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TRAVELLER AWARDS: WELLNESS
Go on an inner journey to these locations lauded for restfulness, rejuvenation and peace. Read on for our Wellness award winners.
JANU, TOKYO
With Tokyo Tower in its sights, Aman’s new, more affordable, lifestyle brand Janu opened last year in the city’s recently developed Azabudai Hills complex of gardens and skyscrapers. The dramatically beautiful hotel, with eight restaurants and bars, is only marginally less luxe than its big sister brand. Go here for next-level urban wellness in one of the grandest spas in Tokyo, spanning four floors. The gym includes five movement studios for spinning, yoga and golf simulation. There’s a sleek black boxing ring for a punchier workout, as well as a 25-metre indoor lap pool and heated lounge pool for relaxation. The wellness centre also features two signature Spa Houses, each with a hammam or banya. See janu.com
BLUE MOUNTAINS SAUNA, NSW
In my youth, we went to the pub to socialise, but today’s Gen Zs have a healthier way to relax – sweating it out in a sauna, followed by a bracing cold plunge. Since bringing traditional Finnish sauna culture to Australia in 2022, Blue Mountains Sauna has transformed the local wellness scene, becoming so popular (particularly among young men who are into fitness) that it’s expanding into an adjoining building, more than doubling the size of the Leura complex. There are clothing optional sessions twice a week, silent sessions for those who prefer to sweat without chatting, and “aufguss” sessions, a ritual led by a saunameister who works with elements of water, air and essential oils to provide an intense, multi-sensory experience. See bmsauna.com.au
SENSEI LANAI, A FOUR SEASONS RESORT
If you like your wellness high-tech and data-driven, the Hawaiian retreat Sensei Lanai is for you. Measurable results and actionable analysis are highlighted here, although there are also plenty of old-school wellness options, from a soak in the al fresco onsen pools to a meditative stroll through the world-class gardens. Less than an hour’s flight from Honolulu, and set away from the coast, guests at this wellness retreat can also enjoy food by Nobu and excursions including whale watching and off-roading. The guaranteed high points of any stay, however, are the sessions with your personal Sensei guide, an insightful mentor who excels at offering fresh perspectives. See fourseasons.com
EDEN HEALTH RETREAT, QUEENSLAND
You only need drive 15 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the Gold Coast’s beach scene to find the longest running wellness retreat in Australia. As part of celebrations leading up to the big four-oh in 2025, Eden Health Retreat built 12 new luxury cabins and a state-of-the-art Vitality Centre featuring everything from cryotherapy to oxygen chambers within its 150 hectare retreat, set among the mountains of an ancient volcanic caldera. While it started as a boot-camp in 1985, these days Eden Health Retreat runs much gentler, tailored wellness programs of between three and 14 days, with a menu overseen by former Spicers Hidden Vale head chef, Ash Martin. See eden.com.au
WAI ARIKI HOT SPRINGS AND SPA, NEW ZEALAND
Forget your preconceptions about spas. On the steamy, mud-popping, geothermal shore of Lake Rotorua on New Zealand’s North Island is Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa. Opened in 2023, this is luxury Maori cultural wellness writ large, from the monumental building that speaks of ancient stories and protective spirits to the blessing stone you’ll encounter before stepping into the restorative spaces. Move from a hay-scented sauna to the frigidarium stocked with ice chips before relaxing into a herb-steeped outdoor pool then painting yourself with Rotorua’s mineral-rich mud. In the complex’s Spa Sanctuary, submit to expert pummelling with your choice of essential oils as you ponder if you can extend the bliss for a few hours more. See wai-ariki.co.nz
KUUMA SAUNA BOAT, TASMANIA
As bathhouses, saunas and hot-cold wellness therapies proliferate, one of the most “out there” experiences can be found just offshore from Barretta, 20 minutes’ drive south of Hobart. Kuuma, billed as Australia’s first sauna boat, is a simple proposition: up to eight people are motored a short distance from Margate Marina, where they then alternate between heating up in the pontoon’s glass-walled sauna and dipping into the bracing waters of North West Bay. The name, Kuuma, means “hot” in Finnish but Kuuma’s Tasmania-based owners have channelled their home state wherever possible, from using Coal River Valley stringybark to heat the sauna stove to the kunzea (a native shrub) essential oil that scents the bucket of sauna water. See kuuma.com.au
KNEIPPING, SWITZERLAND
Cold water bathing may be the wellness treatment du jour, but its origins go back to 19th century Germany, where priest Sebastian Kneipp developed a cold water treatment plan to cure his tuberculosis. Kneipping soon became a popular part of the European spa experience, especially in alpine environments where icy water was plentiful. It’s now experiencing a revival in both natural environments and high-end spas. In Fluhli, Switzerland, hikers can stop at the Kneipp facility and wade through the 6 degree pool before warming themselves in the sun or taking a stroll in the herb garden. Mixing sustainability and nature with wellness, it’s the light touch spa treatment hikers love. See myswitzerland.com
NIHI SUMBA, INDONESIA
Move over, goat yoga. At Nihi Sumba’s horse spa on the untamed Indonesian island of Sumba, horses nuzzle into your neck while you’re massaged to jelly in a jungle arena. It’s all part of Nihioka Spa’s growing stable of pioneering equine wellness offerings that draw on the calm and empathetic energy of these animals, which science has long backed to be highly attuned to human emotions. On the neigh-tural new menu is a massage with horses, who are present during the treatment and might approach you or playfully roll around on the ground, to horse reiki, horse yoga and equine wellness retreats led by international experts. So when they’re not galloping alongside the neon-blue waters of Nihiwatu Beach, you can find them giving Zen. See nihi.com
SHUKUBO TEMPLE LODGES, JAPAN
The centre for Shingon, an esoteric form of Buddhism that was brought to Japan from China in the 9th century, the temple settlement of Koyasan has 52 shukubo lodges that offer a fascinating glimpse into this highly ritualised belief system. While staying in simple tatami-floored accommodation, guests can attend a sacred morning ritual to watch the resident monks chant and burn incense in the temple’s lantern-lit inner sanctum. The town’s other attractions include Danjo Garan, a huddle of temples with a striking, 48-metre-high vermillion stupa, and Okunoin, Japan’s largest cemetery. For many, Koyasan is best-known as the spiritual gateway to the Kii Peninsula, a remote, mountainous region that’s home to the Kumano Kodo network of pilgrimage trails. See walkjapan.com
BATHE AND STAY, VICTORIA
The spa-to-stay experience has upped its game on the Mornington Peninsula, just an hour from Melbourne, with the opening of onsite accommodation at two different but equally popular spots – Peninsula Hot Springs and Alba Thermal Springs. Joining the 10 glamping tents that opened in 2021, Peninsula Hot Springs opened three lodges in a quiet, picturesque spot and added a serene stay dimension. The Eco Lodges, each with nine rooms and a peninsula suite, are set on a waterhole with native bush and birds seemingly your only neighbours. But it is the suites that have private soaking pools, worth the price of your stay alone. Meanwhile, The Sanctuary set on the highest point of the 15-hectare Alba property now offers five villas and two studios, of muted tones and gentle lighting. A dedicated concierge is on speed dial: to stoke the in-villa wood fire, deliver all-day dining from restaurant Thyme or to valet guests by golf buggy back and forth for dawn or moonlight bathing. Entry to the exclusive day spa area and a private pool session complete the ode to peace. See peninsulahotsprings.com; albathermalsprings.com.au
Traveller Awards contributors: Kate Allman, Kate Armstrong, Flip Byrnes, Justine Costigan, Jim Darby, Anthony Dennis, Ben Groundwater, Jenny Hewett, Belinda Jackson, Kerry van der Jagt, Julietta Jameson, Trudi Jenkins, Brian Johnston, Ute Junker, Katrina Lobley, Catherine Marshall, Chrissie McClatchie, Rob McFarland, Justin Meneguzzi, Julie Miller, Jane Reddy, Jane Richards, Katherine Scott, Craig Tansley, Lee Tulloch, Sue Williams, Riley Wilson.
