Beautiful exterior building and friendly staff.
However, it took us 10 minutes to find our room because it was tucked down an open hallway and our room had no number on it. We also had booked a room which was supposed to have a mini fridge and tea/coffee amenities. There was none of this and when questioned, were told the fridge replacement hadn't arrived yet, and so the room was discounted because of this, but we were never made aware of this prior. (Also still no tea/coffee in room even thkugh it was an inclusion). The room was freezing with a slim wall heater that hardly did anything, there was an outside light on the balcony that was on all night and shone through to our room, plus there was heavy pounding music all night. Not a good night's sleep unfortunately and disappointing considering we had picked this room specifically for what it offered.

Room ok, started to renovate some rooms, which is a positive. We had a recently renovated bathroom which was nice. No fresh change of towels daily. Historic building.

We stopped over night. We got two chicken parmigianas. Completely raw inside. We didn't notice as we were eating salad with it but thought it was a bit cold. After checking the chicken was completely raw - like raw. The crumbs were cooked and a small portion on the outside skirts of the chicken was cooked. Absolutely mortified. The dangers of uncooked chicken.

The Hotel is in a great location. Certainly has had some impressive history. It is a mixed bag!
The room standard is best described as just okay. Beds are past their used by dates (you sink into them). Bathroom is out of the 1960's. Toilet seat moved. General maintenance needs some focus. Toiletries were very basic and very cheap! Hot water in the shower was hit and miss.
It is a real Catch 22. The Hotel looks great from the outside, but needs a serious upgrades to the rooms. But this would be at significant cost, and hard to generate the return.
The atmosphere has a great Pub feel and friendly staff. The food was mixed, I enjoyed the pasta, while my colleague's schnitzel very very average. Breakfast;... not worth going there; head across the road to railway café.
This feedback is provided to be helpful. The Hotel and the Town has great potential and we would like to see them both thrive. Cheers

Well first review I have ever done.
Went tonight after reading mixed reviews but thought we would give it a try, bad mistake.
Ordered soup as entree and received soup and main meal together. Explained we would like to have the soup and then main meal which you think would be normal but told we should have said we wanted them separately . Ate the soup then main meal was bought back out but I had ordered vegetables and it had chips on the plate , once again had to send it back and eventually came out with cold vegetables. Didn't want to send it back a third time as we were sitting right next to the kitchen door and could hear all the laughter from from the staff and what seemed like little car for the guests, very bad experience all round

"I recently had the pleasure of staying at the Empire Hotel in Queenstown, Tasmania, and it was an experience I highly recommend. From the moment we arrived, the staff were exceptionally welcoming and helpful, making my stay truly memorable. A special shoutout to Dave, the manager-owner, whose dedication and hospitality shine through in every aspect of the hotel.

The rooms, though tastefully simple, provided everything needed for a comfortable stay, emphasizing the hotel's charm and warmth. The meals were nothing short of amazing, offering a delightful culinary experience that added to the overall enjoyment of our visit.

The hotel has a great vibe, effortlessly blending a cozy atmosphere with impeccable service, making it a perfect getaway destination. I wholeheartedly recommend staying at the Empire Hotel Queenside for anyone looking for a genuine and enjoyable Tasmanian hospitality experience."

Cheers Bill

Vegan herbivore pizza had real dairy cheese on it!

I came here in a few months ago and loved the vegan cheese herbivore pizza, I ordered another (17th Feb) and even said when ordering "can I please get the vegan herbivore pizza, and when it arrived at the table, I thought it looked different (looked like real cheese and browned up like real cheese is on pizza sometimes) but thought maybe they used a different brand of vegan cheese. My partner and I had a few slices & was unsure & then realised it definitely was dairy cheese (it was stretchy like real cheese & smelt like it) so I had to spit it out & felt so icky about it. My partner got an upset stomach from the dairy cheese. I have been vegan for 7 years so it's really disappointing when this stuff happens. By the time we realised it was definitely dairy, we only had a couple of pieces left so we didn't bother bringing it up with the staff or i hate confrontation and saw a similar recent review so it seemed almost pointless to bring it up to the staff. I hope this review will deter vegan people from going or just be sure to make sure to check they have vegan cheese.

Can only comment on the food we tried to eat for dinner. Thick cut, aged, Greek style lamb chops...what a disaster. They were not thick cut, no perceived herbs in any form, covered in oil. On top of that, tough as old boots. The pumpkin soup was very watery and no discernible taste of pumpkin whatsoever. It did have some sort of flavour that we couldn't identify. I asked the table next to us what they thought of the chops. Their response is much the same as ours but worse!
It's a shame, such a beautiful old building with the staircase and associated history that the lingering memory will be of the food.

If you're going to put a vegan pizza on the menu, and it did say "with vegan cheese"(im talking about the herbivore), than make sure it comes out with vegan cheese. Not regular cheese.
When it initially came out, and i apologetically sent it back asking for one with vegan cheese, I did not expect it to come back again, with regular cheese. Alas, it did. I'm not the kind of person to send food back (it was already quite a wait, plus the 2 people i was with had already gotten their food and finished it), so I just scraped the cheese off of a couple slices (not many vegans would do that).
No apologies from the staff other than an offer for chips while I waited.
But to have a second pizza return with regular cheese and not vegan cheese, when specifically asked for it?! Even though it was on the menu?!
It's 2024, people are vegan, or lactose intolerant, or just allergic!
Don't put it on the menu if you're not going serve it.
Such a disappointment.

The Empire Hotel building (and the heritage listed stair case) was some of the best architecture and magnificent beauty you could wish for. Sadly that's where the fun ends! Our room was noisey, small, had zero cooling and if we opened our window there was no fly wire and the curtain wouldn't retract.
We had dinner there (Saturday night) and the food was lovely except the menu did not reflect their "actual" prices and the servings were small. The complimentary breakfast was average to say the least (I couldn't drink my coffee because it was so stale) and if you didn't get in early, everything was gone and you couldn't find staff to replenish the condiments.
The location is really good and now I'm struggling to find anything else which is nice to say. Having said that, what do you expect for $143? The staff were pleasant but scruffy and a little disinterested.
I can tick my stay at Queenstown off my list and say the history and landscapes are amazing but don't expect greatness from this amazing looking hotel

Accomodation is warm, well priced and very comfortable. Food is tasty, staff are nice, good selection of drinks. Would recommend for a stay or just a meal.

Stayed one night. Basic accommodation but it was warm and clean with a modern bathroom. Perfect location right across from the wilderness railway which is why we were here. Simple breakfast offered the next day, juice, toast, cereal etc. Nice staff in our experience. Disappointing dinner. We ordered the pumpkin risotto and it came out as plain white risotto with a pile of puree pumpkin in the middle. It was like they didn't know you were supposed to mix it? Added chicken but it wasn't much for the extra $6 and it was burnt, which I personally don't mind but most would. Flavors just didn't seem to work together. Hubby ordered a steak and Veggies. Steak was great but veggies were plain and needed seasoning. Fish bites for the entree was yummy. Very impressed with our young server who actually truly did seem interested in getting the food right. He asked us how they could improve and that was impressive. Historic setting, I enjoyed reading about the stair case and looking at the art.

Stayed one night. Basic accommodation but it was warm and clean with a modern bathroom. Perfect location right across from the wilderness railway which is why we were here. Simple breakfast offered the next day, juice, toast, cereal etc. Nice staff in our experience. Disappointing dinner. We ordered the pumpkin risotto and it came out as plain white risotto with a pile of puree pumpkin in the middle. It was like they didn't know you were supposed to mix it? Added chicken but it wasn't much for the extra $6 and it was burnt, which I personally don't mind but most would. Flavors just didn't seem to work together. Hubby ordered a steak and Veggies. Steak was great but veggies were plain and needed seasoning. Fish bites for the entree was yummy. Very impressed with our young server who actually truly did seem interested in getting the food right. He asked us how they could improve and that was impressive. Historic setting, I enjoyed reading about the stair case and looking at the art.

Don't recommend staying here unless you're backpacking.
We paid for 4 nights but only stayed the 1, room was tiny and covered in dust, noisy generator kept us awake all night. Staff were rude, information pamphlet misleading. We found amazing accommodation elsewhere for not much extra per night.

Very friendly staff, had a great parmy, many a beer (fairly priced) and had a great night in watching the footy and sharing a yarn with locals and tourists alike. Very happy to be able to tuck the motorbikes away for the night in the closed bottle shop for safe keeping also! Thanks :)

We stayed one night in this hotel and paid $200.00 for two people. The building is very old and charming, got lots of character, but unfortunately our room was not that clean. The floor was dirty and the bathroom was not that clean either. The shower was dripping, cracked window, open manhole in the ceiling. TV and internet was not working. I mentioned it to the duty manager, but she didn't seem that concerned at all. The beds where comfortable and the cheets clean, but that was all. A very sad depressing place. 😞

This is a great place to stay if you are planning a trip on the West Coast Wilderness Railway. Rooms are clean and tidy. The food is terrific too, but their hidden gem is Shirley on the dining room. This lady goes above and beyond to make you feel at home. A real genuine person.

We had heard a lot of good things about The Empire so we booked our table and were looking forward to it. However when we went to order we were told us there was hardly anything left on the menu, just garlic bread, calamari and a couple of other things. Im sure its not like this all the time, but just a heads up not to get your hopes high. Staff were all very nice.

You get got value for your money. I really liked my stay. The bathrooms have been nicely renovated. The rooms however might need some love in the future. But overall a good hotel.

Just went for a meal here, and it was amazing!! Beautiful dining room and the staircase is gorgeous. My family all enjoyed our meals, and the staff were all really helpful and friendly.

Quite lovely old hotel. We had a meal in the bistro. Best pub food we had throughout our stay. There were plenty of selections that weren't deep fried. Had a lamb shank which was very tasty.

Quite lovely old hotel. We had a meal in the bistro. Best pub food we had throughout our stay. There were plenty of selections that weren't deep fried. Had a lamb shank which was very tasty.

Great location. Beautiful old building. Beds were comfortable, rooms were quiet. Clean and freshly renovated bathrooms. Dinner at the pub is good value, breakfast included in the room fee.

Great location. Beautiful old building. Beds were comfortable, rooms were quiet. Clean and freshly renovated bathrooms. Dinner at the pub is good value, breakfast included in the room fee.

Great location, comfortable but tight double bed room. Easy to get dinner...downstairs. Also a handy continental breakfast. Can be a little noisy depending on the pub downstairs.

We didn't stay at the hotel but went for a meal. The food and selection was very good and the prices while not cheap were reasonable. We also checked out the staircase as everyone says is a must do! Beautiful craftsmanship. If in Queenstown you should give it a try, if in Winter there won't be much choice.

We didn't stay at the hotel but went for a meal. The food and selection was very good and the prices while not cheap were reasonable. We also checked out the staircase as everyone says is a must do! Beautiful craftsmanship. If in Queenstown you should give it a try, if in Winter there won't be much choice.

The staff were welcoming and friendly. But for $143 my queen bedroom was underwhelming. While presenting well from outside, the interior of the hotel was very tired. The Empire has amazing bones, I just wish it lived up to it's potential.

Quaint rural pub, some room for improvement but overall a good reliable place. Friendly staff. The dining room lighting could be better. Rooms basic but clean.

Wonderful proper pub meals. Large size, good prices. Friendly staff. Packed on a Thursday night, like it was any other day.

Mushroom risotto is a letdown. I thought it was a vegetarian dish but there was bacon in it and can barely see or taste any mushroom. Bar is cozy though.

We popped in here from dinner on recommendation from the hotel we were staying at. It's a stunning 1900s building and our dinner was quick and delicious (surprisingly delicious!) Garlic bread, bangers and mash and my partner really enjoyed his steak. Country atmosphere with friendly locals and staff.

Popped in for some dinner. It was relatively inexpensive and the food was pretty decent. Food was typical 'pub food', and the portion sizes were plentiful. The venue had some great character too it, and the staff were really friendly and helpful! The hotel/restaurant is in a great central location. The restaurant was pretty clean, and we're confident the hotel and rooms were the same too.

Heritage beauty. Loved it. Food great. Early morning deliveries to steam train bit noisy if wanna sleep in.

Great old hotel with plenty of old world charm and character. The staircase is a gem. The food I heard was fantastic. Good value and a positive experience each time.

Cute little spot.
I got the warm pumpkin salad and it was delicious.
Fresh chicken for my daughter was perfect and chips were different - like hand cut and tasted amazing.
Adults got schinttys and they all said it was a good pub meal. Will visit every night whilst in town.