The best new wellness retreats in Australia
These wellness destinations around the country blend indulgent treatments, thoughtful design and health-centric advice.
The latest wave of leading wellness temples – from opulent bathhouses to high-tech spas and urban retreats – are transformational spaces, designed for burnt-out city-slickers in need of rejuvenation. Offering cutting-edge therapies mixed with ancient remedies, medical services, and wellness coaching, these venues go beyond deep-tissue massages. Here, we round up our favourites around the country.
Aurora Spa & Bathhouse, Mornington Peninsula, VIC
The Continental Sorrento, the newly revamped resort on the Mornington Peninsula, has taken a no-limits approach to its wellness retreat, Aurora Spa & Bathhouse. Stretching to 1000 square metres with a capacity of 60 people at any one time, this holistic hotspot is a modern-day version of an opulent European bathhouse. The impressive spa offers all manner of treatments including massages, sound baths and medical-grade facials, while the subterranean bathhouse features one of the largest saunas in the southern hemisphere. There are four interconnecting hydrotherapy pools, including a magnesium float pool, a cold-plunge “glacial mist” chamber set to alpine temperatures, and a meditative “daydream” pool where you can block out the world and listen to underwater music. There are also thermal lounges and a dedicated suite for salt therapy, inspired by ancient salt caves to aid respiratory health. Founded by entrepreneur Lyndall Mitchell, the retreat allows guests to enlist in mindfulness, wellness coaching, and meditation programs designed for transformational change.
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Looking to reboot and relax? Discover life-changing wellness retreats and restorative getaways in the latest edition of Travel + Luxury magazine.
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BODHI Yallingup Spa, WA
With five wellness centres across Western Australia, the Bodhi brand is well-versed in the art of deep relaxation, and its latest retreat in Yallingup is its most luxurious yet. Set in the Margaret River wine region, the light-filled property puts the focus on nature, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the shores of Lake Gunyulgup. Kangaroos graze on the water’s edge, and inside guests hop between the infra-red sauna, hydrotherapy baths, and the waterfront yoga and meditation studio. Options in the six spacious treatment rooms include crystal-infused chakra balancing, indulgent facials and massages, some with oils, hot stones and warm bamboo rods. Indigenous Australian “kodo” rhythmic massages are also on offer to help balance and realign energy flow. Bliss out and book a half-day Awakening session that combines six treatments – massages, wraps and facials – in one.
Chuan Spa at the Langham, Gold Coast
Globally renowned for its tranquil setting and east-meets-west approach to wellness, the latest Chuan Spa in the glitzy new Langham Hotel on the Gold Coast offers up centuries-old healing philosophies on Queensland’s golden shores. Like its Sydney and Melbourne stablemates, this heavy-hitting destination spa follows the ideas of traditional Chinese medicine, with treatments reflecting the principles of wu xing (five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water) and catering to the individual needs of each guest. After a short quiz, your “disharmonies” among the five elements are detected and you’re swiftly directed to the most appropriate treatments that run the gamut from facials, wraps and massages to opulent body scrubs using 24k gold and crushed caviar. The soothing neutral-toned spa also features eight treatment rooms, steam rooms, saunas and an indoor magnesium pool.
Sofitel Spa Darling Harbour, Sydney
Overlooking Darling Harbour and spread across two floors, the new Sofitel Spa is built around the concept of a plush urban retreat. While it offers all the usual treatments found at a high-end spa – facials, massages, and body scrubs – the highlight of this supersized retreat is its half-day wellness journey. Inspired by the natural rhythm of the seasons, it incorporates elements of movement (exercise), nourishment (nutrition), care (treatments) and rest (introspection). This is a multi-pronged top-to-toe approach to health. Guests can choose to start the journey in Sofitel’s outdoor infinity swimming pool or sweat it out on a Peloton bike overlooking the harbour, before an infra-red sauna session. Then bliss out during the three-hour full-body “Care” ritual starting with a body buff, polish and wrap, followed by a massage and a sea algae-infused facial. Finish off with a light lunch, and your choice of a guided meditation or quick art-therapy session to allow the mind to rest, reflect and recalibrate.
Saint Haven, Melbourne
Opening next month, this members-only space will offer an extensive menu of wellness, recovery and anti-ageing treatments in a highly stylised setting combining a luxury hotel and private club. Alongside traditional workouts like HITT, reformer pilates and performance cycling, the venue, inspired by an Italian grotto, will feature hot and cold mineral-enriched thermal baths and saunas, plus leading-edge treatments like cryotherapy, vitamin C-infused showers, IV-infusion therapies and hyperbaric oxygen pods, said to help boost energy and improve sleep and mind clarity. A meditation cave will host mindfulness and breathwork classes. Leaving nothing to woo-woo chance, members can also opt for a health check, a medical assessment that uses data from bloodwork, epigenetic testing, pathology screening, blood-glucose monitoring, and sleep and resting heart-rate data to analyse your health and optimise each session. Like any private club, membership is based on an application process, where prospective members will be vetted and required to undertake an interview and show a real desire to focus on health and wellness.