Touchwood Cottages - Accommodation — Restaurant in Tasmania

Well, this accommodation, sadly did not live up to our high expectations (or previous some of the older reviews) for our 40th Wedding Anniversary tour of Tassie. We stayed here for three nights in The Studio, the supposed "Honeymoon Suite" (I really don't think so!!).||Apologies for the long and complaining review ...||On arrival on the Sunday, we felt welcomed by Chris and liked the initial feel of the accommodation. However, within minutes on our own, we were overwhelmed by the smell of Glen20 and a candle melt-burner. So much so, we had to open the windows and the door. It was awful. There were also lots of ants coming through one of the windows in the kitchen which we sprayed (with the spray provided). Opening the windows revealed that they were rarely opened, as they were quite stuck from dirt in the tracks and all panes were smeary.||A positive that afternoon, was that the tearoom was actually open but just our luck, was shut for the next two days (Mon & Tues). It does the best lemon tart with curd and cream, yummy! Also has lovely range of gifts.||On the Monday morning, we had a real issue when we used the supposed "guest-provided" washing machine, which I had pre-asked about when I booked our stay as we would have been travelling for 10 days by the time we arrived in Stanley, with another 11 days to go after there. OMG what a disaster that turned into. Firstly, the taps were not turned on (if available for guest use, surely, we should not be doing this plus there was no signage to say "TURN ON FIRST". So after waiting for the program to run for, I think 50 mins, found it had not even started! So, turned the water on, started machine and waited again, only to find after another 50 mins that the load was unbalanced and had stopped. It was not a big load, just undies, socks, two t-shirts, pair of leggings, and lightweight PJs but this top-loader machine did not like it! So, tried again, but the program restarted from the beginning, twice, while I watched! Then it stopped again because of load. Tried again, stopped. Wasted nearly FOUR hours of our precious holiday time when we should have been out touring Stanley and surrounds. In the end we gave up, with my hubby hand wringing all the clothes whilst I attempted to peg them on the washing line (tumble dryer was broken too, but advised prior). We went out. We had been provided the key to the laundry by the cleaner, as the owner Chris was out of town. We were to lock it after use. However, with the shenanigans and in my haste to get out and about, left my phone inside!! We went out for what was left of the day and without my amazing phone camera. Messaged Chris (more than once and emailed) about my phone. Finally, he returned that evening and brought me my phone. We told him the issue with the machine for which he apologised and decided it was no good for guests' use and it had been playing up! Wished he'd told me that as would not have bothered! ||We also had a major issue with the freestanding gas cooker (filthy behind it with masses of cobwebs). It had no electric ignition, only a hand held igniter provided, which is scary when lighting the top burners never mind an oven, which we tried and did not work. The grill did not work either, which we showed Chris although he did get the oven lit! We told him it's dangerous to expect guests to use a hand-held igniter with a gas oven!! Whilst he was in the cottage, we also mentioned that the bathroom washstand, and its adornments, was thick with dust, which we showed him and he said he would have a word with the cleaner. That started me looking and I found more evidence (WC/shower, ewwww) and I provided photos to Chris, see here too! There were cobwebs all over the Studio too. He's paying the cleaner for just spraying Glen20 methinks!||Overall amenities were ample with very good brekkie supplies provided but everything in the cottage is mismatched and dated (photos and blurb online really need updating to what is actually within this Studio!!), chipped bathroom sink, kitchen table top dirty (with creature droppings in the drawer). There was no quilt cover on the doona, only a protector type cover, with a bedspread on top (nothing like photos). Never ever experienced this anywhere before! Bed was reasonably comfortable. The TV was really high up on a chest of drawers but the integral DVD player did not work as there was a disc stuck in it! Additionally, there was no complimentary fruit basket as clearly written on the website, and don't recall seeing an alarm clock or clock radio and the wall clock in kitchen was not working either! ||||I requested a discount for the inconveniences incurred and poor cleanliness, which was granted, thank you Chris. However, it marred our stay at Touchwood Cottages and sadly, would definitely not...

Happy Birthday to me....NOT. For my recent Birthday, my partner suggested we go to Stanley for a couple of days and stay at a nice little bed and breakfast. Perfect! After carefully checking what was available, I found a gem, or so I thought. All the reviews from previous visitors were SO positive how could we go wrong. I mean there's even a bakery/cafe/gallery just 6 feet from the front door, owned by the same people. Our hosts to be, Chris and Gretta are the stuff of review legend, nothings too much trouble for them to make your stay the best you've ever had, review after review. We thought wow! we can't wait to meet these people! Rather than keep "our hosts" waiting for their money, we opted to pay in advance, straight into their bank account, about the 18th July.

Four hours before we're due to arrive in Stanley, on the 31st July, we get a text message from Chris and Gretta saying sorry, we won't be there onsite, but the heating's on, keys in the door, enjoy your stay....... text us or this other number if you have any problems...... Okaaaay.... So I guess we won't be getting fresh home made scones then, or the benefit of any local knowledge of good places to visit or eat at....bit disappointing.....still, I bet the cafe's good.....and so close!!! We arrived in Stanley, I said to my partner let's try out this cafe then, seeing as its only 6 feet from our room... Guess what....it's SHUT, for a month, for a "winter break". Absolutely gutted. Both reasons for picking this place to stay at, gone. Our "hosts with the most"- away, and the cafe - shut. Great. So we go inside the cottage. The breakfast looked good, fruit and food in the refrigerator, in-date milk, orange juice, 5 eggs, various jams and a decent amount of butter and margarine. Also an Eliza "little loaf" of bread with a best before date of 1st of July, a month ago!. I can only assume that it'd been frozen and thawed out again. Other things that annoyed us in no particular order: Wi-Fi internet constantly demanding login details, then not working anyway. Bed like a hammock, stick to the edge or roll to the middle, like it or not. Heat pump that shakes the whole kitchen wall, sink, any cups left on the draining tray. I honestly thought that some one had parked a big truck outside and left it idling, until I turned the heat pump off for overnight. Instant silence. Fireplace fan in the lounge room- rattle rattle rattle. What is it with this place and fans? The hot water. I let it run for 3 minutes to stabilize before my shower, climbed in, then I got frozen and then scalded in the space of less than a minute anyway. Can't win. Bathroom tastic fan not turning at all (at least IT wasn't noisy...) Despite ticking yes to breakfast provisions for BOTH days on our booking, NOBODY came to replenish the food for the second day of our stay. Day 3, 10 AM, time to check out, what do we do with the key, seeing as no-one had bothered to tell us... So we text the hosts....no answer. Text the other number....Oh, just leave it in the door.... Really??? Stanley must have a low crime rate! Was the timing of our stay just bad luck? Probably, but having said that, I booked directly through the Touch-wood website, NOT an intermediary for the very reason that I did NOT want there to be any confusion about what we'd paid for and what we were entitled to, and we took what Touch-woods pages said at face value, and there is NO mention of the cafe closing down during winter. Also bear in mind that my partner rang and talked to Chris & Gretta directly to explain we'd paid, plus they had my contact details anyway from the booking form I'd filled in, and 12 days in the meantime that they could've let us know they were thinking of going away or at the very least that the cafe and gallery would be shut for our visit.

So, IF you're planning to stay here, I'd suggest that you make sure the hosts Chris and Gretta aren't planning a trip away of their own, because it was like they took the welcome mat...

Exceptional service, food, presentation and friendliness. We visited the quaint town of Stanley during a brief cruise stop (in Burnie). The weather had closed in with grey clouds and rain and we came upon The Touchwood Gallery/Cafe as we were looking something to eat. We were all very impressed with the welcoming that we received when walked into the Cafe, which sits at the rear of the building behind the Gallery. The Scones, Jam and Cream on offer were some of the best and most generous I have sampled in a very long time. Although we didn't indulge in the cakes we felt that they looked very fresh and generous in size. The current owners deserve credit for providing a wonderful selection of great food, and great presentation. In reality anyone can throw Scones, cream and jam on a plate, but the care and attention to presentation really created a visual appeal that was mouth watering, and the taste was equally as good. The Gallery itself had a great range of creative crafts and is well worth a look. My advice would be that if you ever visit Stanley don't miss the opportunity to drop in to have a bite to eat, or visit the gallery of this...