Family fun at Fairmont Resort & Spa Leura, Blue Mountains

Pony rides, a Fairmont Express steam train, a KidsZone and soft, complimentary toy ducks presented to little visitors on arrival are just some of what makes Fairmont Resort & Spa in Leura in the Blue Mountains a complete family stay option when travelling to the world-heritage listed area.

An MGallery by Sofitel property, Fairmont has a cosy, warm and welcoming atmosphere where our kids felt right at home from the moment of check-in.

In the spacious lobby with its high-vaulted ceiling, colourful Australian artworks by Brad Munro adorn the walls while a large window-sized aquarium brimming with an assortment of fish is an instant attraction for our kids.

We stayed in interconnecting rooms, allowing the adults one area and the kids another. Views over the trees of the valley were peaceful from our balcony while the kids were busy ogling minibar items (soon hidden from their view), and the size of their beds.

The hotel features all of the five-star touches you’d expect of an MGallery hotel, including robes, slippers, turn-down service, plentiful white fluffy towels and a coffee pod machine. I particularly liked the Ubika body products including the dark amber and ginger lily shampoo and conditioner, all paraben free and carbon neutral products made by Victorian company Hunter Amenities.

Arriving on a hot January day, we head straight for the pool after we view our rooms and our luggage is brought to our room. The newly refurbished outdoor pool and deck are right alongside the KidsZone – a series of rooms with a jungle gym, mirror maze, ten-pin bowling, arcade games, ball pit and slippery dips. In 2020, the hotel will also complete a transformation of its upper lake into an ice-skating rink.

The outdoor pool is flanked by several circular Jacuzzi’s, while an indoor heated pool is accompanied by a warm, bubbling Jacuzzi and sauna facilities. During my stay, families and couples alike are bobbing around in the pool, some floating on pool noodles and inflatable giant mermaid tails and swans provided by the hotel.

For fitness options, those over 16 can sweat it out in the hotel’s gymnasium or take a morning yoga class. The hotel also has a number of walking tracks from which you can explore Blue Mountains wilderness or stay on the property and discover the outdoor maze and gardens by the lake and a waterfall.

Descriptive and thorough Resort Guides available at reception provide maps and more details of regular activities, including daily movies screened in an auditorium, information about the Leura Golf Course (the oldest in the Blue Mountains with views over Jamison Valley) children’s ride details and costs and, for the big kids, happy hour information – hosted daily in Sublime Lounge.

The corridor to our room reveals the library, the billiards room (for over 18s) and a gift shop. We all loved the stunning and original Art Nouveau French fairground 52-key organ on display, originally built by Alexandre Gasparini in Paris between 1895 and 1900. It is one of fewer than 24 original Gasparini organs that remain in the world today. Fairmont Resort recently purchased a toy model train that is also on display, currently being restored to its original configuration.

During breakfast, served in Jamison’s restaurant between 7am and 10:30am on weekends, we grab an early seating and a table that offers scenic views over the grounds of the resort. The buffet is spacious with plenty of food choices including fresh fruit, cereal, muesli, yoghurts, pastries, a juicing station, an egg station, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast, cheese, charcuterie and a self-service Vittoria coffee machine.

For lunch and dinner, Embers Restaurant is the family-friendly casual dining option with an impressive fireplace and floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the greenery of the gardens. Another great local option nearby for dinner is the Alexandra Hotel in Leura, established in 1903 and known as ‘The Alex’. The classic pub has great deck or garden dining as well as indoor seating. Families can’t really go wrong with the generous and hearty $10 children’s meals that include a drink and ice cream.

Not far from Fairmont Resort & Spa, about a 10-minute drive, is the Echo Point Lookout that attracts around 1.5 to 2 million visitors each year. It’s here that you’ll get a beautiful vista over the Three Sisters sandstone peaks and the hills of the Jamison Valley. Parking after 5pm is free. We headed there after dinner to catch a magical sunset. Locals were enjoying picnics on the seats and there are several levels of platforms where tourists were either capturing photos or just quietly taking in the majesty of the sun setting over this incredible national park.

Fairmont Resort & Spa is within easy reach of Scenic World, the largest privately-owned tourist attraction in the southern hemisphere, where you can take a ride on the steepest passenger railway in the world.

For the eighth year, Sculpture at Scenic World will take place between 12 April and 12 May, 2019 when the valley will be transformed by more than 30 artworks dotted throughout a 2.4km walkway in the ancient rainforest. 

fairmontresort.com.au