As an early twentieth century example of a grand hotel in a town setting, the Carrington's garden and grounds are now unusual. The garden and grounds have a more locally based aesthetic significance for their landmark mature plantings - especially the Bunya Bunya Pines ("Araucaria bidwilli") - as well as constructed elements particularly the chimney stack, sandstone walling and gates on Katoomba Street, all of which contribute readily recognisable components to the Katoomba town centre / streetscape. The location of the Carrington Hotel at virtually the highest point in Katoomba and the sweeping approach drives, open lawns and prominent mature plantings have made the hotel an important landmark in the town from the time it was built. This is a pivotal component of the character of an early twentieth century mountain resort for which Katoomba is valued. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The present building is a rich physical embodiment of cultural attitudes over the century or so since it was built. The Carrington Hotel is symbolic of the importance of the Blue Mountains as a nationally recognised recreation area over the last century, and highly evocative of the lifestyle of the area during its period of greatest activity. The hotel also contains many items of furniture, fittings and ornaments which reflect the taste and technology of their period. The Carrington Hotel has importance on a local level for its association with the career of prominent landscape gardener Paul Sorenson as the first place he worked in the Blue Mountains and NSW. The garden and grounds have social significance on a local level for public appreciation of their landmark mature plantings, especially the Bunya Bunya Pines ("Araucaria bidwillii") and chimney stack, sandstone walling and gates on Katoomba Street and for the contribution they make to the community appreciation of the Katoomba streetscape. Their size, layout and remnant character are appreciated for the provision of green space and evidence of a grander, more gracious and important role for the hotel - and the town as a whole - in the past. The grounds of Carrington, particularly the forecourt to Katoomba Street, have significance to the local community as a place for gathering to mark special community events such as the re-enactment in 1951 of the first crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.