This spa is everything you’d expect from a pamper palace that’s been around for 25 years. Every word is spoken gently and with expert knowledge, there are floral fragrances floating through the air, opulent furnishing throughout the vast relaxation areas, dimly lit treatment rooms and a surprisingly expansive leafy garden. But you wouldn’t expect all this well-versed glamour from the stark white Art Deco building on a busy section of the Pacific Highway.
Once you’ve navigated your way to the hidden parking lot behind it, we suggest you start your luxe relaxation journey with a dip in the aquamedic pool. This steamy, marble-clad room gets curtained off so you can float past intense water massage jets in privacy. The huge domed ceiling and butt busts gives it a very Greco-Roman feeling, and the apparent benefits of the oxygenated water (doesn’t all water have oxygen?), like improvements in circulation, flexibility and muscle tone, will leave you feeling higher than Aphrodite. A splash on its own will cost you $80 for one hour, but it also gives you access to the steam room for a good sweat.
On our visit, the next step in our ascent to ultimate relaxation was a ‘mood lifting’ treatment ($185). This starts with a foot soak and scrub – your job is to inhale frankincense like the royal baby you are and channel good vibes – followed by an aromatherapy massage. This can be tailored to treat your most sore bits, and is the almost-doze-off kind of rub down, rather than a deep-tissue muscular alteration.
The therapists go heavy on the essential oils, and recommend a trip to the hair salon upstairs afterwards to de-grease your locks (nice up-selling, guys). The salon can also sort you out for a full cut, colour and blowdry, as well as eyebrow and lash work, waxing and make-up tutorials. If you'd also like to try out the high pressure Vichy shower or one of the spa’s facials, you can break up the day with lunch in the garden from the on-site kitchen.
