Spa Luxe – Australia’s Best Spa Treatments

Style – 25 August 2014

The woman with drive staff go to great lengths to please our readers. On this occasion we find ourselves at the mercy of Australia’s most indulgent spas. We were looking for more than the routine exfoliation/ moisturise/ massage – and found some very special and unusual offers. Signature spa treatments are not necessarily the most relaxing treatments, so if you are looking for pure relaxation, with the very real risk of falling asleep, your best bet is a full body massage. However if you want to feel like Cleopatra and be pampered from head to toe, keep reading. Sadly, we couldn’t try every treatment on offer, so please share any of your spa experiences with us in the comments section.

The Darling – Sydney Turkish Hamam Body Polish

The Darling is home to the largest and most luxurious spa in Sydney. The Turkish Hamam is performed in the seclusion of your own private chamber where you lie on top of a large round slab of marble. Your skin is exfoliated and then treated with Turkish spices and moisturising milk. This is a wet treatment so you are moving from your front to your back throughout. The result is very polished and nourished skin – you won’t believe how soft it feels.

60 minutes – $200

Miss Fox – Melbourne Roses and Rubies Indulgence

Relaxing on a warm bed of fresh rose petals you are given a gentle all-over exfoliation. Then cocooned in warm towels, you enjoy a healing and rejuvenating facial massage using Ruby-Infused Face Oil and a Rejuvenating Rose Mask. This is followed by a milk bath to soften and cleanse. A full body massage with rose oils completes the treatment and French champagne or artisan teas await you at the journey’s end.

3 hours 30 minutes – $515

Aurora – The Prince, Melbourne and Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast Guku Cocoon

Performed in a private steam room, this is a unique body treatment featuring honey. A foaming and exfoliating body cleanse is followed by the soothing sensation of honey poured over the body. Then a hydrating clay mask is applied all over. The treatment is completed with a facial cleanse, honey face mask and a nourishing hair treatment. This is a very special treatment indeed.

60 minutes – $185

Qualia – Hamilton Island White Haven The White Haven starts with a flow of white silk caressing your skin and then a clarifying sea mineral salt exfoliation. A crushed pearl and kelp body-mud is then applied, that both cleanses and nourishes – later removed in an outdoor rain shower. This is followed by a full body massage with signature Whitehaven aromatherapy oil, and the final touch is a marine facial.

180 minutes – $480

O’Reilly’s Resort – QLD Lamington National Park Vinotherapy Ritual

How can you get even more wine into your weekend away? Absorb it through the skin! There are only a few spas in Australia offering vinotherapy. This treatment uses grape skin, which is high in resveratrol – a powerful anti-oxidant. In this treatment you relax in a private steam room, then enjoy a full body exfoliation with red grape extracts followed by a vinotherapy infused body mask and a relaxing scalp massage. After rinsing off, you enjoy a full body massage and then conclude with a warm soak in the tub – all with views of the pristine national park.

180 minutes – $365

Golden Door – Hunter Valley Watsu

For something different, try a Watsu session at The Golden Door (Hunter Valley only). This aquatic bodywork treatment is performed in a private heated pool. The therapist supports your body in the water and moves your spine in ways that are not possible on land. It’s like a supported shiatsu session in water.

50 minutes – $200

Isika Day Spa – Crown Perth Himalayan Rejuvenation Treatment

This Aveda detox is performed in four stages. Start with the Neti treatment – an aromatic steam inhalation, second is the Friction Massage – a vigorous full-body dry exfoliation and a rhythmic massage, then you are enveloped in an aromatic steam tent, and finally a ‘shirodhara’ – a continuous stream of warmed plant oil infused with a customised aroma directed between your brows.

120 minutes – $279

Crown Spa – Crown Towers Melbourne Platinum Rare Facial

This indulgent facial is the ultimate beauty treatment. Two therapists pamper you from head to toe, using the high-performance Platinum Collection by La Prairie. The facial also includes La Prairie cellular cream, serum and Platinum Rare eye cream. The result is skin that is energised, hydrated and glowing.

90 minutes – $450