1. #FWP CITY BURNOUT 2. #FWP KIDS DRIVING YOU NUTS 3

1. #FWP CITY BURNOUT
Whether we’re over-exhausted or spending
way too much time in an office chair all day,
we urbanites need to jump-start our energy
levels. That’s when I reach for the salts. Chi,
the Spa at Shangri-La hotel in Sydney offers
a Body Balance Salt Glow (from $180, 60
mins, shangri-la.com/sydney) that wakes up
skin ’til it tingles, and stimulates blood flow.
In the penthouse world of Melbourne’s
Isika, spirits soar sky-high, with one of the
country’s best pools and spa suites that let
you float around Crown Melbourne’s top
floor for an entire weekend. I’m always a fan
of nourishing, detoxifying marine ingredients
– try the Caribbean Therapy Body Treatment
($240, 90 mins, crownmelbourne.com.au/
spas), a deluxe detox of warm seaweed.
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARIO SIERRA/FIOLIO-ID.COM, GUILLAUME DE LAUBIER, JASON BUSCH PHOTOGRAPHY
2. #FWP KIDS DRIVING YOU NUTS
Many dream of warming their toes by the
fire in an inner-city terrace. Body Freedom
Day Spa in South Melbourne is a kid-free
urban retreat in a refurbished 1850s hosiery
mill that’s all yours – for a while. Slide into
The Melt ($240, bodyfreedomdayspa.com.
au) – two hours of top-to-toe heaven, starting
with a full body brush (wonderful for
sloughing off dead skin and boosting
circulation), a thorough massage and
botanical facial, then the delicious finish of
a head and scalp treatment, and foot scrub
and massage. You won’t stop smiling…
3. #FWP YOU’RE FEELING WEEPY
The historic seaside town of Queenscliff,
on the Bellarine Peninsula, has a new spa,
Mud Day Spa, to pamper road-trippers and
sightseers. Rejuvenate with shimmering
silver views over Port Phillip Bay and a
coastal walk, then treat yourself to a
fabulous, gently rhythmic Li’tya Kodo
massage ($115, 60 mins, muddayspa.com.au)
– perfect for those who find deep-tissue work
too painful and prefer a nurturing touch.
4. #FWP THE SPARK HAS GONE
The Stables Day Spa in the Adelaide Hills is
an adorable gem in an intimate, converted
STRESS BEGONE (clockwise from
top left) Southern Ocean Lodge;
Isika; Chi Spa; Wolgan Valley.
stable, and is just
the place to take tea
and unwind while on
a country drive with your
other half in Adelaide’s
beautiful hillside garden suburbs. Deeply
hydrating Waterlily products add aromatic
delight; the hypnotic Seasonal Botanical
Spa Facial ($145, 60 mins, mtloftyhouse.com)
refreshes, hydrates and firms, thanks to its
contour masque packed with botanicals
and vitamin C.
Victorians can loosen tired muscles for
hours in the naturally warm waters of the
Peninsula Hot Springs in Fingal – a massive
wonderland of plunge pools, cave pools and
open baths. Then float into a distinctive
Peninsula Vine Massage (from $108, 45
mins, peninsulahotsprings.com) using the
skin and seeds of local grapes – this is
wine country, after all – reimagined as
a hydrating balm. Kids love this familyfriendly space, so bring them along and
tag team with a partner.
5. #FWP YOU’RE TOTALLY TOXIC
If you’ve always wanted to try a completely
natural treatment, the glorious garden at
Hummingbird Eco Retreat, in Red Hill,
Victoria, is the perfect invitation. The
massages are amazing and the facial
treatments (from $90 for 40 mins, humming
birdeco.com.au) are highly personalised,
using ingredients from the Hummingbird
Harvest Gardens. Therapists’ hands work
their magic while the birds twitter outside.
6. #FWP FELLA DUMPED YOU
Pack your bags, girls: you’re taking your
besties for the best catch-up ever. Head
to the Mineral Spa in Victoria’s Hepburn
Springs and get a 60-minute Retreat Access
Pass to the mineral-water therapy zone,
complete with hydrojet pools, infrared
saunas, steam room and lavender-infused
basalt stone sauna. Then add your choice
of treatments, including express massages,
facial, exfoliation or mani/pedis. From
$140 per person, including one treatment,
mineralspa.com.au.
7. #FWP TAX RETURN, BABY!
Yes, it costs about $2000 per night – and yes,
the spa treatments are extra. But the spa at
Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley is set
in the dramatic beauty of the Greater Blue
Mountains, and it provides world-class
bush luxury. After a 20-minute private soak
watching the gums sway in the breeze, a
Signature Mountain Aroma Massage (from
$185, 60 mins, wolganvalley.com) lets the
wondrous aromatherapy of Sodashi masks,
serums and mists enliven your state, as deep
muscle work untethers you from the city
once and for all. Or escape the mainland
entirely for Kangaroo Island’s pristine
wilderness. The rugged, empty wonderland
surrounding Southern Ocean Lodge has
a profoundly decompressing effect, and
the sublime local brand Li’tya (which uses
Indigenous techniques and ingredients) does
the rest. The lodge is a stunning locale for
the brand’s new crown jewel: the Dihlbi Bio
Active Facial, ($280, 90 mins, southernocean
lodge.com.au), showcasing the intense
bio-actives in its new star serum – terrific
for anti-inflammatory healing and an
instant glow.
FOLLOW CLEO ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM
@CLEOGLYDE
37
SVS21JUN15p037 37
12/06/15 4:40 PM