Dysart House, TASMANIA
Airing Date: Jun 9th, 2003
Dysart House, a coaching inn from Tasmania's colonial past, is now a boutique guesthouse where visitors can enjoy elegant country living embedded with history.
This grand old mansion is located in Kempton, a 40 minute drive north of Hobart along Tasmania's Heritage Trail. And it comes complete with several guest rooms, stables, paddock and even a private graveyard.
The original inn was built in 1841 by an ex-convict, William Henry Ellis, and offered accommodation to all, from bushrangers to wealthy gents. While the rangers shared yarns at the bar, the gents and their ladies kicked up their heels in the splendid ballroom.
The ballroom was the venue for many glamorous occasions, but those days are long gone. Now it's a guest sitting room, a place to sink into a sumptuous silk sofa beside a fire with a fine drop.
Guests can also join an in-house cooking class and learn how to prepare and cook a sumptuous meal. One of the dishes is wallaby steak with roasted vegetables and sweet couscous with pistachios for dessert - and the best part is you get to eat it afterwards.
While staying here, you'll can certainly feel the presence of history in the house and in particular its guest room dcor.
One of the many rooms to choice from is the Captain Fenn Kemp Room. This room is dedicated to the young captain who gave his name to the village and is decorated in Chinese style with red and gold lacquered furniture.
The facts
Dysart house is offering viewers of The Great Outdoors the following special: two nights' accommodation for two people, plus breakfast, a cooking class and chef's banquet from $550 per double. That's just $275 each. Or for five nights bed and breakfast prices start at $465 for two people, that's $310 off the normal price.
Dysart House
Tel: 03 6259 3006
