Blue Mountains Icons 18

Today's icon isn't a valley vista or a rocky vantage point. Instead it is The Carrington Hotel. There are several expensive, upmarket resorts and places to stay in the mountains but the last remaining resemblance to an actual "grand hotel" is The Carrington, situated at Katoomba.

It was the first designated tourist hotel in the mountains (as opposed to an "inn" for travellers). Construction began in 1880, eventually opening as The Western Star Hotel. In 1886 the place was visited by somebody called Lord Carrington and so in true colonial forelock tugging fashion, the name of the hotel was changed accordingly. For years, well before such things as state or national power grids, it generated its own electricity and supplied power to the town. There is still a huge heritage listed smoke stack at the rear of the complex.

Today you can still find lots of musty old chesterfield decorated London club style sitting rooms, a billiards lounge, a ballroom, high tea, ornately setup bars, posh wine lists, traditional fine dining, stained glass leadlight windows, heaps of red carpet and staff decked out in traditional grand hotel "costumes". What we see here is a huge leadlight glass dome over one the downstairs public areas. At the bottom of the frame is the glimpse of a big chandelier ... which is a blip for another occasion, perhaps.