The best spas in Victoria: Seven top soaking experiences in Australia's spa state
By Belinda Jackson
Alba features 31 pools, a day spa and a celebrity chef-helmed restaurant across 15 hectares.Credit: Alba
Taking the waters has always been a fashionable activity for Victorians – either the Victorians of the 19th century, or those living in the state of Victoria for the past thousands of years.
And Victorians' love of balneotherapy – to give mineral-water bathing its scientific name – shows no signs of drying up. Indeed, run your finger along a map of Victoria's coast, and you'll find aquifers aplenty, bubbling to the surface. And, with the state's at times, cooler temperatures encouraging a soak in hot water, two ambitious new experiences have opened in the state's regions in the past six months alone.
Along with these healing water destinations, relative proximity to Melbourne, making them easier to reach for Melburnians and interstate visitors alike, it all adds up to Victoria being Australia's hotspot for spas.
"We're following a tradition here in Victoria, where First Nations people have connected with our waterways for millennia, the European Victorians have brought their perspective of bathing, including a legacy of bathing boxes around Port Phillip Bay," says Matt Sykes, author of the Great Victorian Bathing Trail (see bathing.org).
The Great Victorian Bathing Trail is a concept he and industry leaders are developing to link the geothermal and mineral water hotspots throughout the state.
This is no fad either. Geothermal and mineral water bathing is known to relax and detoxify the body and mind, and is part of a greater, global movement of integrating wellness into our lifestyles. Add to the bubbling mix a host of nature-based tourism ventures such as forest bathing, riding our rail trails, taking Indigenous cultural walks and stargazing, and you've got a host of holistic health treats and retreats.
"What's important for the culture of bathing in Victoria is its diversity," says Sykes. "As it grows, bathing is not going to be all premium, luxury experiences. It's going to become more accessible over time, and you can see that normalisation of hot-springs bathing in such countries as Iceland, Japan and China. Regardless of culture, generation or background, water connects us all."
Victoria's bellwethers are Peninsula Hot Springs and Hepburn Springs, which have encouraged a brace of newcomers, including the sparkling, new Alba on the Mornington Peninsula and Metung Hot Springs in East Gippsland. In the pipeline is the Phillip Island Hot Springs, developed in conjunction with Peninsula Hot Springs and due to open in late 2023, with a host of other projects bubbling beneath the surface.
In the meantime, go ahead and immerse yourself fully in Traveller's essential guide to Victoria's Steamy Seven.
Metung Hot Springs, East Gippsland
THE LOWDOWN Victoria's newest hot springs resort opened in November in Metung, Gippsland's most chi-chi coastal town. To date, seven pools and seven barrels are hidden in a bushland setting, fed by 10,000-year-old, mineral-rich water. The hero site is a spectacular adults-only Hillside Escarpment, with the glorious Gippsland Lakes at its feet, and winter will see the addition of a floating, wood-fired sauna. Developed with the Peninsula Hot Springs, owner-operators Rachel and Adrian Bromage run Australia's first hot springs-golf resort, with a nine-hole championship course beside the springs: the clubhouse, open to all, offers a small, delicious menu.
GET WELL With the property still in its infancy, there is currently only one spa dome with twin beds, though the ambitious plans will soon increase that number dramatically. The spa treatments use Larn'wa products, which are locally made and Indigenous inspired, using Australian botanics.
SPEND THE NIGHT Ten canvas tents look down on a bird-filled billabong: each tent has two wine barrels perched on its deck, waiting to be filled with steaming hot, mineral waters, for a steamy sunset soak, sans bathers, watching geese, long-necked turtles, ducks and superb fairy wrens. Stock up on local red wine and charcuterie so you don't have to leave; for over-18s only.
DON'T MISS The Gippsland Lakes are integral to the hot springs. Hire a little self-drive boat, pack a picnic and explore its myriad islands and beaches, keeping an eye out for seals, pelicans and dolphins. See rivieranautic.com.au
ESSENTIALS Metung is 315km from Melbourne. Long summer nights on the Lakes are glorious; winter is for those who don't like to share. Glamping costs from $550 a night, includes all bathing, daily wellness activity, drinks and generous canapes on arrival. See metunghotsprings.com
Peninsula Hot Springs, Mornington Peninsula
THE LOWDOWN Inspired by bathing trends from around the globe, over 40 pools and more than 30 other bathing experiences – including a Turkish hammam and a Moroccan steam room – are dotted around the 30-hectare site at Fingal, on the southern end of the Mornington Peninsula. Its success is in its numbers, last year, more than 600,000 bathers visited the site, which brothers Charles and Richard Davidson first opened in 1997.
GET WELL Book a relaxation dome for you and up to 11 of your closest friends as a base for snacking and lolling on daybeds in between dips. From $150 (four hours) with any Revitalise booking. Ever innovative, the springs' newest offering is the Food Bowl, a 1.2-hectare kitchen garden: take a tour to learn about organic gardening for a healthy table.
SPEND THE NIGHT Ten glamping tents channel an African safari vibe, for glampers over 18 years. The tariff includes breakfast, or order from the 24-hour menu, which includes a super-local wine menu. They also partner with other local accommodation including the Flinders Hotel, Peppers Moonah Links Resort and the Rye Hotel.
DON'T MISS Choose a full moon and bathe in moonlight from 10pm-2am, while the Fire & Ice section puts you on a path of ice caves, steamy saunas and breathtakingly cold plunge pools. Like it seriously hot? Poach yourself in the Moonah pool in the main Bath House area and the Orchid pool in the Spa Dreaming area (for bathers over 16 years), which reach 42C.
ESSENTIALS Fingal is 96 kilometres from Melbourne. January is the hot springs' busiest month, while June is the runner-up, for the experience of watching the steam rise from your pool during midwinter. Glamping from $670 for two people. Bathing from $35 (Recharge, one hour), or $70 (Revitalise, all day). Moonlit bathing costs $70. See peninsulahotsprings.com
Lon Retreat & Spa, Bellarine Peninsula
Credit: Nikole Ramsay
THE LOWDOWN There are seven suites at this European-style house spa hotel, but its centrepiece – an indoor, 12.5-metre mineral pool – is also open to guests of the on-site Lon Spa. The retreat is set on 80 hectares of the family farm of Claire and Rob Gemes. The land provides: limestone caves beneath the surface filter the mineral waters that feed the heated mineral pool and spa treatments, and a food forest supplies the retreat's platters.
GET WELL Naturopath Jade Ogilvie runs the Lon Spa, which uses Sydney company Subtle Energies' sublime products, featuring mogro jasmine and 24 karat gold. Its three treatment rooms focus on reflection, immersion and revival, with Vichy showers and private mineral baths, where you can watch the storm clouds roll in. Follow a beach track to the wild coastline for an afternoon spent picnicking and hopping between rockpools or wander through 300-year-old Moonah woodlands to Lake Victoria, renowned for its birdwatching.
SPEND THE NIGHT Australian coastal architecture is the touchpoint for the seven suites that look out over Bass Strait, Point Lonsdale's lighthouse and farmland. Each has its own style: a fireplace or mineral-water stone bath, all with kitchenettes with an honesty bar and pantry. Its packages include a ferry across Port Phillip Bay to lunch at Point Leo Estate, on the Mornington Peninsula.
DON'T MISS Book the one-hour rose quartz facial, or combine a 30-minute version with a one-hour massage in a treatment appropriately called The Slow Down. Add time in the mineral pool, a platter of produce from the farm and nearby suppliers, and a glass of sparkling for the full shebang.
ESSENTIALS Point Lonsdale is 103 kilometres from Melbourne. To truly cosset yourself, visit in winter, when you can move from hot tub to a hot seat in front of the fireplace, while summer sees pink skies and epic sunrises and sunsets. Stays from $490 a night, spa treatments from $190; non-guests can add on communal bathing or a private mineral bath to their treatment. See lonretreat.com.au
Deep Blue Hotel & Hot Springs, Warrnambool
THE LOWDOWN Found at the western end of the Great Ocean Road, Deep Blue's outdoor sanctuary opened in 2019, and is best known for its hand-sculptured cave pools. Pure geothermal waters, drawn from a depth of 850 metres, fill Deep Blue's 15 open-air bathing pools, from its foot spa to the cold plunge pools and an aromatherapy pool, diffused subtly with essential oils, framed by she-oaks and native shrubs. An indoor bath house with private bathing rooms, a cold plunge pool and day spa complete the scene.
GET WELL Each cave pool has a different sensory twist – using colour or sound therapy – while the rainforest cave pays homage to the nearby Otway Ranges. The new salt therapy room lulls you to rest while micro salt ions do their respiratory cleansing. Warrnambool is having its day in the sun as roadtrippers discover its Southern Ocean shores and long stretches of uncrowded beaches, volcanic plains and unique sites, including Tower Hill and the UNESCO-listed Budj Bim National Park, and the Little Penguin colony on Middle Island, as told in the movie Oddball.
SPEND THE NIGHT Built in 2004, the 4.5-star hotel's 81 guest rooms include five penthouses and 27 rooms with full views out to Lady Bay Beach, Middle Island and the Southern Ocean.
DON'T MISS Stargaze from a 41C Reflection pool during Deep Blue's popular twilight bathing sessions, or book one of the new sea-inspired treatments in the day spa, which includes a seaweed scrub, the sea holistic massage with linen compresses and a cactus & agave eco wrap.
ESSENTIALS Warrnambool is 258 kilometres from Melbourne. This coastline is wild during the winter – the best time to sink into a hot pool, and July to September is also peak whale watching season. The earlybird gets the bargain, $33 (8-10am), rising to $57 for twilight bathing (6-9pm). An hour in the indoor bathhouse from $25 midweek. Stays from $300 a night. See thedeepblue.com.au
Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel Hepburn, Hepburn Springs
THE LOWDOWN The Retreat is a modern spa addition to the Art Deco Peppers hotel. Small and select, it is open to hotel guests and visitors, allowing only nine bathers at a time. There are two steamy 38C open-air pools with a cool plunge pool set between them, all overlooking the hotel's parterre gardens.
GET WELL Attached to the hotel, The Retreat is open to those 16 and above. Spend an hour gliding between the pools, a basalt stone sauna, and detox infrared saunas and the roaring steam room, or book a treatment in the spa, which uses products from US brand Pevonia Botanica and Fremantle-based spa label Sodashi.
SPEND THE NIGHT Hoteliers have been fluffing pillows for health-seeking guests on this site since 1883. There are 29 room in the historic hotel; seven self-contained garden suites and the four-bedroom Italianate Villa Parma, ideal for groups. The hotel restaurant is open Thursday-Saturday; if eating outside, book in advance. If you forgot to book, the 165-year-old Farmer's Arms in neighbouring Daylesford welcomes walk-ins to dine at the bar, where a tight, well-crafted menu sits alongside a wine list of local heroes, farmersarmsdaylesford.com.au.
DON'T MISS Follow a walking path five minutes from the hotel, to reach Hepburn's famed natural springs. Bring your water bottle to fill up at one of the five pumps for a spritzy drink rich in calcium, sodium and other health-giving minerals.
ESSENTIALS Hepburn Springs is 115 kilometres from Melbourne, and the Daylesford region is particularly beautiful in its spring and autumn finery. A 60-minute bathing session at The Retreat from $65 (non-guests) $49 (hotel guests). Hotel stays from $299 a night. See peppers.com.au, mineralspa.com.au
Alba, Mornington Peninsula
THE LOWDOWN Fifteen hectares, 31 pools, a celebrity chef and day spa, the new Alba is an eye-popping $100 million investment in Victoria's wellness scene. Its waters, which reach up to 43C, are drawn 550 metres below ground from the same aquifer as its neighbour, the Peninsula Hot Springs, and is cleaned and sent back into the aquifer, to prefer its longevity. Opened in late October, it initially banned mobile phones, but its Brutalist architecture is so striking – let's just say the phone ban has quietly faded away.
GET WELL As wellas the outdoor bathing pools, Alba's 22 spa suites offer everything from a simple pedicure to a no-holds-barred, full-day hammam ritual featuring facials by Vanessa Megan.
SPEND THE NIGHT There's no accommodation onsite at Alba, but its collaboration with Peninsula hotel royalty, Jackalope, is ample compensation. Stay two nights at the nearby art hotel, which uses Alba's salts, body oils and lotions into the hotel for an in-room self-care ritual using Jackalope's Japanese baths and infrared sauna. Cost $1500 for a couple for two nights, jackalopehotels.com. The group is negotiating other accommodation packages for a range of budgets.
DON'T MISS Bathrobes are de rigueur at Thyme, the all-day, Mediterranean-inspired restaurant by Melbourne chef Karen Martini. Her dishes range from light, healthful panna cotta and poke to her fish sandwiches and a tangy chicken schnitzel. A glass of Quealy's sparkling pet-nat, Splendido, is a must-have accoutrement, regardless of the time of day. The restaurant is also open to non-guests.
ESSENTIALS Fingal, on the Mornington Peninsula, is 96 kilometres from Melbourne. From $110 to visit the 22 public geothermal pools, including locker, towel and robe. Alba's time will come in the cooler months, when the sun is lower. In summer, the sun-shy should opt for early or late bathing times. See albathermalsprings.com.au
Hepburn Bathhouse, Hepburn Springs
THE LOWDOWN Hepburn's famed public mineral springs are set in a reserve overlooked by a quaint, Edwardian pavilion, built in 1908, which, with the addition of a modern bathhouse, comprises the Hepburn Bathhouse. Soak in the large mineral pool heated to 33C, and a 35C spa pool or, for a dose of adults-only serenity, book the Sanctuary, where a steam room, salt and magnesium pool, a cold plunge, hammam and outdoor spa pool await those 16 and over.
GET WELL Victorians have been taking the waters here for generations. For total relaxation, choose a mid-week visit, out of school hours.
SPEND THE NIGHT Set in bushland beside the springs, the bathhouse's own accommodation comprises luxury villas and apartments, with yoga gear, an exercise corner and salts and scrubs aplenty to employ in the villas' centrepiece, standalone marble tubs. Stay two nights and receive a hamper of the region's spectacular produce.
DON'T MISS The gracious old pavilion is also home to the spa treatments area: book in an organic facial with natural Australian Vanessa Megan products or Italian-made Comfort Zone products.
ESSENTIALS Hepburn Springs is 115 kilometres from Melbourne. General entry from $55 (90 minutes), stays from $329; the Hepburn region puts on a vivid show in autumn that's best observed through the pool's floor-to-ceiling windows. See hepburnbathhouse.com
FIVE MORE HOT SPRING HOT SPOTS
1. Innot Hot Springs, Queensland
A health retreat for thousands of years in the Atherton Tablelands, the waters can hit 75C at the source, with a pub and backpacker's accommodation (also with mineral water pools), nearby. See queensland.com
2. Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pools NSW
Up in high country in Kosciuszko National Park, 75 kilometres from Tumut, the 20-metre pool is fed by a mineral-rich spring. Hemmed by eucalypts, it is reached by a short, steep walk: combine with a visit to the nearby limestone caves See visitnsw.com
3. Mataranka Thermal Pool and Bitter Springs NT
Set in Elsey National Park, 120 kilometres from Katherine, the 34C thermal waters of the springs and pool are surrounded by paperback forests. Both are closed in the rainy season. See northernterritory.com
4. Zebedee Thermal Springs WA
Hidden in an ancient forest, the palm-lined springs in El Questro Wilderness Park reach up to 34C, and are open to the public each morning, and guests of El Questro homestead in the afternoon, westernaustralia.com
5. Hastings Thermal Pool Tasmania
Found at the southerly tip of the state, 105 kilometres from Hobart, the drawcards at Hastings are not only the 28C thermal pool, but also Newdegate Cave – Australia's largest accessible dolomite cave – and platypus and pademelon spotting. See discovertasmania.com.au
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