Hydro-Majestic

Hydro Majestic Hotel
Hydro Majestic Hotel Casino dome in 2007
General information
Location	52-88 Great Western Highway, Medlow Bath, Australia
Coordinates	33°40′32.85″S 150°16′51.08″E / 33.6757917°S 150.2808556°E / -33.6757917; 150.2808556Coordinates: 33°40′32.85″S 150°16′51.08″E / 33.6757917°S 150.2808556°E / -33.6757917; 150.2808556
Opening	1891 (Belgravia Hotel) 1904 (Hydro Majestic)
Website
http://www.hydromajestic.com.au/

The Hydro Majestic Hotel is located in Medlow Bath, New South Wales, Australia. The hotel is located on a clifftop overlooking the Megalong Valley on the western side of the Great Western Highway.

The hotel is heritage listed and is notable for its unusual mix of architectural styles, including Art Deco and Edwardian. One key feature is the Casino dome (pictured). The dome was bought in Chicago and shipped to Australia, before being shipped to the Blue Mountains by bullock train and reassembled at the site.

The Australian retailer Mark Foy began to purchase the site in 1902 for the purposes of a hydropathic sanatorium under the belief that the land contained mineral springs.

The Hydro Majestic site was originally three different land holdings and their buildings. The first was the country retreat of W.H. Hargraves, registrar in Equity and a trustee of the Australian Museum in Sydney, son of the man who claimed credit for the discovery of gold in New South Wales in 1851. The single-storey house, with elaborate tree and shrub plantings, was bought by Mark Foy in 1901 and developed into the Hargravia section of the Hydro.

The second was the hotel. It began as the Belgravia Hotel which was completed in 1891. The hotel was a health retreat and the building was constructed in Queen Anne style. It was owned and operated by Mr and Mrs Ellis and was acquired by Mark Foy in 1903.

The third was a cottage owned by Alfred Tucker, whose widow later ran the Wonderland Park guesthouse to the north of the gatekeeper’s cottage. At that stage the town was known as "Medlow" and Mark Foy successfully petitioned the New South Wales government to change the name to Medlow Bath, the current name. It is not known if he requested the name change to make it sound more prestigious, or if he wanted to avoid confusion with another town called Medlow, also in New South Wales.