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Holiday at home in the Greater Blue Mountains this summer By Ellen Hill                Photos: David Hill From magical adventures among history and making your own fire poker to thrilling mysteries and gourmet delights, frazzled parents and bored kids can holiday at home in the Blue Mountains these holidays. Take your pick from this list of local activities: Hartley Historic Site, Old Bathurst Rd (just off Great Western Hwy), Hartley: Soak up the atmosphere of one of the best

By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group                 Photos: David Hill A little bit naughty, a little bit scandalous, a little bit sexy but ooh so majestically classy: the Hydro Charleston Challenge will high kick the original Blue Mountains party palace back to its famous roots on Saturday, February 6. The annual Guinness World Record attempt for the largest number of costumed people dancing the Charleston will be held on the lawn in front of the Belgravia accommodation wing

Vesta chef Misha Laurent checks a loaf he has baked in the antique woodfired oven By Ellen Hill for Vesta Blackheath                           Photos: David Hill She’s warm and gentle with a loving embrace: the honorary maître’d of Vesta Blackheath has been at the heart of the popular eatery for more than a century. Executive chef of the upper Blue Mountains restaurant, Misha Laurent, said the 120-year-old Scotch oven influenced the menu and set the tone for the atmosphere an

It is believed that Mark Foy imported the first motor car into NSW By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group The original Blue Mountains party palace of the first car owner of NSW will host a majestic gathering of the most elegant veteran vehicles and meanest modern wheels on the November 28 & 29 weekend. The Hydro Majestic Super Car Rally at Medlow Bath will showcase sophisticated motoring history with a range of pre-World War I veteran cars on display on the Saturday. Many will of

By Ellen Hill for Sue Liu Humanitarian efforts in far flung locations, terrible natural disasters and appalling acts of terrorism become believably real through Sydney author Sue Liu’s debut work Accidental Aid Worker. The independently published book is a travel memoir of a courageous woman on a quest to find love and places to belong. Readers will feel an immediate emotional commitment to Liu as they travel along this literary journey through an overwhelming series of exper

Charleston Challenge at the Hydro Majestic Hotel. By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group         Photos: David Hill The original Blue Mountains party palace will be a majestic venue at which to kick off the annual Roaring 20s Festival in February. Beginning on Friday, February 5, the Hydro Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath will host several stylish Roaring 20s Festival events during the weekend. The original Blue Mountains party palace The festival pays homage to the decade when the

Main St shopkeepers embraced the event and had window displays By Ellen Hill for Lithgow City Council      Photos: Ben Pearse and David Hill More than 27,000 Draculas, skeletons, goblins, fairies and other fantasy characters converged on the town of Lithgow for its annual Halloween monster mash last Saturday (October 31). More than 27,000 locals and visitors attended As well as much of the local community, several thousand visitors from out of town experienced one of the larg

Countess Pamela Pire will sink her teeth into local history during LithgowHalloween15 By Ellen Hill for Lithgow Tourism                         Photos: David Hill Transylvania royalty and the thrilling reincarnation of a charismatic pop superstar will entertain the crowds at LithgowHalloween15 on October 31. Oozing sass and Gothic glamour, Countess Pamela Pire Heiress to what was once the great Pire Coffers of Transylvania, esteemed Doctor of the Ology of undying and 1926 Tra

Porsche will be represented at the Hydro Majestic Car Rally By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group             Modern car photos: David Hill The original Blue Mountains party palace will rev up when the Hydro Majestic Hotel hosts a vintage and modern super car show on the November 28 and 29 weekend. Veteran cars such as this 1912 Buick will be a feature Escarpment Group general manager Ralf Bruegger said: “Original owner of the hotel, retailer Mark Foy was a huge car enthusiast a

The Sebel Hawkesbury will host two free music gigs during the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival in October By Ellen Hill for The Sebel Hawkesbury Resort & Spa Get into the blues and roots groove in stylish luxury when the only 4.5 star resort in the Hawkesbury-Nepean region hosts two free Sydney Blues and Roots Festival gigs during the weekend of October 23 to 25. James Bennett will perform at the Sebel Hawkesbury The tone will be set with fireworks by the lake at the front of Th

The Sebel Hawkesbury Resort & Spa is the only 4.5-star hotel in the Hawkesbury-Nepean region By Ellen Hill for The Sebel Hawkesbury Resort & Spa             Photos: David Hill It could be the tinkling water features dotted around the property. Maybe it’s the sweeping lawns of the golf course or the subtle fragrance from the day spa floating on the breeze. Location is part of the appeal It’s probably all that combined and then some which makes The Sebel Hawkesbury Resort & Spa

Fun fantasy characters like these from Lithgow Living History will mix with freaky faces at Lithgow Halloween By Ellen Hill for Lithgow Tourism             Photos: David Hill Crazy costumes, Trick or Treat fun and staying up late. Welcome to Halloween celebrations Lithgow style. Families will have a selection of dining options to choose from Organised and hosted by Lithgow City Council with support from local sponsors, the annual event will be particularly geared towards fami

The Hydro Majestic Moon Festival added spring colour to Australia’s most famous hotel By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group                                    Photos: David Hill A full lunar sphere rising above the original Blue Mountains party palace set the tone for the inaugural Hydro Majestic Hotel Moon Festival last weekend. Chinese lanterns provided a cheerful glow Several hundred people attended the event on Saturday despite inclement weather and those who visited on Sund

Paranormal Pete (aka Pete Clifford) shines the spotlight on dark tourism By Ellen Hill                                                            Photos: David Hill This article was written for and published in the Blue Mountains Gazette monthly Review magazine on September 16, 2015 “Is there anybody here tonight?” With the agony of long-gone tortured souls reaching out from the sandstone walls at your back and the sticky black of darkness all around, you nervously prepare to

(l-r) Lithgow Living History members Robyn Burton, Vicki Hartley, Ian Rufus and Alexa Burton bring Hartley Historic Site to life. By Ellen Hill for Hartley Historic Site                                                  Photos: David Hill Explore one of the best examples of colonial history afresh when Hartley Historic Site holds its annual Back to Hartley family fair on Sunday, October 25. Be entertained with live music by Lithgow Folk Club; take a trike or pony ride; have a

Artist Warwick Fuller at work By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group Artists can take their talent right to the edge with one of Australia’s top painters at a workshop retreat at Parkland’s Country Gardens & Lodges in September. Renowned landscape painter Warwick Fuller will lead an intimate three-day outdoor oil painting workshop for a select group of 10 energetic artists with experience in oils at the luxurious Escarpment Group property at Blackheath from September 15 to 17. Es

Delishus … a taste of Spain in the Hawkesbury. By Ellen Hill for Delishus Tapas Bar & Restaurant                            Photos: David Hill Naming your restaurant Delishus sets high expectation but it is one which Richmond restauranteurs Jose and Sally Fernandez consistently exceed. Since opening Delishus Tapas Bar & Restaurant in the Hawkesbury in October 2009 with no restaurant experience, the couple has won the Foxtel I Love Food Award for Best Spanish Restaurant in NSW

Celebrate the season of re-awakening at one of the most famous hotels in the world. Photo: Brigitte Grant Photography By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group Revel in the season of re-awakening when the original Blue Mountains party palace, the Hydro Majestic Hotel, hosts a spring Moon Festival to celebrate traditional Asian culture, family and friends, new growth, harmony and the blessings of prosperity and abundance on September 26 and 27. Wander the harvest-themed stalls showca

Darleys Restaurant executive chef Lee Kwiez. Photo: David Hill, Deep Hill Media By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group He was acknowledged by industry for his fine dining creations but for NSW Chef of the Year, Darleys Restaurant executive chef Lee Kwiez, “it’s all about the yum’’. His top chef gong was one of five major awards received by Escarpment Group in the Blue Mountains at the Tourism Accommodation Association (NSW) Awards of Excellence in July. Darleys Restaurant at the

Escarpment Group revenue and yield manager Daryl Walker accepts another gong for the hotel business at the TAA awards By Ellen Hill for Escarpment Group The Escarpment Group collection of hotels in the Blue Mountains is the premier luxury accommodation provider in NSW. Five top awards at the prestigious Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) NSW 2015 Awards for Excellence on Wednesday (July 29) proves it. Awards won by Escarpment Group at the gala awards night at the Westin Ho