The Hydro Majestic

(from the Television Documentary The Jewel of the Mountains)

The Hydro Majestic hotel spans over a kilometre atop a breathtaking escarpment in Australia’s World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park. From this lofty watch post encircled in swirling winter mists, the famously historic Hydro Majestic has surveyed the Megalong Valley and surrounding ridges for over one hundred years.  The Hydro Majestic was built by retailing magnate Mark Foy; opening its doors for the first time in the bitter winter of 1904.  Certainly its metaphorical positioning on the edge of a sheer cliff speaks volumes about Foy, who lived a marvellously grand life built on many a high risk venture. Today, Mark Foy’s presence lingers still: the Hydro Majestic a fitting homage to his daring creativity and limitless imagination.    

FAMOUS GUESTS
As well as Dame Nellie Melba and Dame Clara Butt, other famous guests of the hotel have included: munitions heiress Bertha Krupp, who donated a Bechstein grand piano to the hotel; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, for whom the Blue Mountains were the inspiration for The Lost World; and more recently, Russell Crowe who was asked to remove his baseball cap while dining in the Great Dining Hall in 1994

Photography: Gordon Jovic