Hunter Street Waterfront · Five-Star · #2 in Hobart
The Henry Jones Art Hotel
Australia's first dedicated art hotel - 56 rooms inside Hobart's 1825 IXL Jam Factory warehouses, with 400+ contemporary works rotated by the in-house curator.
Australia's first dedicated art hotel - 56 rooms inside Hobart's 1825 IXL Jam Factory warehouses, with 400+ contemporary works rotated by the in-house curator.
Australia's first dedicated art hotel - 56 rooms inside Hobart's 1825 IXL Jam Factory warehouses, with 400+ contemporary works rotated by the in-house curator.
The Henry Jones Art Hotel occupies a row of seven adjoining sandstone warehouses on Hunter Street, the oldest of which were built in 1825 - making them among the oldest commercial buildings still standing in Australia. From 1874 until the early 1970s the buildings housed the global headquarters of IXL Jams, the Henry Jones empire founded by George and Margaret Peacock and brought to international scale by Sir Henry Jones, one of the most successful Tasmanian industrialists of the 19th century. After the factory closed the buildings sat derelict for nearly three decades.
In 2000 architect Robert Morris-Nunn began the conversion - a meticulous heritage restoration that left the original sandstone walls, the timber beams, the cast-iron columns and the IXL signage in place while threading 56 rooms and a contemporary art programme through the upper floors. The hotel opened in 2004 as Australia's first dedicated art hotel, with an in-house curator and a permanent gallery on the ground floor. The rooms were refurbished in 2018 to bring the bathrooms and the climate control up to contemporary standards while leaving the heritage fabric intact.
The 56 rooms run across six categories. Heritage Queens (around 22 square metres) are the original courtyard-side rooms; Waterfront Spa Rooms (32 square metres) face Constitution Dock and have the deep tubs; the Henry Jones Suites are the upper-floor rooms with the open-truss ceilings and the period detailing; the IXL Penthouse Suite occupies the top-floor corner with a private terrace over the wharf. Each room contains rotating works from the hotel's 400-plus-piece contemporary collection, with new acquisitions cycled in twice a year by the in-house curator.
Peacock & Jones is the fine-dining room - a tightly Tasmanian menu in the original 1825 warehouse vault, generally regarded as one of the strongest hotel restaurants in Australia. Landscape Restaurant & Grill on the ground floor handles the all-day dining brief. The IXL Long Bar, set under the warehouse trusses with the original Jam Company signage above the bar, is the most decorated heritage bar in Hobart. The position - opposite Constitution Dock, four minutes from the CBD, six from Salamanca - is the strongest in the city for a hotel that pulls heritage, contemporary art, and waterfront views into a single coherent proposition.
A Hobart anniversary at the Henry Jones is the rare luxury booking that pulls heritage, art, and waterfront together. The IXL Penthouse with the private terrace over Constitution Dock is the milestone-year booking; the Henry Jones Suites with the open-truss ceilings handle the regular anniversary brief. Peacock & Jones at the chef's table and the after-dinner IXL Long Bar nightcap is the textbook evening.
The Henry Jones works exceptionally well for solo travel. The heritage buildings reward slow exploration; the 400-piece art collection rewards repeat circuits; the IXL Long Bar takes single covers as a matter of course; the Heritage Queen rooms are properly sized for one. The in-house curator runs a private weekly walkthrough that returning solo guests often arrange ahead.
For a Hobart proposal, the IXL Penthouse Suite with the private terrace and the working table for two over Constitution Dock is the textbook setup. The concierge runs the in-room arrangement reflexively; Peacock & Jones holds the corner table after; the warehouse-vault setting reads as both deeply specific and quietly cinematic.
25 Hunter Street
7000 Hobart
Australia
Salamanca Place 6 minutes; Hobart CBD 4 minutes; MONA Roma ferry pier 2 minutes; Constitution Dock opposite
56 rooms (52 rooms + 4 suites)
Heritage Queen Rooms from A$390/night
Waterfront Spa Rooms from A$520/night
Henry Jones Suites from A$880/night
IXL Penthouse Suite from A$1,650/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Heritage buildings 1825; IXL Jam Company 1874; hotel opened 2004 (Robert Morris-Nunn); rooms refurbished 2018
Landscape Restaurant & Grill
Peacock & Jones (fine-dining)
IXL Long Bar
400+ rotating contemporary artworks
In-house art curator and gallery
Federal Group portfolio
From A$390/night. Headline suites and the named categories book three to four months ahead for the high-season weekends; six months for the peak periods on the local calendar.
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