LOCATION
Near Echo Point – where The Three Sisters stand guard.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS
It is hard to put the Echoes Boutique Hotel and Restaurant dining experience into words. Among the clouds, and the seemingly endless gum-tree studded peaks of the Blue Mountains, it is almost inconceivable that you could be treated to the comfort, and stellar quality of food, in such an idyllic setting. And yet you are.
The manor, built on the edges of Echo Point by famed author Tom Keneally, has been operating as the award-winning Echoes Boutique Hotel and Restaurant for five years. Three years ago a decorator transformed the residence into an opulent, atmospheric haven. The first-floor of the manor houses a range of dining areas – from a breezy terrace, where linen-set tables provide a classy accompaniment to the sweeping panorama of the Jameison Valley, through to a dark, Manhattan-style function room in which large, baroque-style chairs invite guests to dine in decadence. A central lounge bar, complete with open fireplace, leather lounge, piano forte, and fully-supplied mirrored bar, completes the embodiment of luxury.
However, the decor is only an introduction to what you really come for – the cuisine. Chef Robert Stapleton treats guests to a menu featuring entrees like souffle tartlet of lobster and prawns with julienne of snow peas, ginger and lemon grass beurre blanc, and generously-sized, masterfully presented, mains including his signature double-roasted Barbary duck with poached pear, potato dauphinoise, honey and coriander sauce. And, if despite indulging in one of the desserts you still crave more, you can unwind with a stay in one of the hotel’s 14 boutique rooms. Perhaps Keneally, who immortalised the property in a poem, best summarises the experience: “Hearing the valley’s vast green sea, you’d let its answer set you free.”
Agnes Gajewska, June 2009
DETAILS
An intimate boutique hotel offering a more personal style of service and an intimate atmosphere that is only found in boutique establishments.
DINING
Echoes' Restaurant and chic bar is perched at the absolute edge of the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains National Park, with views of mountains, cliff edges and lush rainforest valleys right through the Jamison Valley to Mittagong, 80 kilometers away.The dining area truly is divine with an opulent, yet warm and inviting ambience. Featuring bare stone walls, open fire places, upholstery of dark rich fabrics, gilt framed mirrors and gloriously well spaced tables draped with crisp, quality linen.
Echoes Restaurant has set a new benchmark for style and excellence among Blue Mountains restaurants. Luxurious, dramatic, light-filled and spacious, the dining room and terrace is decked out with bi-folds, manhattan lighting and glass, so that our breathtaking views remain uninterrupted.