These hotel spas take massages and facials to the next level of bliss
Relaxation and pampering await at these peaceful hotel havens and we have tested them all for you.
At the best spas at Queensland’s Gold Coast, it is not only about facials and massages, but relaxation areas, wellness high teas and dream pods that extend your state of bliss even further.
Spa by JW Marriott
Ensconced in a velour robe the colour of whipped cream, I collapse into the curves of a chaise lounge and try to remember my name. I’ve just emerged from an aromatherapy massage and facial combination designed to deliver “calm”. It’s worked so well I’m practically catatonic.
Open since July, the Spa by JW is the Gold Coast’s newest hotel day retreat. Reached via a candlelit corridor, the neutral palette contains hints of blush, while Japanese-style foliage amplifies the air of restrained luxury.
There are six sublime treatment rooms, including a couple’s space (above) containing a freestanding stone bath and twin showers. A relaxation area, Finnish-style sauna, and steam room with fully adjustable water jets invite guests to linger.
Post-treatment, I indulge in a “wellbeing high tea” comprised of morsels such as lavender scones and smoked salmon atop sesame bark. Massages from $200 (60 minutes); wellbeing high teas, $79 a person.
One Spa at RACV Royal Pines Resort
A soaring bell tent typically spells circus, not spa. But add abundant white orchids, billowing drapes, fragrant oils and a soothing soundtrack and you’ve stepped inside One Spa.
Set amid the rolling golf greens of the sprawling RACV Royal Pines Resort, One Spa refreshed its decor and menu a year ago. A new partnership with Australia’s LaGaia Unedited skincare brand also brought the latest tools and techniques, including the Akwaterra massage implements my therapist is wielding.
They look like doorknobs but, when heated, deliver a delicious hot stones-style experience. Along with a tingling back exfoliation, thermal mud application and pressure point massage, it’s all part of the 90-minute Calm ritual.
A range of other treatments, including Vichy showers, are available. Allow time afterwards to kick back in the relaxation lounge with herbal tea, filtered water and a scoop of sorbet. Calm One Spa ritual (90 minutes), $250.
Chuan Spa at The Langham
I’m cocooned in white towels as my therapist paints sticky gel along my forehead creases, laugh lines and assorted other crinkles. To these, she affixes micro-magnets the size and shape of sturgeon caviar, which are said to repair skin by boosting hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin production. Do they work? At the end of my facial at Chuan Spa, my furrowed brow has softened, my cheeks seem plumper and my eyes are brighter. But whether it’s the micro-magnets, or the blissful acupressure-based Chuan Harmony Massage that preceded them, is difficult to say.
Either way, Chuan Spa, which opened late last year at The Langham Gold Coast, promotes rejuvenation. Traditional Chinese medicine principles are expressed at every turn, from essential oils based on the five elements to post-treatment teas.
Afterwards, I curl up in a dream pod, and nibble on a cranberry and chia slice. Chuan Harmony Massage, $290 (90 minutes); Qi Beauty Age-Defying Micro-Magnets facial, $350.
SpaQ at QT Hotel
It’s not hard to find the hammam-inspired steam room at SpaQ. Channelling the QT Hotel Gold Coast’s irreverent spirit, it’s behind the door marked Hot and Steamy. And forget standard fluffy white bathrobes. Here, you’ll don a hooded robe with Aztec print and cheerful crocheted slippers.
I sink on to the steam room’s multi-coloured mosaic tiles and let my mind unspool. Spending time in here is the perfect way to prepare for a spa treatment, says manager Sarah Hayes.
The temperature is soothing, not searing, leaving me ripe for a “freshly picked treatment” (which means you decide what you want on the day). I agonise between “relax” and “thermal” massage styles, so my therapist skilfully blends both, unravelling the knots in my neck, while leaving my limbs loose and flexible.
Longer “Goldie signature” experiences, such as the Weekend Warrior’s scrub, massage and facial, offer the ultimate in indulgence. Massages from $165 (60 minutes).
