The Hydro Majestic Hotel

I have been to the Wintergarden for High Tea, and loved the ambience and views and food. So I went with my family to celebrate my birthday. They asked if we were celebrating and we told them it was my birthday. When the racks came out, they had written Happy Birthday for one of my guests plates.
The cost of High Tea was quite high, $65 basic and $75 for Asian. We had 2 Asian and 3 ordinary. The scones were hard as if they had been reheated. The steamed rolls in the basket (Asian) were cold and spring rolls were cold and hard.
The waiters and waitresses were young and untidy in appearance and had difficulty understanding requests. The bathroom was very dirty. This establishment has gone down the drain in quality of food, service and general upkeep. I am extremely disappointed.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the views due to low lying cloud. However, I suspect they were brilliant.
Afternoon tea was OK and a glass of sparkling wine was good value.
The history tour was quirky.

One of the smallest rooms I’ve stayed in, considering the ratings. The room was elegant, but the bathroom’s lack of upkeep was disappointing, with cracked taps and bath recesses. The absence of a blind or sheer curtain meant we had to choose between no natural light or no privacy. Additionally, there was no mirror in the bedroom, and the bathroom was too small to use the full-length mirror effectively. Our room faced the car park and highway, so traffic noise was noticeable, and the water pressure from the next-door shower was very loud. The public spaces were stunning, with magnificent views from the dining rooms, but the “upgraded rooms with a view” offered at an additional fee had obstructed views and weren’t worth the extra cost. We switched back to our original room after seeing the upgrade. No room service or lifts are available, which should be noted on their website, as it would be challenging for less abled guests to carry luggage up to their rooms without assistance. The coffee with breakfast was exceptional, but the breakfast itself was a bit underwhelming. Overall, we wouldn’t choose to stay here again if we were in the area.

Just attended a High Tea at Hydro Majestic, the atmosphere was fantastic, the service, excellent, but it would have been even better if they bothered to take notice of my booking when I booked on line, I specifically said that I was lactose fee, but was given food with dairy in it.So disappointing.

On our way north we passed this place and chose to book on our return to Sydney to celebrate my wife's birthday.
It is an iconic hotel in a wonderful location.
I would sttongly recommend booking a room with valley view and just hope you don't have the low cloud and rain we did.
Its an old hotel, and the only reason I've not scored 5* is that several areas need some care and attention to bring them back to modern standards.

The historic hotel has been renovated in a stylish and comfortable way. The public areas are truly lovely. We really enjoyed the bar and were treated to music on the grand piano by a very talented musician. Thank you.
The restaurant area is set out well with I believe panoramic views of the Megalong Valley. Sadly it was a whiteout when we were there.. but that’s life. The staff were pleasant and helpful.
We enjoyed dinner in the Boilerhouse Restaurant. It was pizza night and they were absolutely delicious and well priced. We couldn’t see the view due to the fog but we did enjoy the kangaroos who hopped by.
Parking was easy and plentiful but it was mid week.
There were a few disappointments. Firstly, I requested a tour of the hotel which I believe is really interesting. I received an email saying they were doing tours and I just needed to let the staff know upon arrival. Turns out that they didn’t have anyone to do them so we missed that treat. Secondly, our room was very small. No mirror in the bedroom which I found impractical as I wanted to dry my hair whilst my husband used the bathroom. The TV was mounted in an awkward position and tricky to see despite it swinging away from the wall. Finally, the breakfast was unbelievably disappointing. For a fine dining hotel, the hot food offered was barely warm. There was a good assortment of pastries, breads, cereals and fruit and yoghurts. We stayed at a boutique hotel the following day and their breakfast was out of this world. Freshly cooked to order. There were not many people eating breakfast and I believe a hotel of this calibre should be able to offer residents something far better.

I have passed by the Hydro Majestic several times and always wondered what it would be like to stay. I’m not in any hurry to return, or recommend.

So looking forward to staying in this iconic hotel and boy what a disappointment. We had a room on the top floor with a great view of the valley, unfortunately that was the only good thing about the room. There was lots of marks on the walls some mold on the ceiling and a very worn and crocked lampshade. Being on the top floor there are about 40 stairs (no lift because of heritage listing) and without a bell boy good luck getting cases to your room. We ate there and at the main restaurant and bistro the service was poor (forgotten drinks and forgotten that one person needed gluten free). We I mentioned the state of the room I was told road works outside was delaying maintenance and the heritage listing meant little could be done. I suggested a bit of paint and changing a lampshade wouldn't be effected by the roadworks or heritage listing I was quickly shut down. The Blue Mountains is a great place with lots of lovely places to stay and eat the Hydro isn't one of them. I do have photos but I think you get the picture

If we had paid $200-300 per night for our room at the Hydro Majestic, I would be rating it four or five stars. However, we paid about $600 per night for the second highest room category at the property, and it was definitely not worth the money.

The room itself was a major disappointment. Yes, it had spectacular views out of sliding glass doors to a balcony, but the room itself was incredibly cramped, fraying around the edges and need of a refresh. We were surprised that the sliding doors were permanently locked, so we could not go out and enjoy the balcony.

The lobby, dining room, bar and long corridor leading to the rooms are grand and beautiful, with old-world elegance and charm. Many of the other common areas, however, are less grand and seem sort of sad and abandoned. The Hydro Majestic must have been an exquisite property in its day, but that day was a long time ago.

The dining room and bar get direct sunlight when the sun is setting and the staff lower blinds to block the glare. That makes it difficult to enjoy the views (which are the main attraction of the Hydro Majestic) during happy hour and dinner.

Service is generally competent, but not what one would expect from such an expensive hotel. The vast majority of the public-facing staff are young foreigners on a working holiday in Australia. They are sweet and earnest, but that's no substitute for the seamless service provided by experienced professionals. One exception was the Armenian gentleman in the dining room, whose excellent customer service is exactly what we would have expected at a hotel of this stature.

You'll probably like the Hydro Majestic if you can ignore the prices and lower your expectations of an exquisite five-star experience.

I love going to the Hydro Majestic but it is starting to desperately need some repairs and maintenance doing on it. Paint peeling off the walls, carpet looking dirty and very worn. Attention to detail with cleaning needed. Our airconditioning in our room not working properly so we checked to see and the filter had not been cleaned for a very long time. The fluff was so thick no wonder it couldn't work. Cleaned it out and worked really well. Meals nice, staff very friendly and helpful. Boiler house very very disappointed with both staff and food.
Maybe time to look for a new destination

The hotel is definitely lovely and has lots of old world charm. The rooms can be basic but have everything you need. The views, the staff and the breakfasts are my favourite part. Sitting in the comfy armchairs with a drink looking out into the valley while it was raining was a highlight.
My only gripe was the state of the shower. Black mold all through the tiles on the floor, on the paint on the wall and the ceiling. At this price point that shouldn’t be happening. I don’t mind the older bathrooms and things looking a bit weathered but the mold is poor form.

We had a very peaceful and relaxing stay at the Hydro Majestic hotel. Just what one needs before the silly season kicks in. The ambience, the welcoming staff and the overall cleanliness was fabulous. We caught the train to the hotel from Sydney and the hotel is only a short walk to the Medlow Bath station.
Specifically thankyou to Mahesh and your team for being such wonderful ambassadors for the hotel. My husband enjoyed the history tour. I enjoyed my jalapeno margarita at the Belgravia lounge.
Buffet breakfast was awesome and the pizza's at the Boiler house were delicious.
We also dined at Wintergarden but it was foggy and misty on that night so no sunset view possible. The service was impeccable and whilst it is fine dining so don't turn up hungry should be experienced at least once during your stay.
I highly recommend this hotel and yes we will be back in 2026!!!

My darling husband booked three nights including High Tea and Wintergarden dinner for my birthday, having told me many times about staying with his parents in this historic hotel when he was a kid. We arrived the day after the Bondi massacre and to be honest I was feeling like s*t. Still am. However - if anything could do you good, this is the place. Ironically, given the location, we arrived and spent the first 36 hours in thick cloud! But the Belgravia lounge - its deep lounges, its quiet calm, its enormous windows - soothed me, and after bar snacks and a few fantastic negronis we strolled through the hotel and were thrilled by its history. The following morning we relaxed in the deep-red chinoiserie surroundings of the Salon de The and read books, went for a walk, and later had a truly impressive dinner in the Wintergarden - we have high standards and were genuinely impressed by the food. Finally the cloud lifted the next day, and our Valley View room was worth what we paid - the view is miraculous. Our High Tea was in contrast with dinner a bit ordinary - less fresh, less delicious, but good scones and when we asked for extra cream and jam, the wait staff didn’t stint. We absolutely loved this experience and are already planning to return. By the way, we came by train which is very easy; the station is 7 minutes’ walk away.

We were welcomed with open arms and treated like absolute royalty. Yes its a gorgeous place but its the staff that makes this place exceptional. It was such good value for money. Next time i will book a valley view room.

What a terrible experience. So very disappointing - from first being seated to leaving, utterly underwhelming. As we sat down, we were told we had a 90-min window on the table. There was one other table occupied (in total) so they were far from busy. Took 45 minutes to receive our order in full (half of the orders arrived about 10-mins before). Food was average - that is being generous. At the 90-min 'mark' we were told we had to leave as there was another booking and the bill was placed on the table. We were not asked if we'd like another glass of champagne/anything else - just given the bill. I pointed out the lengthy delay in receiving our food and the guy 'in charge' left us alone for a bit. Funnily no one arrived sweating on the table. So he lied. At this point, no one had brought our tea for the so-called 'high tea', and we were going to have more champagne but gave up on that. Half an hour later and the rude staff member from earlier was telling us he'd given us 2-hours and we had to go. Absolutely disgusting. Then, of course, they don't take cash and there was some protracted process trying to pay, Some butler guy at reception asked us how our experience was as we left and when I told him a little of what happened he just walked away. ...old world charm my arse. Old, tired and out of touch.

Had an overnight break in Blue Mountains and decided to stay at the famous Hydro Majestic as we had heard it was quite the heritage hotel with stunning views, and we were delighted with our stay!

Our room was a good size with a very comfy bed and lovely bathroom, it’s worth paying the extra to get the best rooms.

But the view was the standout feature, a clear panoramic vista of the Blue Mountains, we pulled the sofa chairs over and just watched the sunset, beautiful!

Special shoutout to Mahesh who looked after us so very well and made it a really memorable mini break for us

We stopped here for the view and ended up staying for a lovely meal at the Boiler House followed by an amazing dessert & coffee in the cafe. Staff were very nice and the views were truly spectacular. The building itself is worth the visit; an old grand hotel. Next time in the neighborhood I will plan to take a tour of the facility, and maybe even stay the night. Highly recommend this stop on your way to/from Blackheath.

My partner and I enjoyed (at last) a night at the Hydro after having to postpone in October 2025 due to rapid onset illness. Special thanks to Mahesh at Reception and Manager Adam for acknowledging our special circumstances and facilitating the change of date. Very clean and well styled Heritage room with lovely garden view, and an excellent dinner at top tier restaurant.

Excellent service and food ! Be sure to take the the hydro history tour with Danny. It is informative and amusing!

Sam & Jean

Hard to beat the spectacular views and ambience of the Wintergarden Restaurant. However, you go to a restaurant for the food and service.
Unfortunately both were ordinary. We had the traditional High Tea. Whilst well presented, the bread in tbe sandwich had dried, the scones were dry and crumbly as opposed to warm, fresh and moist. The little sausage roll had been over heated with the pastry dry and hard.
The waiters were friendly enough, but weren't easy to flag down, they did not scan the room.
We ordered an extra milk, hot water and pott of tea. They forgot the latter and we had to remind them of the pot of tea.

It was my friend’s birthday, so I invited her to High Tea at the Wintergarden, with its panoramic views to the Valley : and then came the afternoon tea platters. We had the traditional version and an oriental one, which had such an array, we didn’t know where to start! There were also beautifully crafted sweet delicacies that looked too fine to eat, but we did!! Thank you to the dear folk who created all of this and the birthday message.
We then took a tour through the Hydro with the History guide Mahesh: he explained the story and personalities behind the building, and highlighted features as we strolled the length of the buildings. We delighted in the striking decor of the many public rooms, as Mahesh gave more insights such a secret passageway!
Our hour long amble ended at the Pavilion Cafe, where there are artifacts to view. It was a truly memorable birthday celebration!