Pavilions at Lenswood plans luxury $2.5m wellness centre expansion with SA‘s first ‘snow room’
Perfect for bridal parties and weekend getaways, a planned luxury day spa expansion for “discerning guests” would boast a chamber filled with snow all year round.
SA News
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A luxury $2.5m retreat and wellness centre planned for the Adelaide Hills would feature South Australia’s first “snow room”, where customers would use the snow for its purported health benefits.
A planning application submitted to Adelaide Hills Council details a proposal to construct the Lenswood wellness centre as an expansion of Pavilions at Lenswood, a boutique self-contained tourist accommodation provider on the same 3.65ha site.
Pavilions at Lenswood director Aaron Haarsma said the centre, which he hoped to open by mid-2027, would be unlike anything in South Australia and feature what he believed was the state’s first snow room, offering a year-round wintry experience.
“A snow room effectively works like an ice bath, but it’s far more pleasurable,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone really enjoys getting into an ice bath, even though it obviously has some health benefits.
“The idea is you can spend three to five minutes inside that room, rub the snow over your body – which is a bit of a novelty, of course – just to bring your core body temperature back down.”
Some experts have cast doubt on the health benefits of ice baths despite the trend’s popularity.
Planning documents said the adults-only day spa would “cater for the more discerning guest” and cap the number of customers to eight per hour to offer a private experience.
It would also include a steam room, saunas, plunge pools, a quiet room with nine day beds and “a couple’s treatment room with bath and private villa for groups of up to five people, perfect for bridal parties and girls’ weekends away”.
“It is all just very much about pampering and relaxing,” Mr Haarsma said.
“It’s definitely going to be an elevated luxury experience. We’ve got a few secrets up our sleeve in terms of how we approach that to make it really personalised.
“Hopefully it gives another reason to come up and enjoy the Adelaide Hills, and spend money in the local economy.”
Name options floated in the planning documents included “Exhale Day Spa and Wellness Centre” and “Nordic Day Spa” – a nod to European influences behind the concept. Mr Haarsma said he was yet to decide on the name.
The 600sq m centre would be open six or seven days a week from 10am to 6pm.
The plans are open for public consultation until July 10.
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Originally published as Pavilions at Lenswood plans luxury $2.5m wellness centre expansion with SA‘s first ‘snow room’
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