Ready to unwind? Stop right here and prepare to be inspired. Otherworldly treats are all around – massage, facials and healing at all levels, we’re spoilt for choice. On a mission to uncover some of the most unique ways to wellness, here’s six options to consider on your travels this year.
Surround sound
At Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat (gwinganna.com) here on the Gold Coast, immerse yourself in a deeply calming, award-winning sound experience. The unique 80-minute Australian Spirit of Sound is set to a bespoke selection of music featuring live percussion and includes a fusion of massage techniques with heated Basalt stones to ‘wake up’ cells and soothe the nervous system.
Discover inner peace
If quietening the mind in a serene bush setting feels right, then take a detour to Sydney and join one of Billabong Retreat’s (billabongretreat.com.au) life-changing meditation programs. Science shows that practicing meditation can physically alter the structure of the brain and reduce the intensity of pain and stress. Switch off and discover inner peace, starting here.
Sail away
Take to the seas on a mini break from Brisbane and indulge in P&O’s (pocruises.com.au) fabulous Elemis at Sea spa. A cruise offers the benefits of travel – that is, waking up to a different view every day – without the hassle of packing/unpacking. Everything you want is at your fingertips! While away your time with pampering treatments like a hot mineral body boost or aroma stone therapy. Arrive back at port feeling like a new person.
Beverages and bathing
Convinced your day is made better by coffee… or perhaps a glass of wine? Well, in Hakone, Japan, you can take this pleasure to another level by bathing in your favourite beverage! Yunessan (yunessun.com/spa/) is a magical, typically-Japanese hot springs escape filled with fun adventures and your choice of wine, coffee, tea or sake bath. Yunessan’s coffee bath is the only one of its kind in the world and promises to remedy fatigue, while the bright waters of the green tea bath will save your skin, and the fragrant sake bath promotes calm as you as you dip into its warm embrace.
Roman inspired
While living out all your Jane Austen fantasies in the romantic city of Bath, England, there’s one place you should visit for a very modern wellbeing experience: the multi-sensory Thermae Bath Spa (thermaebathspa.com).
Long before Mr Darcy was realised, the Romans founded ‘Aquae Sulis’ here, intended as a sanctuary of rest and relaxation and making the most of the region’s natural thermal waters. Thermae Bath Spa is just up the road from the historical Roman baths. It boasts a suite of wellness services and a Roman Steam Room, Georgian Steam Room, Infrared Room, Ice Chamber, Celestial Relaxation Room and experience showers. The signature treatment here is called Watsu and is performed in Bath’s mineral-rich waters while a specially trained therapist gently guides your body through a series of flowing movements, acupressure and massage. Pure bliss.
Find Sarah Blinco online at travellivelearn.com, youtube.com/travellivelearn and Instagram @sarahblinco
