay for food, the manager said because we were not seated on time they had to reheat our food. But the platters had nothing that needed heating. Very poor variety from what is displayed in their website. They chicken sandwiches were actually Tuna.
We had a good time because we planned a few fun things to do there but Wi-Fi wasn’t available, they didn’t have sound system and just kept trying to add to the price but cut cost in quality and quantity of food as well as staffing! It was noticeably intentional as they had over two months of notice from us to plan.
Very disappointed at how much the standard has dropped since the change of hands. I have previously booked large family events there and booked accommodations out which is why I encouraged my friends to join for high tea. The current ownership has let me down.

The peaceful location was great, the place itself is very laid back but you only have to ask any staff member if you need anything and it's done. They are attentive but not intrusive.

The dinners could use a little more variety but again, for a few nights stay the place is perfect.

We would not hesitate to stay here again.

The room (Deluxe Villa) was spacious.clean and a well appointed bathroom with a great shower (that's important to us).

Staying here is a lesson in how to relax.

Very nice afternoon high tea experience.
Highly recommended!
The staff Mia is really helpful and friendly.
Good service, nice tea, nice vibe, delicious dessert & cake and beautiful view. Cozy atmosphere. Poetic old building villa.
The toilet provide towels for cleaning hands, very considerate.