Travel review: The Banya Bathhouse, Mullumbimby, NSW
The current haute culture of wellness is not the agenda at The Banya; rather, it’s about relaxation and socialising.
“A bathhouse has been on my mood board for ages,” says the woman seated above me in the wood-fired sauna. She’s travelled for hours to be here and merrily administers more water to the grate, ramping up the steam to tank engine levels as she explains how the suggested order of experiencing Mullumbimby’s new bathhouse, The Banya, has messed with her glam photo op.
The prescription for sweating and shivering to achieve ultimate invigoration here begins in the dry sauna and proceeds to the lung-searing steam room before you rinse under a bucket, plunge into the 9C cold pool (for at least two minutes, I’m told) and finish in the warm magnesium spa. By which point you’re thoroughly bedraggled and not in the least ready for that Instagram money shot.
If you’re here for that, and many are, make a note to snap yourself in the pool prior to wilting in the oppressively hot but strangely addictive steam room. It’s little wonder phones are at the ready, though, because the space seems engineered to generate social content, even if that was never the intention of owner Brendan Lawless, who finally opened The Banya in December 2022 following delays from the pandemic and then the Northern Rivers floods.
Lawless was inspired by the social aspect of Russian bathhouse culture. While you can certainly see references to that style in the authentic wood-panelled sauna and bucket shower, he stopped well-short of deep-diving into a kitsch facsimile. For better or worse (but probably better), you’re not going to be whacked with birch leaves by an enthusiastic Russian. Instead, cues were taken from the historic 1920s former bank that The Banya now occupies. Standing gracefully in the main street of Mullumbimby, in the Byron shire, the building’s original beauty is honoured through the stylings of local interior designer Mardi Borrack, who blended Art Deco with a luxe Mediterranean vibe to incredible effect – eliciting a cascade of social sharing in the process.
A former set designer, Borrack created a space that is sympathetic to the era without feeling staged, and encourages the camaraderie of communal bathing. Beautiful parquetry floors, soaring, embellished ceilings, well-placed Deco flourishes and original exposed brick walls make for an interior that embodies bygone glamour while also being warmly inviting. Outside, the green-and-white chequerboard-tiled spas and lap pool are partially shaded by palms and hemmed by the heat rooms on one side and white-washed alcoves for lounging on the other. It’s not huge, but even as the bathhouse fills during my 90-minute session, everyone seems well dispersed.
You needn’t sweat or be wet the whole time. Instead, you might sip a green juice in the soggy-bottoms-welcome banquettes or adjourn to the generous daybeds where you can linger as long as you like. Post-bathe, head to the bar with your bubble buddies for oysters and Prosecco or a selection of light nibbles, from plates of white anchovies to steamed dumplings. Or tease out the day with a massage treatment upstairs to let your now-pliable joints sink further into relaxation.
I’m told the current haute culture of wellness is not the agenda at The Banya; rather, it’s about relaxation and socialising. There’s nothing like making connections with fellow stranger bathers while you’re gently (and then aggressively) steamed. And while I’d been warned I may be hustled out of the bucket showers by influencers filming themselves, that doesn’t transpire. Instead, everyone encourages each other to embrace the heat and cold and there’s much endorphin-fuelled blissed-out smiling. Yes, there are barley-covered buttocks poised to camera, but find, too, septuagenarians in bathing caps, gym boys meeting post their workouts, and couples having a celebratory soak.
With a jet aimed at a niggle in my back, I watch the comings and goings, nodding to those panting out their time in the cold spa and smiling knowingly to those easing into the warmth. And over at the bucket shower, I see my sauna sister finally capturing her photo, ready to be pinned to someone else’s mood board.
The Banya Bathhouse cheklist
Perfect for: Anyone who loves a good steam and soak, as long as you’re over 18 years old. It’s particularly good for exhausted parents who need some time not being touched by a small human.
Must do: If you can, go with a friend and stay beyond your session to enjoy the restaurant. Try a banya bowl (greens, kraut, pickles, smashed butterbeans, marinated egg on brown rice with lemon and herbs) or a broth bowl (greens, barbecued mushrooms, mushroom broth, marinated egg) teamed with a Hinterland high smoothie (don’t ask).
Getting there: Mullumbimby is a 20-minute drive north and slightly west from Byron Bay.
Stay: Beautiful Mullumbimby is sprinkled with Airbnbs, but you could also stay five minutes away in the upwardly mobile coastal town of Brunswick Heads. Try the boutique motel The Brunswick or head back to Byron to bed down in The Sunseeker.
Rates: A bathhouse session is $60 for 90 minutes. One-hour massage treatments are $140.