North PierHotel

On the waterfront at Cowes, this independent Phillip Island hotel looks out across the bay from most of its rooms. The range runs wide — budget and family rooms, bay-view rooms and spa rooms, a two-bedroom oceanview apartment and four-bedroom townhouses, one with pool access — so groups and couples can size a stay to suit. A bar and bistro handle meals on site, and a tour desk points guests toward the island's beaches and wildlife.