Explore Australia’s Blue Mountains from The Carrington Hotel, with 1920s colonial splendour and a royal history

What’s the story? Perched on high in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba, the hotel opened in 1883 as the Great Western, becoming the first resort-style hotel in Australia’s first tourist destination, north­west of Sydney. It was renamed The Carrington in 1886, in honour of the then governor of New South Wales, Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (or simply Lord Carrington to the hoi polloi), and is the only 19th-century grand resort hotel still operating in the state.

For the majority of that time it has been one of the most popular hotels in the Blue Mountains, having attracted the elite of turn-of-the-20th century Sydney, overseas tourists, prime ministers and even British royalty. In the early 1900s, it was considered one of the finest British colonial hotels in the world, a rival to Raffles, in Singapore.

What’s it like now? Just another faded Victorian building? Not at all. While it was closed from 1986-1998, the new owners embarked on a long-term, multi­million-dollar renovation, with the aim of returning it to the charm and elegance of its 1920s heyday.

The main architectural features have been kept and the work has been carried out with care, but it’s the retention of the original stained glass throughout the property, contemporary artwork, and the use of vibrant Victorian and Edwardian colours on the walls and ceilings and in the carpets that really bring the building to life. The common areas on the ground floor, including a billiard room with a snooker table that’s more than 100 years old, the former library and the bar area, with its fire places and deep leather sofas, are straight out of Downton Abbey.

And the view? For those staying in the suites on the first floor, the wide, shared balcony offers views across the town to the Jamison Valley. The valley’s original inhabitants were the Gundungurra and Dharug tribes, who are now recognised, along with the Wanaruah, Wiradjuri, Darkinjung and Tharawal nations, as the traditional owners of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

What’s the story with the royal cupola? To commemorate the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) in 1927, a stained-glass dome was built in the ceiling of what is now Champagne Charlie’s bar. After admiring the cupola, the couple had lunch at the Carrington before continuing the royal progress to Echo Point, Leura and the Jenolan Caves.