Gracing Tasmania’s Federal Group

Federal Group, formerly Federal Hotels and Resorts, has appointed Peter Grace as its new group conference sales and marketing manager.

Grace brings a wealth of experience to the team after a successful career in the industry in senior positions with car rental firms, hotels, accommodation and wholesaling in the major centres nationally, and as a PCO in North America. Based in Hobart, Grace heads a dedicated conference team that can assist with every aspect of your conference in any, or all, of five destinations: Hobart, Launceston, Strahan, Cradle Mountain and Freycinet.

At Wrest Point in Hobart, facilities can cater from small meetings to 1,600 delegates. With all-inclusive technology options and highly experienced on-site AV technicians, you can save thousands on the bottom line of your conference.
Wrest Point continues to set the bar for conference accommodation in Hobart, with recently renovated 4½ star executive suites and executive floors in the Tower and in the Wrest Point Water Edge, with its comfortably appointed rooms featuring high-speed Internet access.

The classic Country Club Resort and Villas in Launceston is surrounded by trees, a lake and an 18 hole golf course, yet is only five minutes from Launceston and 15 minutes from the Tamar Valley wine region.

Country Club conference rooms can cater from 10 to more than 500 delegates, and have a variety of configurations to suit varying needs. Accommodation options range from one, two and three bedroom villas to 5 star executive suites.

Country Club recently hosted more than 300 delegates at the 11th National Hotondo Conference from 12 to 21 September, 2005. The conference was one of the largest ever held at Country Club, with intra and interstate delegates attending. Hotondo is the eighth largest new homebuilder in Australia and prides itself on building high quality family homes.

The conference started with the construction of a purpose-built façade. A fully functional 6m x 6m kitchen was constructed and utilised as part of the conference, with a guest appearance by celebrity chef Iain Hewitson. Functions included a 300 sit down semi set dinner (Harry Potter themed), a 70s night in the Country Club Showroom, and a cocktail party that included a cook-off between three builders and their partners – judged by Iain Hewitson.

Set within the inspiring landscapes of Tasmania’s iconic tourism destinations, Cradle Mountain Chateau, Strahan Village and Freycinet Lodge provide unique venues for your conference or incentive groups.

The Cradle Mountain Chateau Conference Centre has excellent facilities for functions from 10 to 170 delegates and guests. State-of-the-art electronic equipment is available and the three purpose-built pillar-free function rooms have access to open-air decks with alpine woodland views.

Adjacent to the conference centre is The Wilderness Gallery, Australia’s largest privately owned photographic gallery featuring stunning images. The gallery is built around an enclosed native garden and consists of 10 exhibition rooms suitable for working luncheons or cocktail receptions.

Take time out to immerse yourself in the gallery, or clear your brain cells with a bushwalk in the spectacular Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

Set uniquely within the Freycinet National Park, Freycinet Lodge offers two function rooms, the Dove and Parsons Rooms, which may be used separately or combined to form the Freycinet Room, which can cater for up to 110 guests theatre style.

Centralised services include controlled lighting and background audio (ceiling-mounted lighting bars are available to enable special effects lighting). Three-phase power is available in all meeting rooms.

Strahan Village, set on the wild West Coast, is the gateway to the magnificent Tasmanian World Heritage area. Cruise aboard the Lady Jane Franklin II deep into the rainforest on the Gordon River, where you can reach out and touch the ancient trees of the past.

Step back in time on the West Coast Wilderness Railway to a world where men slaved through mud and treacherous terrain to build a railway through the wilderness between Queenstown and Strahan. Indulge in an intimate guided Piners and Miners experience, limited to eight people, which takes you into rarely explored World Heritage wilderness to the abandoned mining port of Pillinger before returning to Strahan on the majestic Gordon River by a luxuriously appointed cruise boat.