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Sydney has well and truly embraced the bathhouse boom. From steamy social saunas to hyper-luxe wellness hubs, it seems every corner of the city has signed up to the hot-and-cold therapy club – and I’m a card-carrying member. Now, the Harbour City’s bathhouse obsession is heading to the Hawkesbury – and this one comes with a Champagne bar and option to stay the night. Sign us up.
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Opening on September 1 at Crowne Plaza Hawkesbury Valley, Aura Spa and Bathhouse is going straight to the top of our springtime re-set hit list. Just an hour's drive from Sydney’s CBD, the ambitious new retreat is being billed as the first luxury bathhouse destination in NSW to combine a full contrast-therapy circuit, float therapy, spa treatments, wellness dining and resort accommodation all in one place.
Set across eight hectares of landscaped gardens with views towards the Blue Mountains, it’s designed for both quick wellness fixes and longer restorative escapes. Translation? You can head up for a few hours of soaking and sauna-hopping (and maybe a nearby hike) before driving home, or turn the whole thing into a weekend away.
The centrepiece of the operation will be a bathhouse circuit featuring mineral pools, an outdoor cold plunge, a barrel sauna, traditional cedar sauna, steam room and a dedicated fire-and-ice room featuring infrared sauna and cold-water therapy. There are also indoor and outdoor relaxation spaces scattered throughout the property, encouraging visitors to slow down and settle into the experience rather than rush through it. We can also expect first-rate spa treatments (offered in partnership with Spanish skincare brand Skeyndor), and two magical float pools, positioned beneath a ceiling designed to resemble a starry night sky.
And of course, no wellness destination would be complete without a strong foodie offering. Alongside health-conscious menu options, Aura will feature a Champagne bar – because balance.
According to the team, Aura is continuing a legacy: the project is a complete reimagining of Villa Thalgo, a much-loved local spa that served the Hawkesbury community for more than 25 years. After devastating floods impacted the facility twice between 2020 and 2023, owners decided not simply to rebuild, but to create something entirely new. The result is a significantly expanded wellness destination, and while it’s sad to say goodbye to an old fave, we’ve got high hopes that Aura will over-deliver.
Bookings are set to open in August, with a limited number of Foundation Memberships also expected to become available for locals keen to cash in on regular wellness boosts. You can sign up for updates over here.