Are there any other visitors….

The Victoria and Albert Guesthouse, originally known as the Royal Hotel and later the Hotel Mount Victoria, has a long and fascinating history dating back to the 1860s. It has served many purposes over the years, from a grand hotel to a wartime convalescent home and even a school.

Regarding your specific question about whether people who died would be taken to a morgue at the back of the property, there’s no historical evidence or local lore that supports the Victoria and Albert Guesthouse (or its previous incarnations) ever having a dedicated morgue on its premises. ITS MEARLY LEGEND

In the early colonial period, before formal morgues were widespread, it was indeed common practice for bodies of the deceased, particularly those who died unexpectedly or were unidentified, to be taken to local public houses (hotels/inns) for temporary storage until an inquest could be carried out. This was a necessity due to the lack of dedicated facilities. However, this was generally a temporary measure, and specific hotels weren’t typically built with “morgues” as a permanent feature.

The Victoria and Albert Guesthouse, especially after its rebuilding into the grand Hotel Mount Victoria in 1914, was designed as a high-end tourist establishment. Its focus would have been on hospitality and grandeur, not on handling the deceased. While deaths undoubtedly occurred in the town and potentially within the hotel over its long history (as they do in any large, long-standing building), there’s no indication that it operated as a morgue or had specific facilities for that purpose.

Ghost Stories at the Victoria & Albert Guesthouse:

Despite the lack of a morgue, many old hotels and guesthouses, especially those with a rich history, gather their share of ghost stories. While the Victoria and Albert Guesthouse is celebrated for its historic charm and has hosted numerous notable figures (including a rumoured visit by JFK during its time as a convalescent home), it’s not particularly known for widespread or dramatic ghost stories or “hauntings” compared to some other establishments in the Blue Mountains or elsewhere.

The most prominent ghost story in the Mount Victoria area is, as discussed previously, that of Caroline Collits on Victoria Pass, which is a significant distance from the guesthouse itself.

While guests might occasionally report an unexplained creak, a flickering light, or a sense of presence – common occurrences in any old building – there isn’t a widely circulated “resident ghost” or a dark past tied to deaths within the hotel’s walls that has given rise to significant ghostly legends. The history of the Victoria and Albert Guesthouse is more about its architectural evolution, its role in tourism, and the famous individuals who graced its halls.