Hobart hotels with a pool: five heated options
For Hobart accommodation with a pool, this page picks five hotels, four of them within walking distance of the waterfront: Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart on Davey Street, Salamanca Inn on Gladstone Street, Vibe Hotel Hobart on Argyle Street and DoubleTree by Hilton Hobart on Macquarie Street. All four have a heated indoor pool, which matters in a city where the sea averages around 16°C even in January and evenings stay cool all summer. The fifth, The Pavilions at Mona, keeps its heated infinity pool for its own guests, 11 km up the Derwent at Berriedale. Outside this selection, Wrest Point on Sandy Bay Road also has an indoor heated pool.
Hobart is a working harbour city first: fishing boats at Constitution Dock, sandstone warehouses along Salamanca Place, and kunanyi / Mount Wellington rising straight behind the CBD, often with snow on top in winter. The weather turns quickly, the river stays cold, and evenings are cool even in summer, which is why four of the five pool hotels on this page swim indoors.
Which Hobart pool hotel fits your trip
In Hobart a hotel pool is less about sunbathing than about having somewhere warm to swim after a cold day on the harbour, on kunanyi / Mount Wellington or on the ferry to Mona. The five hotels below average 9.0 out of 10 across more than 10,000 guest reviews, but they do very different jobs: a big harbourside hotel with long pool hours, a rooftop pool with self-catering apartments, two central city towers with a gym, one of them with a sauna, and a private art-museum retreat.
Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart, at 1 Davey Street, is the pool hotel with the strongest track record: 9.0 out of 10 across close to 4,500 reviews, the most of any hotel on this page. Its heated indoor pool has big windows over the city towards kunanyi / Mount Wellington, and the hotel lists it open from 5am to 10pm every day, which suits early swimmers and late arrivals alike. A sauna and fitness centre sit alongside. Constitution Dock is across the road and Brooke Street Pier, where the Mona ferry leaves, is a short walk along the wharf.
Salamanca Inn, at 10 Gladstone Street, is the pick if you would rather cook some meals yourself. Its rooms are self-catering, and the indoor pool sits on the roof with a heated spa pool beside it. Salamanca Place and the Saturday Salamanca Market are a couple of minutes downhill on foot. The pool is small and fully enclosed, guests sometimes wish it opened to the outside air, and there is no gym on site, so this is a place for a warm evening soak rather than a training session. It rates 8.9 out of 10 across about 800 reviews.
Vibe Hotel Hobart, at 36 Argyle Street, and DoubleTree by Hilton Hobart, at 179 Macquarie Street, are the two CBD towers in the group, both rated 8.8. Vibe pairs a heated indoor pool with a fitness centre and has the larger review count of the pair, close to 3,200. DoubleTree adds a sauna to its heated indoor pool and gym, which makes it the better choice if you want heat after a walk in the cold. Both are flatter walks to the shops of Elizabeth Street than the waterfront hotels, and DoubleTree is about 15 minutes on foot from Salamanca Place.
The Pavilions at Mona is not a city hotel at all. It sits on the Mona peninsula at 655 Main Road, Berriedale, 11 km north of the CBD, and its heated infinity pool, sauna and gym are shared only by the guests of its pavilions. It has the highest score on this page, 9.4 out of 10, but from only 30 reviews, so treat it as an early signal. The Mona ferry from the Hobart waterfront is the easiest way to and from the city, and without a car every dinner in town means a ferry or a taxi.
A traveler's takeFor most people I'd book Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart: the pool opens at 5am and closes at 10pm, so you can swim around a Mona ferry or a day on the mountain, and the waterfront is outside the door. I'd choose Salamanca Inn instead for a week with a kitchen and the Saturday market on your doorstep, as long as you don't need a gym. If you swim seriously, none of these hotel pools replaces lanes: I'd walk up to the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre on the Queens Domain. And I'd only book The Pavilions at Mona if the museum is the point of the trip, because you will be ferrying or driving into town for everything else.
PoolThe Pavilions at Mona
★4.7Luxury pavilions on the Derwent River with art, spa, and pool
Why guests love itThe Pavilions at Mona is a five-star stay on a private peninsula on the Derwent River, about 15 minutes from Hobart CBD. Each pavilion has a spa bath, a kitchen and artworks from the Mona collection. A heated lap pool, a spa and wellness centre and an on-site restaurant are on the property. Guests score it 9.4 across 30 reviews, an outstanding rating from a small sample.
PoolHotel Grand Chancellor Hobart
★4.5Harbour views, an indoor pool, and a prime spot near Salamanca Wharf
Why guests love itHotel Grand Chancellor Hobart overlooks the Derwent River and Constitution Dock, so the fishing boats and the waterfront are part of the view from day one. Children can swim in the indoor pool, which looks out towards Mount Wellington, a welcome option in Tasmania's cooler months. Salamanca Wharf and the CBD are a short walk away, which suits families who want to visit the Saturday market area without driving or parking.
PoolSalamanca Inn
★4.5Self-catering city stay with a rooftop pool near Salamanca Place
Why guests love itSalamanca Inn suits families and longer stays that need space and a kitchen in Hobart. The self-catering rooms make meals flexible, and the indoor rooftop pool and spa pool are a welcome extra when the weather turns. A restaurant and lounge bar are on site, and Salamanca Place is a short walk away, so the lively area is close without being on your doorstep. I would pick it for independence and a central location.
PoolVibe Hotel Hobart
★4.4City centre comfort with an indoor pool and family-friendly amenities
Why guests love itVibe Hotel Hobart is a city-centre hotel with air-conditioned, soundproofed rooms, each with a private bathroom and free WiFi. The soundproofing helps in a central location, and children are catered for with family-friendly layouts. An indoor swimming pool, a fitness centre and a restaurant are on site, so rain does not spoil the plan. Major attractions are close. Guests rate it 8.8 from over 3,100 reviews.
PoolDoubleTree by Hilton Hobart
★4.4City centre comfort with sea views, a pool, and family-friendly amenities
Why guests love itDoubleTree by Hilton Hobart is a city-centre hotel with family rooms that have sea views and air conditioning. An indoor swimming pool, a sauna and a fitness centre handle downtime, and a restaurant serving Australian cuisine, a bar and a coffee shop cover meals. The indoor pool means swimming works whatever the Tasmanian weather does. An 8.8 score from 1,762 reviews is solid, and I would choose it for a family city stay.
Local tips
- 1Book Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart if you want to swim late: the hotel lists its heated indoor pool as open until 10pm every day, later than most visitors finish dinner around Salamanca.
- 2From the airport, the SkyBus Hobart Express takes about 30 minutes to the city and stops on Campbell Street opposite Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart and at 179 Macquarie Street outside DoubleTree by Hilton Hobart.
- 3For proper lap swimming, walk or drive up to the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre on the Queens Domain: it is indoor and open all year, with heated pools, a spa, a sauna and a leisure pool with inflatables for children.
- 4Do not count on the Derwent for a swim: the water off Hobart averages around 16°C in January, so even in midsummer a heated hotel pool is the warmer option for children.
- 5If the gym matters as much as the pool, skip Salamanca Inn, which has no fitness room, and look at DoubleTree by Hilton Hobart, the one CBD hotel on this page with a sauna as well as a pool and gym.
- 6Crowne Plaza Hobart and RACV Hobart Hotel come up in searches for pool hotels, but both have a gym and no swimming pool, so pick one of the five hotels on this page if you need to swim.
- 7Staying at The Pavilions at Mona, plan your days around the Mona ferry from the Hobart waterfront: the pavilions are 11 km north of the city, and the pool is reserved for pavilion guests.
- 8On a Saturday, Salamanca Inn puts you a couple of minutes on foot from Salamanca Market, so you can shop in the morning and be back in the rooftop pool before lunch.