SPA HOTSPOT: TAKING BATHING TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Taking Bathing To The Next Level

Aurora Spa and Bathhouse is a must-visit for anyone visiting the Mornington Peninsula. NADINE DILONG shares her experience.

Where would you go if you wanted a spa day with friends? And I don’t mean a facial and manicure, I mean a wellness day including bathing, swimming, and a sauna. Truthfully, there aren’t many places in Australia that come to mind, but thanks to Aurora Spa & Bathhouse, we have one more option, and it’s a brilliant one.

Each experience has instructions and explanations on a board upon entering so you don’t have to memorise everything you are told at the beginning, and there are water and tea stations throughout to keep you hydrated.

Last year, after the Spa & Wellness Awards had been presented at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sorrento, VIC, I of course couldn’t leave the area without experiencing the newly opened Aurora Spa, which is located inside the refurbished Intercontinental Sorrento. Everything about Aurora is impressive. The reception area features a sophisticated shop where one can buy anything from swimwear to sunscreen, jewellery, books, and also, your very own bespoke bath soak and body scrub, which you can blend together from a myriad of bath salt ingredient options. What a gorgeous souvenir!

Upon getting changed and taking the obligatory photo of my feet in Aurora slides, I am given a quick explanation and instructions of the bathhouse. At first, I wasn’t sure what was so complicated about bathing that a briefing was necessary, but I quickly realised I was wrong. Aurora offers so many different experiences, you would be lost without the helpful staff!

The absolute highlight was the bathhouse’s glacial mist room, as it was unlike anything I had seen before.

First, you take a scoop of the picturesque bath salt scrub mount and have a quick shower, before deciding where you want to start. The mineral pool including a reflexology footpath? The plunge pool with ice cold water to wake you up? The salt therapy suite? The steam room? The glacial mist room?

These are just a few options to keep you ‘busy’ while at Aurora bathhouse, and they’re all offered in the most modern facilities using high end equipment and luxurious designs. Each experience has instructions and explanations on a board upon entering so you don’t have to memorise everything you are told at the beginning, and there are water and tea stations throughout to keep you hydrated.

You could easily spend half a day just a the bathhouse and be completely content, but, there’s another part to Aurora which offers spa treatments such as facials and massages, and it’s worth making some time for.

The absolute highlight was the bathhouse’s glacial mist room, as it was unlike anything I had seen before. I had been to snow rooms which are basically large freezers with snow so you can rub your body with the frozen water after your sauna session, but Aurora’s glacial mist room trumps this by offering a ‘rain storm’ option. At the push of a button, cold rain drops are flung around the room by cold air, and as your body tries to cope with the drop in temperature, I couldn’t help but smile – it was somehow reminiscent of playing outside in the rain as a child, a time when you don’t care about getting your hair wet or being cold; you’re just in the moment.

You could easily spend half a day just a the bathhouse and be completely content, but, there’s another part to Aurora which offers spa treatments such as facials and massages, and it’s worth making some time for. I booked in for a Himalayan sound and stone massage, which was a wonderfully relaxing treatment using ASPAR products and a lot of attention to detail. My therapist showed me cards with different mantras to choose from, which she then customised to my needs and gave me to take home at the end of my treatment.

I can see myself booking a weekend in Sorrento with my girlfriends and spending an entire day at Aurora. The team, led by wellness guru Lyndall Mitchell, have thought of every little detail that makes a spa experience memorable.