Balmain Bath House has to be the best bang for buck when it comes to sweating it out and scrubbing up. Hidden behind the Nature’s Energy store on Darling Street, the Bath House is larger than you would expect and the facilities – though more basic than some of the five-star hotel spas – are clean, in good working order and wonderfully fragrant. The staff are welcoming, knowledgeable and kind and they have all the perks of a pricier spa: fluffy robes, secure lockers, hair dryers, slippers and herbal tea on tap. It’s one of three Nature’s Energy centres in Sydney, and the Balmain locale offers the same specialised massages (gem-stone healing, Reiki, acupuncture, etc), spa facials, waxing and spray tanning as the other venues. But this one goes even further – hot spa, cold pool, (intense) steam room, sauna, showers and change rooms. Using the Bath House alone costs $24 per person for 30 minutes. On Time Out’s visit, one of the most popular treatments was the Turkish Body Scrub (15 minutes, $32). The full-body exfoliation uses a seasonal body wash – zesty in spring and nourishing in autumn – and leaves you with skin as soft as a baby’s.
