Hydro Majestic Casino Night
- There was supposed to be a valley view from the restaurant but the mist obscured the view. By the way, the Hydro Majestic is very spread out. We got to the main entrance at the Hydro Majestic and there was a sign saying 20 metres to here and 25 meres to there and the furthest point of the Hydro Majestic site was 240 metres from the main entrance.
- SAVE 15% when you stay two nights at The Hydro Majestic nestled on top of the Megalong and Kanimbla Valley. Enjoy the magnificent uninterrupted valley views.
Hydro Express vintage train from Central in time for high tea at the Hydro. Cost: from $130pp. SATURDAY, February 29. 8pm: Gatsby Casino Fundraising Night in the Majestic Ballroom. Cost: $50pp includes glass of sparkling cocktail on arrival and 10 playing tokens (further tokens are available for purchase at the venue). The original Blue Mountains party palace will again resound with the likes of Al Capone, Dutch Schultz and Bugsy Siegel when the Hydro Majestic Hotel holds a Gangster Casino Night on Saturday, May 27, in support of Katoomba Hospital.
Blue Mountains: Double your odds at Hydro `20s gangster night
By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group Photo: David Hill
Support the CareFlight cause when you book one ticket to the Gangster Casino Night at the Hydro Majestic Hotel on Friday, February 5, and the original Blue Mountains party palace will double your odds with a second.
The event, which will kick off Roaring 20s-themed events at the hotel during that weekend, will celebrate the era of breaking with tradition, crooks and prosperity – without prohibition.
Guests can play Blackjack, Poker, Roulette, The Money Wheel with Majestic Money at casino-quality tables with professionally trained casino standard croupiers.
Prizes on the night will include accommodation packages, dinner and show tickets, day spa and high tea packages and more.
An 18 years plus age restriction applies for this event, which will be held from 9pm to 11pm and attended by NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres.
“The NSW Government is proud to support this great local event which raises money and awareness for the outstanding work of CareFlight,’’ he said.
“Events such as the Roaring 20s Festival and all that Jazz provide even more compelling reasons for visitors to come and explore the beautiful Blue Mountains.’’
Hydro Majestic Casino Nights
Net proceeds from the event will go to CareFlight aeromedical charity. Donation receipts are available on the night for cash-in purchases only.
Established in 1986 with a mission to save lives, speed recovery and provide the highest standard of rapid response critical care, CareFlight has since helped more than 5000 patients a year.
CareFlight relationship development manager Andrew Whitelaw said: “CareFlight’s first mission, close to thirty years ago was flying two children after an accident in Lithgow. From those early beginnings, CareFlight has continued to service the greater Blue Mountains communities. Without the generous support of these communities, we would not be able to take off – literally.’’
Escarpment Group general manager Ralf Bruegger said: “When the chips are down, CareFlight is always there for the community. Now it’s our turn to support them by raising the fundraising stakes.’’
Guests who book one ticket to the Gangster Casino Night will receive a second ticket for a partner or friend.
Elegantly dressed gangsters and flappers can relive the era of sumptuous architecture, saucy clothing, outrageous dancing and jazz music at the most famous hotel in Australia on February 5.
The popular festival will continue to swing at 11am on Saturday, February 6, when 1000 people attempt to reclaim the Guinness World Record for the largest number of costumed people dancing the Charleston at the Hydro Majestic Charleston Challenge.
That will be followed by the Majestic Long Lunch from 1pm to 5pm featuring regional food and wine, special guests, dancing and jazz music.
Guests can complete their immersive 1920s experience with Shanghai Nights of cocktails and canapes, lights, lanterns and jazz music to celebrate on the eve of the Chinese lunar New Year.
The Roaring 20s Festival will continue throughout February at other venues around the Blue Mountains.
Go to hydromajestic.com.au to book the Gangster Casino Night ($65 for two tickets) and other Hydro Majestic Hotel events and register for the Hydro Charleston Challenge.
Hydro Charleston Challenge: 1000 dancers needed
Dance your way into history at the Hydro Charleston Challenge
Hydro Majestic Casino Night Club
By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group Photos: David Hill
The Blue Mountains needs 1000 dancers in 1920s-style costume to snatch a Guinness World Record back from England on Saturday, February 6.
The Hydro Charleston Challenge broke the official world record three years in a row but was thumped by the town of Bexhill in the UK in August with 503 people followed by an attempt with 975 dancers in London validated by Guinness in October.
Hydro Charleston Challenge co-ordinator Angela Corkeron said: “We want that title back and we’re going to take it back in elegant art deco style.
“Technically we need 976 dancers to reclaim the record but this is the Hydro Majestic, so let’s raise the stakes and aim for a thousand dancers to really smash the record.’’
Hydro Charleston Challenge co-ordinator Angela Corkeron leads the successful 2015 attempt
The annual Guinness World Record attempt for the largest number of costumed people dancing the Charleston will be held at the Hydro Majestic Hotel on the lawn in front of the Belgravia accommodation wing.
Pre-register online (www.hydromajestic.com.au) or manually on the day from 9.30am and practice the dance routine at home to the online tutorial (see the website). Practice sessions will be held from 10am on the day, with the actual world record attempt to kick off at 11am.
“There’s plenty of room. If the lawn fills up or you prefer to dance on a hard surface, step into the historic tennis courts overlooking the exquisite Megalong Valley,’’ Ms Corkeron said.
“We’ll even spill into the carpark if we have to.’’
Anyone can take part in the Hydro Charleston Challenge. All participants need do is wear a costume and be able to follow the dance for five minutes.
Click HERE to watch a Charleston dance tutorial to practice in private before the big day.
“Assembling a costume could be as simple as wearing a boa, a drop-waist dress and some Mary-Jane shoes (the ones with the straps, buttons or ribbons across the top) for the ladies and a loose suit and a Fedora for the fellas.’’
Gold coin donations will be collected for the Rural Fire Service Blue Mountains district on entry.
Escarpment Group general manager Ralf Bruegger said: “The Hydro Charleston Challenge is a chance to let your hair down and show off against the backdrop of this fabulous flamboyant hotel.
“This is where Mark Foy held legendary outrageous parties, where the famous and the infamous came; this is where Australia’s first Prime Minister died; this was the centre of the Blue Mountains’ heyday.
The Blue Mountains held the record for three years in a row
“The Hydro Majestic is definitely back on the party scene with all the flare and style of its first heyday.’’
The 2016 Hydro Charleston Challenge will be held at 11am on Saturday, February 6, followed by the Majestic Long Lunch from 1pm to 5pm when guests in 1920s finery will graze informally from picnic hamper boxes packed with regional delicacies, promenade on the lawns and dance the afternoon away to the strains of a `20s-style band.
The Roaring 20s-themed weekend will begin on Friday, February 5, with the Gangster Casino Night to celebrate the era of breaking with tradition, crooks and prosperity – and this time there’s no prohibition. Net proceeds from the adults-only event will go to CareFlight aeromedical charity.
The weekend will close with the uber sophisticated Shanghai Nights of cocktails and canapes, lights, lanterns and jazz music to celebrate on the eve of the Chinese lunar New Year.
The Roaring 20s Festival will continue throughout February at other venues around the Blue Mountains.
The Hydro Charleston Challenge and other Roaring 20s events at the Hydro Majestic Hotel pay homage to the decade when the region cut loose in an endless round of hedonism – sumptuous architecture, costume balls and high teas, saucy clothing, outrageous (for the time) dancing and jazz music.
Go to hydromajestic.com.au for more event, accommodation and dining option information and bookings, to register for the Hydro Charleston Challenge and watch the tutorial of the Charleston dance HERE.
* Escarpment Group is a commercial client of Deep Hill Media and Headline Publicity
The dance-off will be held on the historic tennis courts, the lawn in front of the Belgravia wing and the carpark
Blue Mountains: Roaring `20s Gangster Casino Night
Roaring 20s Festival patron Claudia Chan Shaw. Photo: David Hill
By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group
In the tradition of Al Capone, Dutch Schultz and Bugsy Siegel, the original Blue Mountains party palace will reawaken the spirit of its Roaring `20s heyday when the Hydro Majestic Hotel holds a Gangster Casino Night on Friday, February 5.
The event, which will kick off Roaring 20s-themed events at the hotel during that weekend, will celebrate the era of breaking with tradition, crooks and prosperity.
Guests can play Blackjack, Poker, Roulette, The Money Wheel with Majestic Money at casino-quality tables with professionally trained casino standard croupiers.
Prizes on the night will include accommodation packages, dinner and show tickets, day spa and high tea packages and more.
An 18 years plus age restriction applies for this event, which will be held from 9pm to 11pm.
Net proceeds from the event will go to CareFlight aeromedical charity. Donation receipts are available on the night for cash-in purchases only.
Established in 1986 with a mission to save lives, speed recovery and provide the highest standard of rapid response critical care, CareFlight has since helped more than 5000 patients a year.
CareFlight relationship development manager Andrew Whitelaw said: “CareFlight’s first mission, close to thirty years ago was flying two children after an accident in Lithgow. From those early beginnings, CareFlight has continued to service the greater Blue Mountains communities. Without the generous support of these communities, we would not be able to take off – literally.’’
Escarpment Group general manager Ralf Bruegger said the luxury hotel group was pleased to help CareFlight, which often assisted other emergency services with search and rescue, lost bushwalkers and urgent medical transportation by highly trained and qualified medical staff.
The Gangster Casino Night would provide the pinch of outrageousness the Hydro Majestic was renowned for when it was opened by retail doyenne Mark Foy in 1904.
“Foy held legendary parties at the Hydro. They were totally over the top and hedonistic. His `Palace in the wilderness’ was where everyone who wanted to have fun went – the famous and the infamous.
“We’re still partying.
“There will be no cigars or opium like there was in the 1920s, but there’s no prohibition in 2016 so our bars will be open and serving a range of exotic cocktails.’’
Elegant gangsters and flappers can relive the era of sumptuous architecture, saucy clothing, outrageous dancing and jazz music at the most famous hotel in Australia.
“Gangsters were most definitely criminals but the mob bosses weren’t ruffians. They always look snazzy – Al Capone was just as sophisticated as Rudolph Valentino,’’ Mr Bruegger said.
To look the part, gents could wear a three-piece suit (pinstriped if possible) accentuated by a contrasting tie (never a bow tie) and suspenders, with a dark overcoat, a fedora hat, black dress shoes with white spats, a pocket square, watch chain with a watch and a thin, straight moustache.
Flappers sported short sleek hair, shorter shapeless shift dress, a flat chest, dramatic makeup (often applied in public), exposed limbs and epitomising the spirit of a reckless rebel who danced the night away in the jazz age.
Accessorise with a long string of beads; a beaded skullcap, fascinator headpiece or scarf; long satin gloves; stockings rolled down just below the knee; and Mary Jane-style shoes. Hair was worn in a bob, a chignon; or waves or kiss-curls around the hairline.
Hydro Charleston Challenge co-ordinator Angela Corkeron leads the successful 2015 attempt. Photo: David Hill
The popular festival will continue to swing at 11am on Saturday, February 6, when approximately 520 people attempt to reclaim the Guinness World Record for the largest number of costumed people dancing the Charleston at the Hydro Majestic Charleston Challenge.
That will be followed by the Majestic Long Lunch from 1pm to 5pm featuring regional food and wine, special guests, dancing and jazz music.
Guests can complete their immersive 1920s experience with Shanghai Nights of cocktails and canapes, lights, lanterns and jazz music to celebrate on the eve of the Chinese lunar New Year.
The Roaring 20s Festival will continue throughout February at other venues around the Blue Mountains.
Go to hydromajestic.com.au to book the Gangster Casino Night ($65 per person) and other Hydro Majestic Hotel events and register for the Hydro Charleston Challenge.
* Escarpment Group is a commercial client of Headline Publicity and Deep Hill Media