While most of us would love to spend time at a wellness retreat, we might not have the funds or break in our schedule to do so. Enter the day spa. A day spa is a space where you can unwind and get a treatment like a massage or facial or simply use the facilities, which might include a pool, sauna or steam room.
When it comes to day spas, Sydneysiders and those visiting the city are spoilt for choices. From a day spa with sparkling views of Darling Harbour to another that’s dark and moody and equipped with a Moroccan Hammam chamber, Sydney’s got a day spa to suit every mood.
Ahead, we round up six of the best of them. Get ready for completely refreshed.
AWAY Spa at W Sydney, Darling Harbour
W Sydney opened in October 2023 alongside its AWAY Spa on level two, featuring an interior style I’d call Barbie-land meets futuristic. Think millennial pink pods for chilling, polished concrete floors and a marble-topped, U-shaped bar in the lobby. Choose from massages and face and body treatments. Or simply book a $60 day pass to use the steam room, sauna and experience showers.
Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Spa, Darling Harbour
Opened in April this year, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Spa runs across two levels and is tucked behind specially-built wooden doors. It offers body therapies, facials and, for a real treat, a five-hour wellness journey. A holistic spa experience, it includes a body treatment, massage, facial, healthy lunch and access to the hotel’s infinity pool, which looks out over Darling Harbour.
The Remedi Room, Bondi
The Remedi Room opened within the existing Slow House in Bondi in February 2023. It offers massages, facials and injectables, while Slow House has infrared saunas, traditional saunas and ice baths. For a relaxing afternoon, book a treatment at Remedi Room and then another at Slow House. You can book hour-long sauna sessions and 15-minute ice baths, separately, or ‘Fire and Ice’ packages that include both.
The Darling Spa, Darling Harbour
You’ll find The Darling Spa tucked into The Star’s hotel The Darling. Any treatment at The Darling Spa includes the use of the spa’s facilities before or after. Unwind in one of two relaxation rooms, the Zen Lounge and Tea Room, sweat out your toxins in a steam room or heated Moroccan Hammam chamber or soak in a jacuzzi. You’ll also be able to access an outdoor pool and an additional jacuzzi next to it. The spa’s no mobile phones policy means you’ll be truly disconnected.
Crown Spa, Barangaroo
Crown Spa offers facials, massages, body treatments and nails and hair services, as well as packages like the 2.5-hour “Empowering Me, A Woman’s Journey”, which sees you start with meditation before getting a massage and a results-driven facial. All guests who book a treatment of an hour or longer get complimentary access to the spa’s Aqua Retreat. Or you can buy a separate pass for it. There, can make use of a vitality spa, steam room, sauna and Swiss shower.
Venustus, Paddington
Stepping into Venustus’ new space from busy Oxford Street in Paddington, you’ll immediately feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. It features polished concrete flooring, metal ‘pods’ that house treatment rooms, and intentional skylights flood the space with natural light. While your time here will only include the treatment, some last up to nearly three hours, including the ‘Sculpting Lymphatic Package’, which sees a therapist using gua sha, dry body brushing and cryotherapy to visibly contour and define the face and body.
Chi, The Spa, The Rocks
Chi, The Spa is the spa within Shangri-La Sydney in The Rocks. Though all treatments here are based on traditional wellness practices of Asian cultures, they also incorporate Australian healing techniques and local botanical ingredients. After your treatment, you’re offered a tea in a dimly-lit room with soothing music, which you can sip before you use the spa’s pool and jacuzzi.
