The verdict on Hilton's first property in Tasmania
Food + drink
Under the watch of Nathan Chilcott, former executive chef at Hobart's waterfront Mures, the light-filled Leatherwood is the hotel's most attractive space. The menu is staunchly Tasmanian, from local abalone and scallops to Clover lamb and Cape Grim beef. It's worth pulling up a stool at the attached bar, with its wide selection of local beer and wines, to watch city life roll past through the slit windows.
Out + about
It's a distinctive feature of Hobart and the DoubleTree's location that you can be on the fringe of the city and yet still at its heart. My room stares down into St David's Park, the green gateway into Salamanca's restaurants, bars and market, with the boat-filled waterfront just beyond. A trio of Hobart's finest restaurants – Fico, Dier Makr, Pitzi – are within a two-block radius of the hotel.
The verdict
While adding nothing distinctly unique to Hobart's hotel scene, the DoubleTree is well positioned and strong on the city's star quality: views.
Essentials
Rooms from $205 a night. Ten accessible rooms, including five connected to an adjacent room for guests travelling with a support person. 179 Macquarie Street, Hobart. See hilton.com/en/hotels/hbamadi-doubletree-hobart.

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The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
What it's really like to visit the 50,000-year-old rock art in WA
The road to the main viewing area for Murujuga's 50,000-year-old art is past Woodside's giant gas mining and export hub. Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue reading All articles from our website The digital version of Today's Paper All other in your area By Saffron Howden As you listen to the ancient stories of lore and culture carved into rocks before you, the tangle of cranes, tanks, buildings and towers typical of huge industrial facilities sit at your back. Ngarluma woman and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation senior ranger Sarah Hicks explaining rock art to visitors at the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Inset, the nearby industrial facilities, including Woodside's gas operations. Pictures by Saffron Howden The carvings - at least one million of them - are spread over a series rock outcrops on the Burrup peninsula and surrounding islands just outside Karratha in north-west Western Australia. "This is like a massive database," our guide, Ngarluma woman Sarah Hicks, says. History and knowledge are recorded in each image. A dissected kangaroo is an instructional image showing how to carve up the animal and use its parts for food, blankets, pants and combs. A rock engraving of what is thought to be a dissected kangaroo - the face is on the top right of the stone - in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Picture by Saffron Howden An emu, or jankurna, engraving reflects the emu-shaped spaces and dust lanes of the Milky Way in the night sky, a guide to the seasons and when to hunt. A Tasmanian tiger records the extinct marsupial's presence thousands of years ago on the Australian mainland. A prehistoric fat-tailed kangaroo, mangguru, is depicted standing on four legs in its massive megafauna state, long before it evolved to hopping. A rock engraving of what is thought to be a megafauna kangaroo depicted on four legs in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Picture by Saffron Howden As we walk and talk, small rock wallabies navigate the hardy red stones on the outcrop peaks. Ms Hicks says the presence of living animals on our visit is a good sign. There are carvings everywhere, some more faded - and older - than others. There are whales and stingrays, mice and fish tails, dingoes, quolls, goannas, spears - and people. A rock engraving of what is thought to be a whale spouting water in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Picture by Saffron Howden Though we are asked not to take photographs of depictions of people. The outback collection - the world's largest, densest and most diverse collection of rock art engravings - is still revealing its secrets. 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We turn back to the dystopian landscape dominated by the machinery of natural resource extraction. The large industrial operations, including Woodside's north west shelf gas hub, on the Burrup peninsula near Karratha in Western Australia as seen from the Murujuga rock art gallery area. Picture by Saffron Howden The contrast could not be more stark. Woodside says it's committed to "protecting and managing this precious and culturally significant place". "Woodside has taken and continues to take proactive steps - including through emissions reduction, data sharing and ongoing support for the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) - to ensure we manage our impacts responsibly," a spokesman said. He said recent research shows the landscape and its ancient art can live alongside the gas operations with responsible management. How will history record us? 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Sydney Morning Herald
18-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The verdict on Hilton's first property in Tasmania
My 33-square-metre, seventh-floor deluxe room is most notable for its floor-to-ceiling windows, angled in such a way that the room and the bed, placed enchantingly close to the window, feel almost cantilevered over Macquarie Street. The spacious bathroom features a rain shower and Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries, and panoramic photos of local scenes run like banners above the bed heads – in my room, a shot of Sydney Hobart yachts crossing the finish line. My room is water-view, looking out over historic Battery Point with glimpses of the cruise port and the Antarctic icebreaker ship RSV Nuyina – it's Hobart's maritime existence in a glance. Food + drink Under the watch of Nathan Chilcott, former executive chef at Hobart's waterfront Mures, the light-filled Leatherwood is the hotel's most attractive space. The menu is staunchly Tasmanian, from local abalone and scallops to Clover lamb and Cape Grim beef. It's worth pulling up a stool at the attached bar, with its wide selection of local beer and wines, to watch city life roll past through the slit windows. Out + about It's a distinctive feature of Hobart and the DoubleTree's location that you can be on the fringe of the city and yet still at its heart. My room stares down into St David's Park, the green gateway into Salamanca's restaurants, bars and market, with the boat-filled waterfront just beyond. A trio of Hobart's finest restaurants – Fico, Dier Makr, Pitzi – are within a two-block radius of the hotel. The verdict While adding nothing distinctly unique to Hobart's hotel scene, the DoubleTree is well positioned and strong on the city's star quality: views. Essentials Rooms from $205 a night. Ten accessible rooms, including five connected to an adjacent room for guests travelling with a support person. 179 Macquarie Street, Hobart. See

The Age
18-07-2025
- The Age
The verdict on Hilton's first property in Tasmania
My 33-square-metre, seventh-floor deluxe room is most notable for its floor-to-ceiling windows, angled in such a way that the room and the bed, placed enchantingly close to the window, feel almost cantilevered over Macquarie Street. The spacious bathroom features a rain shower and Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries, and panoramic photos of local scenes run like banners above the bed heads – in my room, a shot of Sydney Hobart yachts crossing the finish line. My room is water-view, looking out over historic Battery Point with glimpses of the cruise port and the Antarctic icebreaker ship RSV Nuyina – it's Hobart's maritime existence in a glance. Food + drink Under the watch of Nathan Chilcott, former executive chef at Hobart's waterfront Mures, the light-filled Leatherwood is the hotel's most attractive space. The menu is staunchly Tasmanian, from local abalone and scallops to Clover lamb and Cape Grim beef. It's worth pulling up a stool at the attached bar, with its wide selection of local beer and wines, to watch city life roll past through the slit windows. Out + about It's a distinctive feature of Hobart and the DoubleTree's location that you can be on the fringe of the city and yet still at its heart. My room stares down into St David's Park, the green gateway into Salamanca's restaurants, bars and market, with the boat-filled waterfront just beyond. A trio of Hobart's finest restaurants – Fico, Dier Makr, Pitzi – are within a two-block radius of the hotel. The verdict While adding nothing distinctly unique to Hobart's hotel scene, the DoubleTree is well positioned and strong on the city's star quality: views. Essentials Rooms from $205 a night. Ten accessible rooms, including five connected to an adjacent room for guests travelling with a support person. 179 Macquarie Street, Hobart. See