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The Hydro Majestic Hotel is located in
Medlow Bath, New South Wales Medlow Bath ( postcode: 2780) is an Australian small town located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, between and . Its altitude is about and it is about west-north-west of the Sydney central business district and north-west of ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The hotel is located on a clifftop overlooking the
Megalong Valley Megalong Valley is part of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of Katoomba. On its eastern side, the valley is separated from the Jamison Valley by Narrow Neck Plateau. The Shipley Plateau overlooks part of th ...
on the western side of the
Great Western Highway Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, ...
. The hotel is heritage listed and is notable for its unusual mix of
architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
styles, including
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
and
Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
. One key feature is the Casino dome (pictured). The dome was bought in Chicago and shipped to Australia, before being shipped to the Blue Mountains by bullock train and reassembled at the site.


History

The Australian retailer Mark Foy began to purchase the site in 1902 for the purposes of a
hydropathic Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and tr ...
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
under the belief that the land contained
mineral springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...
. The Hydro Majestic site was originally three different land holdings and their buildings. The first was the country retreat of W.H. Hargraves, registrar in Equity and a trustee of the Australian Museum in Sydney, son of the man who claimed credit for the discovery of gold in New South Wales in 1851. The single-storey house, with elaborate tree and shrub plantings, was bought by Mark Foy in 1901 and developed into the Hargravia section of the Hydro. The second was the hotel. It began as the Belgravia Hotel which was completed in 1891. The hotel was a health retreat and the building was constructed in Queen Anne style. It was owned and operated by Mr and Mrs Ellis and was acquired by Mark Foy in 1903. The third was a cottage owned by Alfred Tucker, whose widow later ran the Wonderland Park guesthouse to the north of the gatekeeper's cottage. At that stage the town was known as "Medlow" and Mark Foy successfully petitioned the
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
government to change the name to
Medlow Bath Medlow Bath ( postcode: 2780) is an Australian small town located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, between and . Its altitude is about and it is about west-north-west of the Sydney central business district and north-west of ...
, the current name. It is not known if he requested the name change to make it sound more prestigious, or if he wanted to avoid confusion with another town called Medlow, also in New South Wales. Foy spared no expense, building gardens, bringing in his own herd of cows for milk and, not a man to be bested, is said to have had electricity and a working telephone four days before metropolitan Sydney. By the time the hotel opened in 1904, the mineral springs (if they ever existed) had dried up. Mark Foy had
mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. Tra ...
imported from
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in large steel containers. After travelling in these containers from Germany to Australia the water reportedly tasted awful, and so it was assumed that it must have been good for a person's
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
. Guests of the hotel were instructed to drink this water on a regular basis. By 1906 the popularity of this sort of health retreat had passed and Mark Foy set about rebranding the establishment as a luxury retreat, renaming it the Hydro Majestic. All health treatments and remedies were removed from all advertising, although many remained available on request. In October 1913, it was reported that Foy had sold the property to businessman and NSW parliamentarian
James Joynton Smith Sir James John Joynton Smith (October 1858 - 10 October 1943), commonly referred to simply as Joynton Smith, was an Australian hotelier, racecourse and newspaper owner, and Lord Mayor of Sydney. Early life Born James Smith (he added the Joynto ...
for a reputed £60,600. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
a building on the grounds was turned over to the 118 General Hospital for U.S. troops. Fire destroyed the gallery building in 1905, the laundry in 1912, and the original Belgravia wing in 1922. Being surrounded by the
Blue Mountains National Park The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney, and the park boundary is quite ...
,
bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
have regularly threatened the hotel. Bushfires were extremely close to the hotel again on 8 December 2002.


Heritage listing and restoration

The hotel received
heritage listing This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...
in 1984. After many decades of decline and neglect the Hydro Majestic underwent a series of refurbishments during the 1990s. The
AccorHotels Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor op ...
group became associated with the hotel from about 2002 until 2006 and then a smaller Malaysian based group took over the running of the hotel, borrowing the name "Hydro Majestic" to brand their other hotels in Asia. In 2008 the hotel was closed for refurbishment, with the new owners to allow the hotel to be restored and add new facilities. The owners, Huong Nguyen and George Saad are said to have paid $11 million for the property and have spent $30 million on the refurbishment.


Development in 2012–2014

The owners of the hotel announced in late 2012 the redevelopment of the Hydro Majestic Hotel. Stage one is due for completion in June 2014. Stage One includes the majority of the historic areas from the Casino to the southern end of the site and new construction, re-planting and beautification of the gardens including the avenue of Pines and the renovation of the Hotel façade, which has a 1.1 km frontage to the Megalong Valley escarpment. In the renovated Hotel, the historic Casino building will become the Casino Lobby, a grand lobby entry and function room. A renovated area behind the Casino Lobby will become a five star restaurant calle
The Wintergarden
The other historic buildings, The Billiard Room, The Cat's Alley, The Majestic Ballroom in Hargraves House, and the Delmonte conference rooms will also be renovated in this stage.


Development in Stage Two

Stage Two of the development, planned to commence around two years after the completion of Stage One will construct the new accommodation wings and a large spa complex. The Belgravia Lounge will be the final old building to be renovated. The reconstruction of the Belgravia Wing and addition of the new Mark Foy Wing will add luxury suites to the Hydro Majestic Hotel. After stage two the Hydro Majestic Hotel will have one of the largest spa complexes in the southern hemisphere. The second stage will also include renovation of the heritage rooms in the existing Delmonte and Hargravia buildings. The Cat's Alley will be extended with a new restaurant to be known as the Flying Fox fine dining restaurant.


Casino

One of the most imposing buildings of the hotel is the
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
building. "Casino" in this usage means meeting hall or pavilion, and it was never officially used for gambling. The casino building is an ornate late Victorian
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
wedding-cake structure which serves as the grand ballroom of the current establishment. It was shipped from
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
in the early 1900s and assembled by 1903. The casino was the venue of the first performance of Dame
Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century, ...
's famously-long farewell tour in 1928. Dame
Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt, (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and imp ...
also performed in the venue. The last performance in the room was a small production of ''
The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'' in 1969. The casino will re-open as the main guest entry to the hotel complex with Lounge and Function Space, Pre-function to Wintergarden and linked to the new Passage bar.


Guest rooms

There are three main guest wings in the hotel: Belgravia, Hargravia and Delmonte. The Belgravia wing was initially the former Belgravia Hotel. After being destroyed by fire, construction started on the new Belgravia wing in 1922 and completed in 1936. The Hargravia wing is named after "Hargraves House", initially on the site of the hotel. Hargraves House was built by William Hargraves, son of
Edward Hargraves Edward Hammond Hargraves (7 October 1816 – 29 October 1891) was a gold prospector who claimed to have found gold in Australia in 1851, starting an Australian gold rush. Early life Edward Hammond Hargraves was born on 7 October 1816 in Gosp ...
, the alleged discoverer of
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
in Australia. There are three suites in the hotel: the Majestic Room, the Grand Majestic Suite and the Valley Suite.


Famous guests

As well as Dame Nellie Melba and Dame Clara Butt, other famous guests of the hotel have included:
munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
heiress
Bertha Krupp Bertha Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (29 March 1886 – 21 September 1957) was a member of the Krupp family, Germany's leading industrial dynasty of the 19th and 20th centuries. As the elder child and heir of Friedrich Alfred Krupp she was the ...
, who donated a Bechstein
grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
to the hotel; Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
, author of
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
, for whom the Blue Mountains were the inspiration for ''The Lost World''; and more recently,
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
who was asked to remove his
baseball cap A baseball cap is a type of soft hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front. The front of the hat typically displays a design or a logo (historically, usually only a sports team, namely a baseball team, or names of relevant co ...
while dining in the Great Dining Hall in 1994. Boxer Tommy Burns set up a training camp at the Hydro Majestic ahead of his world title fight against Jack Johnson in Sydney in 1908, running for miles on mountain tracks in preparation. Australia's former first
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, Sir
Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to ...
he had retired from politics and was then a justice of the High Court died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
at the hotel while holidaying there in 1920.


See also

*


References


External links

** {{Authority control Accor hotels Hotels in New South Wales Heritage hotels in Australia Art Deco architecture in New South Wales Buildings and structures in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) 1891 establishments in Australia