Sumptuous, saucy and chic
A weekend at the Hydro Majestic, Blue Mountains, NSW
View from Cat Alley in the Hydro Majestic
November 2019 (3 min read)
The Hotel Hydro Majestic in Medlow Bath, NSW, re-opened four years ago after a 30-million revamp. I never visited before the doors closed in 2008, but I can tell you now that the contemporary carpets and furnishings are gorgeous, from the firework bursts of crimson in the carpet of Cat Alley to the honeycomb runner in the hallway of the guest rooms. I’ve heard old Hydro Majestic hands mourn the shabby comforts of its past lives, but here are ten reasons why it makes a dandy weekend away, especially for Sydney-siders, and particularly for afficionados of Deadwood who will appreciate the decor
1. The location, on the very edge of the Megalong Valley escarpment, is downright bonkers when you think about it: the various buildings straddle the ridge for over a kilometre. Take comfort in the fact that the underpinnings have kept it steady since 1904. That’s when the flamboyant entrepreneur Mark Foy bought the old Belgravia Hotel and set about turning it into a short-lived sanatorium. The rest is history (see No 9).
2. The textiles on the floor, windows and chairs of the hotel are sumptuous, saucy and chic (perfect for Trixie’s knees). Carpets often let a place down; here they are the stars no matter which the room; and that’s a blessing as there’s a lot of floor. The satiny backs of the opulent autumn-yellow chairs in the Wintergarden are made for stroking and, go on, peer closely at the curtain fringe in Cat Alley, those are peacock feathers.
3.Cat Alley is where we head early on a Friday evening for an aperitif after a nervous drive through a bush fire at Springwood in early November. At 4.30pm we have the length of the quixotic Alley to ourselves. Lush red Chinoiserie competes with a series of 1920s oil paintings by Arnold Zimmerman that face the huge original arched windows, beautiful but hopelessly draughty. This long alleyway, heated by American-made, black embossed radiators, is where the ladies used to sit and gossip, while the men retired to the billiard’s room, hence the name.
4. Dinner is at the Wintergarden on a table for 20 and I have low expectations. It’s a tough call for any chef to produce that many quality meals at one time. My other half follows the advice of the waiter to have the lamb backstrap which is the right call. It is delicious. As usual I wish I had his meal, but all the entrees and mains are pronounced very good. The rum & coconut parfait is excellent. Service is attentive. Score a table next to the window for the sunset, and what more could you ask for.
5. There is no room service. Yikes, parents of smaller children might say. But no ugly trays litter the hallways, and the kids menu at the Wintergarden offers good staples. The staff were happy to serve our two, 9 & 15 years old, who sat at their own table like a pair of toffs. If all else fails, you can order a pizza from Crust in Blackheath and feed it to them in the guest lounge.
6. The guest lounge is for breakfast and for the best viewing of that panorama. You can pull a chair right up close to the huge windows and hog the outlook all day if you want. Or you could sashay from here to the Salon du Thé for a mid-morning cuppa and return for lunch, then pop in to the Wintergarden for afternoon tea and pass out in Cat Alley. We order dinner from the snack menu for the kids on the Saturday night. They like the dumplings, the chicken wings and the calamari. Not a vegetable in sight.
7. The barista coffee at no extra charge is a boon for the wilted we should-have-known-better adults who come down to breakfast after a night at the Wintergarden. That and the generous pour of wines from Mudgee and Orange give the Hydro Majestic extra points. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes and al dente broccoli in bains marie complement several cereals, a platter of fruit, bread and pastries. The gluten-free muesli is the stand out.
8. Go the extra mile and pay another 50 for the Belgravia Valley View rooms at the rear of the Majestic. We stayed in connecting rooms (202,203) to the side of the hotel, the one with the lovely bay window on the right as you come in from the car park. The bathroom was vast, unlike those of many of our party who reported the bathroom door hitting the bed. But the downside is the noise from the highway, which is close to the front of the hotel.
9. The history of the Hydro Majestic is replete with ambition, grandiosity, foolishness, a conflagration, surrender and renewal, the cycle of life really. It’s possible to skip the history tour and wend your own way the kilometre from one end of the hotel to the other. It will bring you past the pretty function room, with round tables, speckled black chairs and white feather boas, and out at the Boiler Room. Here you can peruse the historical displays at leisure. Don’t miss the screen detailing the hydropathic era when the Hydro was to be called Smedley’s Baths. Lacking actual spa water at the site, Mark Foy ordered a vast cauldron from Europe. The Boiler Room serves coffee, cake and snacks and sells an array of local food and merchandise.
10. Try a Mystic High Tea and have a 20-minute tarot-card reading after your splurge. Ms Huang Nguyen is one half of the Escarpment Group that owns the Hydro Majestic and other hotels in the Blue Mountains. The Mystic Tea is a fascinating fusion of the Asian belief in portents and the Blue Mountain crystal gazers. (Our tour guide at the hotel informed us that the owners are locals who live in Leura.) If the tarot cards don’t appeal, try the Escarpment Escape High Tea package including entrance to two National Trust properties, Everglades Historical House and Gardens and the Norman Lindsay Gallery at Faulconbridge. Or just blow the best part of a grand and go for the weekend.
The function room at the Hotel Hydro Majestic
EXTRA
Other hotels in the Escarpment Group include Echoes and Lilianfels in Katoomba. The view from Echoes is stupendous. Go for a drink on the balcony but don’t bother with dinner. Lilianfels has a nice indoor pool. https://www.hydromajestic.com.au
READ
Beyond the Blue Mountains by Penelope Lively is a collection of 14 short stories, originally published in 1997: hardly new but still wonderful, and from an outsider’s point of view. Lively is English, and was born in 1933. Something about the Blue Mountains mix of grandeur and ordinariness warmed the cockles of her heart for these are warm and witty stories
Also published in 1997, Delia Falconer’s love story The Service of Clouds is set in 1907 and features the Hydro Majestic.
Blue Mountains Bush Walks by Veechi Stuart is in its 3rd edition and has sold 50,000 copies. Stuart is the Executive Director of Varuna the National Writers’ House in Katoomba.