New hot springs villas offer a perfect ‘relax and recharge’ set-up
By Jim Darby
The place
Hepburn Spa Retreat Wellness Villas, Hepburn Springs, Victoria
The freestanding Wellness Villas of Hepburn.
Check-in
Central Victoria is positively bubbling with good minerals and they come to the surface at Hepburn Springs, a few minutes past Daylesford, and about a 90-minute drive from Melbourne. Among the early European settlers were Swiss and Italian adventurers who had some understanding of the healing powers of mineral springs, and they soon tapped into them here. The bathhouse has been transformed and offers a range of spa, wellness and beauty treatments. Reception is at the main Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa with the villas just across the way.
The Bathhouse and Spa has been transformed and offers a range of spa, wellness and beauty treatments.
The look
There are clusters of freestanding villas here, surrounded by bush and some European trees for autumn colour. It’s kind of serene with a natural feel, helped along by the park-like condition you’ll find the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve in. And in that reserve is the sharp bathhouse building – rebuilt and reopened in 2008 – as well as the Heritage-Listed 1908 Hepburn Pavilion with its vaulted ceilings and tiled floor.
The room
Set the ambience with a choice of essential oils when you walk in to your villa – “Rest Easy” so the stress melts away or “Revive” to aid recovery. I’d chosen Rest Easy and that went hand in glove with the neutral and natural interior tones. For a bit more relaxation and recovery, there’s a massive spa bath and body scrubs, bath tonics, and bath salts to go with it. The villa is a generous 75 square metres, with the space enhanced by peaked ceilings and lots of glass. Still, they pack a lot in – apart from the bath, there’s a double shower and separate toilet, a kitchen with dining table, a lounge area with a heater and big screen TV. The bed is raised in its own area, so it also gets the views (and another TV). There’s also a balcony that looks out on the bush beyond.
Inside one of the villas.
Food + drink
Frank and Connie’s kitchen is just up the road in Hepburn Springs – a casual diner serving excellent food. More is on offer in Daylesford, from the fine dining of Lake House to the earthier Farmers Arms Hotel and Cliffy’s Emporium. Plenty of fresh food outlets in Hepburn Springs and Daylesford, if you want to use the kitchen and cook for yourself. I have a welcome pack and breakfast pack as part of the package, with some local bread, butter, granola and juices and there are enough varieties of tea on the bench to stock Fortnum & Mason. There’s also a small cafe at the Bathhouse Pavilion for light meals and afternoon tea (of the Devonshire kind).
Out + about
If you’re here for the treatments and to treat yourself, then you don’t have far to go. Head across the road to the Bathhouse and choose from their menu of massage, beauty and wellness treatments or simply hop in to the mineral bathing pools. There’s a big one for general admission ($55 for 90-minutes, less for children and seniors), or you can upgrade to the “Sanctuary” ($110) with its steam room, spa couches, cool-down pool and more. There are also some walking tracks around the grounds – take a cup or your water bottle for a tasting from the various springs along the way.
On the spa couches inside the Sanctuary.
The verdict
A perfect set-up and location for relaxation and rejuvenation with the villas on-theme with the Bathhouse and Spa.
Essentials
Villas from $489 a night with a 10 per cent reduction when booked for three or more nights. Mineral Springs Reserve Road, Hepburn Springs, Vic. Phone: (03) 8727 8901; see hepburnbathhouse.com
Our rating out of five
★★★★
Highlight
I visit over a couple of rainy winter days and the villa shines, as does a soak in the bathhouse.
Lowlight
Most of the in-room tech is straightforward but the iPad – which comes with yoga and meditation apps – isn’t willing to wake from its trance.
The writer was a guest of Hepburn Spa Retreat.
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