Frangipani, other tropical blooms and Southeast Asian furniture are hallmarks of this spa. Six attractive and well-equipped treatment or massage rooms and two wet rooms are decorated with an eclectic mix of Buddhist relics and Indian artefacts collected by Meaghan on her travels.
Situated on the fourth floor of the five-star Marriott Hotel, The Dome Retreat's relaxation lounge and balcony overlooks the Brisbane River. Weather permitting, tall wooden doors are thrown open, allowing sunshine and fresh air to warm your toes and fill your lungs as you relax on the comfy cane lounges sipping herbal tea.
The nourishing organic products used are made from essential flower and plant essences and bestow the potent benefits of aromatherapy.
Besides offering a wide range of face and body treatments, hydrotherapy baths, Vichy showers and massages, The Dome Retreat encourages and supports clients to achieve health and wellbeing goals. Naturopath and lifestyle consultations, coaching or fitness assessments, yoga, macro-biotic and astrological guidance can be arranged.
Guests are encouraged to linger at the Retreat before and after treatments. The hotel sauna and pool are open to spa visitors and there are many pleasant settings for a healthy spa cuisine lunch.
The decor is colourful and upbeat and the therapists are hand picked for their skill and experience.
'WELCOME TO OUR WORLD OF PARADISE'
Paradise Spa and Bath House, Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Queensland's Gold Coast is home to many exciting theme park worlds-Sea World, Movie World and now a spa which could become known as Spa World. A true spa in that a dazzling variety of water therapies are available, Paradise Spa is also fun, in a great Surfers Paradise kind of way. You can even leave with a spray-on tan and blow-dry to rival any local.
Located in downtown Surfers Paradise, one of the first things you notice is the dramatic lighting. Opulent purple surfaces reflect a slowly changing, rainbow-coloured glow, the light and colour contributing to the celebratory atmosphere of this below-ground spa.
Treatments offered in the eleven culturally themed therapy rooms touch on a combination of exotic cultures and include Thai massage, Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi, Chinese Tui-Na, Indian Ayurvedic, Japanese Shiatsu, reflexology and Middle Eastern massage. It's no surpriSE; that the menu also offers an eight hour treatment of ultimate indulgence called "Around the world in a day."
Guests begin their journey through Paradise with a brief full body exfoliation. This prepares the skin to reap the benefits of the hydrotherapy treatments. Within a spacious unisex area the hot ginseng pool bestows a revitalizing and regulating effect, while the non-chlorinated (ozone) "spirit" pool contains 400 strategically placed water massage jets and several submerged "spa lounges."
Male and female domains each have a sauna, hot salt bath, cold plunge pool, steam and exfoliation rooms and a mosaic-tiled Rasul steam temple where guests are exfoliated with a cinnamon-vanilla body scrub and painted with a chakra mud while inhaling herb-infused steam. A cleansing warm rain which falls from the starlit ceiling completes this heavenly experience. This spa may be quirky, but it was impossible to wipe the smile off my face in this little piece of paradise.
Water therapies are an integral component of this spa.
SPACE, TIME AND PRIVACY WORK TOGETHER HERE TO SOOTHE AND RELAX GUESTS
Azabu, Byron Bay, New South Wales
The ancient forest of native hoop pines and rainforest surrounding the Azabu guesthouse and spa contributes to this property's serene and spiritual atmosphere. Towering over the five interconnected suites like the steeple of a cathedral, the trees provide an aromatic backdrop for restful contemplation. Positioned in the foothills behind Byron Bay on the north coast of New South Wales, where alternative lifestyles are considered mainstream, Azabu is a boutique luxury retreat with a lot of style. Azabu's hosts believe people today want and need more bliss in their lives and will do their best to provide it. Space, time and privacy work together here to soothe and relax guests.
The guest suites feature polished timber floors and a wall of wooden shuttered windows that fold back to invite the outside forest in. Sunken spa baths jut into the trees to emulate outdoor bathing and a lagoon-like, heated swimming pool and jacuzzi further encourage guests to release themselves to the sensual pleasures of water.
Elevated walkways lead to the spa treatment room and entertainment areas where the furnishings and decor are in an exotic, Asian style. The central building's curved walls in mulberry and earth impart an organic aura, and look as if they might uncurl and slide off into the forest. The loud, rhythmic croak of resident frogs is somnolent, and if there were really such a thing as fairies at the end of the garden you would probably find them here.
Open to visitors and houseguests, Azabu's day spa offers a balanced menu of face and body treatments, massages and treatment packages. Products using plant and flower essences are based on ancient techniques of skincare combined with modern technology.
The guest suites at Azabu open into peaceful wilderness, Nature is ever present in Azabu's treatment rooms
Azabu's heated pool is like a secluded forest swimming hole.
Nature is ever present in the treatment room, seen through a glass wall facing the trees, and contributes to the room's peaceful ambience.
An aura of healing energy pervades this spiritually charged region, where Aboriginal elders once gathered regularly. Legend has it that the area around Byron Bay was too sacred a place for indigenous tribes to live permanently; instead the tribes considered it an important ceremonial site and meeting place. A natural habitat for vast tea tree forests, the brown waters of tea tree infused lagoons are now used for therapeutic bathing by the locals. Whale-watching, bush-walking and surfing in the national parks and sunworshipping at Australia's most easterly point are other attractions this area offers. The closest airports to Byron Bay are Ballina Airport (30 minutes' drive) and Coolangatta Airport (55 minutes' drive). Shuttle buses and coaches are available.
The many facets of spa life in this spiritually charged region, known for its vast tracts of tea tree forests.
ELYSIA IS A CHRYSALIS LIKE NO OTHER, A SECLUDED PARADISE OF OPULENT LUXURY, NURTURING GUIDANCE, MOUTH-WATERING MEALS AND SENSATIONAL SPA TREATMENTS
The Golden Door Health Retreat-Elysia, Hunter Valley, New South Wales
The Golden Door Health Retreat-Elysia is something of a butterfly maker-no one leaves unchanged