My husband and I spend one night during our honeymoon at The Carrington with many recommendations from locals. It was everything we thought it would be and more. The entire place has been renovated but still maintains historic charm. We were given a great deal on our room when we mentioned being on our honeymoon. We were shown all the rooms we wanted to see and the staff told us of the history and renovations, and of the many important world leaders who stay there. They made calls for us to local restaurants to find us the food we wanted to eat and gave great directions. Our room had a great view and a beautiful, clean, spa bath. I wish I had some of our photos with me so you could see some of the photos we took of the grounds, our room, stairwells, ball room, billiards room, grand dining hall, lounge and more. The free breakfast was the best meal we had our entire trip! It was displayed beautifully, maintained well and the food was delectable. The most tender fruit, delicious veal sausage, tasty eggs…..the works! There were many juices, breads, spreads, cereals ect. to choose from. I’ve cooked for an Italian restaurant and have had some good stuff, but this was great. I would recommend staying at the Carrington, regardless of the other bad reviews. Show a great attitude, and you’ll probably get one back!

My husband and I stayed here in Feb 2006 and were initially very excited to stay in a heritage colonial style hotel.. the front of the hotel is very impressive and we held great expectations as we checked in. The room they gave us was tiny and dark and as we pulled back the curtains (thinking we could at least have a nice view) all we saw was the back of some rusty sheds and garbage bins. The bathroom was terrible with rust in the bath. We promptly went downstairs and asked for an upgrade - lucky they had one spa deluxe room which was much better and the view was the front of the hotel. Still it was not a very "deluxe" room and overall we were very disappointed. The only good thing was the free breakfast in the morning which we ate very quickly and left shortly after.

When you stay in a colonial hotel built in 1880, you should not expect the type of features and amenities you find in faceless corporate hotel chains. The Carrington ooozes charm and character. There are areas of the hotel that can be improved, but the owner is working steadily through an ongoing renovation program that has already seen much of the hotel restored to its former glory.
Once you have inspected the spectacular veranda (and had a drink), you can then move inside and check out the cocktail bar (champagne charlies), the ballroom, the amazing dining room and the billiard room amongst others.
At the time of writing all rooms deluxe and above have been restored and are more than adequate, although there is no air-conditioning (fans only), so try and avoid heat waves. The location of the hotel is ideal - right in the heart of Katoomba (a nice town full of art deco cafes and restaurants - check out the Avalon), with good off road parking. Ideal for trips to the mountains or the Jenolan Caves (a must see).
We spent two nights here in Jan 2006 and i couldn't fault the place or the service. We ate in the hotel on the second night and all 6 meals were absolutely glorious (especially the veal and the lamb).
The upshot of this hotel is that if airconditioning and satellite TV is more important to you than history and character, then avoid this hotel. If not, then book a room and enjoy a stay in Australia's history.

We stayed at the Carrington for 1 night as we travelled around Australia in September. We arrived with high expectations, as the other places we had stayed (Shangri-La Sydney, a place in Hunter Valley and Sydney Harbour B&B) had all been excellent. Not the Carrington though. The original room they gave us was at the end of a maze of passageways. The mould bubbling up outside the room door was the first sign of trouble! Inside, the room was quite large, but rather dark, a little damp and terribly drafty. The 'view' was of some rusting sheds and bins - nice! The bathroom reminded me of school. Anyhow, we didn't want to cause trouble, so decided to upgrade to a 'Premium' room. We did explain that the original room was cold and drafty, but they didn't seem to care. I'm sure that room will be offered to others which is a disgrace for the money. The Premium room was much nicer, although ridiculously hot and still rather shabby. Believe me, we like our 'old and charming' hotels, but that's not the same as dilapidated, cold and faded - with indifferent staff. In the evening we had a nice meal in the restaurant, but breakfast the next day was, like the rest of the hotel, cold, shabby and below standard. Bearing in mind that it is reasonably expensive, I would not recommend staying here - there must be better places that cost less. Don't be fooled by its 4-star rating, its nearer 2*. Blue Mountains are quite spectacular and there's great walks nearby, but I'd recommend other places above this area (Hunter Valley for example)