The best day spas in Adelaide

One of the newest additions to Adelaide’s day spa scene is Davaar House along South Terrace’s leafy hive. The 19th-century mansion has been transformed into a truly luxurious sanctuary where the city sounds are a distant memory. Complete with original fireplaces and yesteryear finishes, Davaar House gives formal minimalism. Along with the usual day spa suspects, this wellness institute serves up downright cutting-edge treatments. Stimulate your cells with mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy, tingle in an anti-inflammatory ice bath, breathe easily during salt therapy, and regenerate upon a red light therapy bed. They also offer Reiki, sound healing, yoga and naturopathic consultations, plus healthy bites, coffee and smoothies at the beautiful café.

Address: 318 South Tce, Adelaide 

Price: One-hour massage for $145; one-hour facial for $150

Would you believe us if we told you that one of the best urban spas in Australasia is located right here in Adelaide? Well, truth be told, Ione Spa and Wellness along the pristine West Lakes waterfront takes claim to just that, having won runner-up honours at the prestigious 2023 Australasian Spa and Wellness Awards. Forget no-frills, Ione has all of the frills with its organic skin products, Swiss Vichy jet shower and lakefront lounge with refreshments on the house. The building itself is even constructed with non-toxic materials and incorporates a crystal grid in the foundation for maximum energy healing. May we recommend the whopping 3.5-hour spruce-up? Essentially, you will be reborn. It’s no surprise Ione Spa and Wellness is one of the best day spas in Adelaide.

Address: Shop 74/155 Brebner Dr, West Lakes

Price: One-hour massage for $165; one-hour facial for $225; one-hour sauna session for $75

Sit back and relax – or float, more like it – at Hyde Park and Fulham Gardens’ Blue Lagoon Float and Spa outposts. The award-winning Roman-inspired bath houses flaunt bath-side columns, timeless archways and a distinctly reflective shade of blue that does wonders for the senses. Among Blue Lagoon’s restorative massages, nourishing facials, body treatments and sauna offerings, the day spas are all the rage for their inviting flotation therapy amenities. Leave that concept of gravity at the door and experience weightlessness upon a dense bath of epsom salt. Release tensions of the mind, body and soul; drift through the realms of relaxation; and maybe even astral project to Ancient Rome. Queue the mood lighting.

Address: 32 King William Rd, Goodwood |Fulham Gardens Shopping Centre, Tapley's Hill Rd, Fulham Gardens

Price: One-hour massage for $145; one-hour facial for $170; sauna session from $40

Coming in hot (or pleasantly warm in this scenario) is Temple Day Spa over in Unley, where an earthy facade of wood-clad walls and greenery suspended from the rafters entices that sweet inner peace. With a multitude of awards under its belt across 11 years, it’s safe to say that Temple’s therapists know a thing or two about self-care. Circling back to the ‘hot’ thing, Temple Day Spa does actually offer an ever-so-soothing hot stone massage – your discs will thank you later. But if that’s a little too much Mother Earth for your liking, opt for a full-body exfoliation, a hydrotherapy shower or an infrared sauna session. Oh, and to those up in the north-western suburbs, you’ll be pleased to know Temple Day Spa Semaphore is officially open for your pampering desires.

Address: 78 Unley Rd, Unley

Price: One-hour massage for $215; one-hour facial from $215; sauna session for $49

First things first: skin is the top priority at First Skin and Body. Having collected a slew of awards over the years and boasting 15 different skin-specific treatments, First is set on helping you feel your absolute best. Located inside one of Adelaide’s finest gyms, Next Gen Memorial Drive, this day spa is well-versed when it comes to the latest newfangled technology and procedures. As for the more so day spa side of things, we are all about the organic rehydrating honey and cocoa body wrap, where you’ll be lathered in papaya cream and walnut exfoliant, cocooned in French clay, and left to marinate and tenderise, leaving you oh so fresh and clean. 

Address: Next Generation Club, War Memorial Dr, North Adelaide

Price: One-hour massage for $145; one-hour facial for $180; steam room sessions from $65