It takes two full-time staff an average of eight hours a day to dust the objets d'art, huge vases and art deco paintings that grace the reborn Hydro Majestic Hotel.
The curtains in the Chinoiserie-style Cat's Alley are made of the finest silk. I stand agog admiring them framing the arched windows that proffer views stretching for miles over the Megalong Valley.
It is impossible for me to decide what's more beautiful - the panorama nature has created beyond the window panes, or the luxurious interiors fashioned by interior designer Peter Reeve.
The "Hydro" is plush, opulent and extravagant, and takes my breath away when I arrive to stay in one of the 54 rooms that opened in time for Christmas.
It stretches 1.1 km along the escarpment at Medlow Bath, commanding one of the prime positions in the Blue Mountains.
It also has bucketloads of history: Dame Nellie Melba sang in the casino, author Arthur Conan Doyle stayed during his spiritual lecture tour of the Antipodes, and our first prime minister, Edmund Barton, had the misfortune to die there in 1920.
While there have certainly been ups and downs in its chequered career it has never flown under the radar, even during the past six years when hidden behind hurricane fencing undergoing a $30 million renovation.
The credit for its metamorphosis belongs to owners Huong Nguyen and George Saad who bought it in December 2008 and, despite the mountains of heritage-listing red tape, took an expensive punt on the grand old dame.
The Hydro's journey from the 40-room Medlow Bath Hydropathic Establishment to today's resurrected gem is told through black-and-white photos and 22 video screens in the Hydro Majestic Pavilion.
General manager Ralf Bruegger said he gets his gym workout clocking up about 15 km a day walking the length of the building, checking on the three restaurants, the guest lounge, the kitchens and how the umpteen scones are shaping up for the numerous high-tea sittings.
I follow in his wake fascinated to learn which pieces of furniture have been meticulously restored and listening to the stories behind the artefacts discovered in basements and attics.
The hotel has the magnificent Belgravia lounge for guests, valley views, grand public rooms, the casino with dazzling high ceilings, the light-drenched Wintergarden restaurant and high tea venue, the Passage Bar, 250-seat ballroom, a spa and the Delmonte wing for conferences.
While the Hydro has some teething problems (lack of signage, not all venues operating and some foreign staff finding English a struggle), I found it a joy to be there and the staff eager to help.
■ Swing maestro Tom Burlinson and late-1980s band 1927 will play at the Hydro in May. Click here for details.
