Hotel Blue

My wife and I are local to Katoomba. Last Friday night after dining early at Anki's, we ventured for the first time to the lounge at Hotel Blue to catch the Jimmy Vargas trio. Entry was free, so no complaints there. The open fire was going, and we managed to get seats on a lounge right next to it. The music was great, the bar prices ok, and we had an enjoyable time. Turns out the hotel has free jazz every Friday and Saturday night, so we'll go back. (Btw, the Hotel Blue is called Hotel Blue because it is in the Blue Mountains. It isn't blue. More a creamy light mauve.)

Upon arrival at the Hotel Blue around 5 pm, there was no one manning the front desk. By the way, the hotel isn't blue, and there are only 8 parking spots on premises, the rest is on-street. I wandered around the open hotel for several minutes searching for someone to check me in, Finally, I called the hotel from my mobile, after a considerable amount of time, someone answered and check-in was eventually completed. Not a great first impression; and against my instinct, I stayed. My room was upstairs, via a series of rickety stairs carpeted with fading, patchy carpet and creaking floorboards. A well-known sitcom from the '70s immediately sprang to mind - is this the 13th episode being played out live? Floors creaked, stairs creaked, doors creaked... Shown to my room, The wardrobe to hang clothes in isn't big enough to fit shirts, suits, etc. The bed linen was clean, at least, and the pillows in my room were actually comfortable memory foam type. The bed itself, however, was on a lean. The bathroom was atrociously old and outdated... You must ensure you keep the door closed, and exhaust fan on when showering or face a $1500 fine should the smoke detectors activate from the steam and the fire brigade shows up. My first night was a very windy night and I heard lots of banging outside, thinking it was a door not properly closed, I went looking outside at 1 am in the morning to try to find the source of the noise; to no avail. so despite being woken by the noises several times, I got some sleep. In the daylight, I found it was the exhaust box from the kitchen that ran up the side of the hotel outside my window that was poorly fixed to the wall causing the noise. (on a windy night, don't stay in room 10). Luckily, no wind on the second night of my stay. I got some Sleep! There is no staff after 9 pm at this hotel. The rooms have portable oil heaters, so the tip here is to turn it on, place it in the middle of the room before you go out for dinner. Some of the beds have electric blankets too. The rest of the hotel seems to be heated from fireplaces downstairs, and we had to ask to have those lit - even though it was near zero degrees and light snow was falling outside! Breakfast was not too bad - bacon, eggs, tomato, toast, packet cereals, sliced fruit, fruit juices and plunger coffee (coffee was quite good). I found this hotel to be hard work, I would not return. It is not far from the three sisters, probably no more than a 15-minute walk straight down the street, and the main street of Katoomba is a 5 to 10-minute walk.The staff were OK, although I think most of the staff were on working visas - there was one lady in the staff that was pretty helpful and cheery who seemed to do most of the back-of-house work.Qudos to her.

What a shame. The atmosphere was great, the music was great but the choice of food terrible. Who wants below average cold Chinese food in a nice pub with an open fire. What's wrong with nice pub food. We couldn't even order nice coffees or dessert. I would never eat there again. Each dish was full of onion.My stomach is still recovering from the onslaught.

Despite the seventies bathroom, water saver shower head(unable to rinse the shampoo out of my hair), sticking sliding door and paper thin walls, it was a great experience. The live music on Friday and Saturday night was worth any slight discomfort in the room. I don't like Jazz, but the great talent of the artists made up for my lack of understanding of the music. The staff were fantastic and I would stay again just for the atmosphere. A tip, try not to get a room next to a young family!

We stayed last weekend 2 nights, 2 adults, 5 yr old and 11 mth old. First impression, dated, old, antique. However, gave it benefit of the doubt, rooms were small but comfortable and clean, shower hot, fridge cold, room heating with radiator heater hot, electric blankets too hot, breakfast was great, dinner good/ Asian cuisine not much variety but the best fried ice cream, better than North Shore! Entertainment with jazz on Friday and Saturday night was a bonus unexpected and broke the normality!

My husband and I enjoyed a three night stay here in July. In a King room with breakfast included and free wifi. There is a bar fridge with free coffee and tea facilities plus biscuits. The tv is a good size and the heater keeps the room lovely and warm. The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom very clean. Yes it is an old hotel, its like stepping back in time, but we didn't mind as it was clean and the staff friendly.. The breakfast was great you could have scrambled eggs,sausage,cooked tomatoe,baked beans,cereal,toast,fruit,juice and tea or coffee. We ate at the restaurant twice and had Chinese, which was delicious. Plus there is a bar. The hotel is only 20 minutes walk to The Three Sisters and Echo point. And about 10 minutes to Katoomba town centre. They do have a car park for about 8 cars and we always got a spot. We would stay again.

I dont like negativity but this hotel deserves it, firstly as you pull up the main sign is smashed & missing, the windows look uninviting & like it's closed. The room photos nothing like this reality, we booked a king room which had a king bed & that's where it ends. There were cobwebs everywhere and the skirting boards covered in dust & the bathroom hasnt been updated since the 70s...we thought we could overlook this so stayed despite our reservations to wake up to ants all over the bedside table on investigation came from an ant nest under the bar fridge which the back was also too covered in dust. Breakfast was another disappointment cold scrambled eggs, owner on his mobile talking loudly, strange staff wandering through with clothes l wouldn't clean my house in, needless to say we did stay stay the second booked night Not to mention the endless amounts of old, flilthy furniture everywhere

Clean, comfortable rooms, friendly staff and great value for your money. On my stay there was live music at night and a hot breakfast included. On-site restaurant. Good location if you are exploring the area.

Poor . No parking except for on the street. Dining room ,young untrained staff , no idea about service, and didn't care . Stayed in Family room, old, dirty and cold ,with a small bathroom that is beyond repair. Don't be fooled by photos .