BLACK BEAUTY

There are worse ways to start the day than lounging in a bathrobe watching water birds frolic in the silvery shallows of the Tamar River while fresh truffle is shaved over your poached eggs and the condensation on your Bloody Mary catches the morning light. The sense of wellbeing is enhanced by the fact that this in-room breakfast won’t be the only encounter with locally harvested fresh truffles that day, or the next. The non-truffle action – tasting Tamar Valley wines, leisurely strolls around Launceston or nearby Cataract Gorge, making a dent in one of the best minibars in the country – isn’t too shabby either.

The truffle-themed