With its exotic drumbeat of a name, Katoomba sounds like something out of the Survivor Outback, but it is actually a 90-minute drive from downtown Sydney. Located in the Blue Mountains 1,500 feet above the Jamison Valley,Katoomba features dramatic rock formations, plunging waterfalls and untouched forest vistas. In Katoomba we stayed at Lilianfels Blue Mountains , the most elegant hostelry in town. With an indoor swimming pool, nearby golfing, a spa and gymnasium, the 86-room Lilianfels has all the modern amenities, yet retains a flavor of the Victorian era. Although the hotel itself is of recent vintage, it has been built as a manor house in keeping with the adjacent original 1889 residence.
Rooms are large and serene.
We managed to loaf quite well. We did bestir ourselves to visit the rock formation known as the Three Sisters. Around the corner from Lilianfels at Echo Point, a giant sandstone escarpment rises from the valley floor, splitting partway up into three strangely human-looking figures. Aboriginal legend has it that a father turned his daughters to stone to protect them from an unwanted suitor, then died before he could turn them back. We climbed the stones from above down then back up via 900 steps known as the Giant Staircase.