With just 11 guest rooms, a library lined with early Tasmanian tomes and an always warm welcome from hosts Nicholas and Amy Parkinson-Bates, the Islington feels more private club than high-class hotel. Once inside the white gates that screen this 1847 Regency mansion from fashionable Davey Street, visitors discover a sanctuary of perfumed gardens, art and antique-filled guest rooms, and a dramatic glass conservatory that serves as the social hub of this intimate inn. Residents gather for cocktails with their hosts in the evenings, or spend winters ensconced by the open fire, with ever-changing views of Mount Wellington and Hobart’s erratic and spontaneous weather. Co-chef Annie Parmentier (ex- Bathers Pavilion and Lunch restaurants) creates wonderfully warming breakfasts, Nicholas will barbecue plump Tassie steaks for a stay-at-home dinner, or you can feast on a marvellous menu for two in the rose-coloured drawing room. And if there’s anything else you desire you can always call on the butler, a former footman to Queen Elizabeth II – he’s used to dealing with the most discriminating clientele. Judges’ comments: "Immaculate service, really warm and friendly people, with bathrooms and breakfasts to die for. There is no other small hotel in Australia in the same league."