Score a Million-Dollar Suite for $350 in Australia's Blue Mountains

October 6, 2008 at 9:19 AM | 0 Comments

Only a hotel with a few interesting or odd facts surrounding it gets its own Wikipedia entry, but the Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney certainly qualifies. This hotel's had such a colorful history it's hard to know where to start.

We'll try in the present: it's hit the headlines recently over rumors that the Malaysian owners want to sell up, complaints that it needs an urgent renovation and that the staff needs some improvement.

But there's so much more going on that we are still keen to visit.

If nothing else, the fact that they renovated their Grand Majestic Suite at a cost of a million (Aussie) dollars (US$775,000) yet charge only A$450 (US$350) per night is intriguing enough. Regular rooms drop to A$149 (US$115) during the week but they don't interest us quite as much.

Other must-knows about the Hydro Majestic: it started off as a health resort but the natural spring water dried up before it opened in 1904; the owner then imported mineral water from Germany which, after the long journey, tasted disgusting--but that made people think it must be healthy, so they all drank it. The Hydro Majestic is also famous as the place where Australia's first Prime Minister died; not from drinking the water, though. See where we're coming from--it's a hotel you can't help but want to visit!

[Photo: barkem]

Tags: Australia Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / Mantra Hotels

by amandak

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