We're looking at the best hot springs and spas in the region.
Victoria has some of the best spa country in Australia, with a number of spas, mineral pools and natural hot springs bringing the goods. We’re pretty lucky to have such an awesome selection of spas all within driving distance of Geelong, plus plenty of boutique spas right in metro Melbourne too.
We’ve compiled some of the best hot springs worth the weekday road trip. Plus, with local travel being the hot ticket right now, there’s no better time to get back out and explore the best of what regional Victoria has to offer.
So breathe out, relax your shoulders and get booking.
Peninsula Hot Springs, Mornington Peninsula
Every knows Peninsula Hot Springs, so there’s no doubt that they’re at the top of our list. It’s no secret that this location is one of Victoria’s most beloved vacay spots. Perfect for couples or even friends, this hot spring has won global awards over the years.
Just an hour’s drive out of Melbourne, you can easily experience the views of the hot springs. Natural geothermal mineral waters flow into the pools and private baths at the coastal oasis, providing an idyllic setting for relaxation and rejuvenation. As a premier wellness destination, you’ll find over 70 globally-inspired bathing and wellness experiences, whether you are looking to connect in the Bath House, find tranquillity in the Spa Dreaming Centre or experience the bliss of serene bathing.
If you feel like the ultimate treat you can even stay overnight in one of 10 new, ultra-luxe glamping tents dotted around the property. And prepare to soak under the stars with their moonlit bathing available until 5am seven days a week.
Find it here.
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Hepburn Springs Bathhouse and Spa, Daylesford
Minutes from Daylesford, Hepburn Springs is one of Australia’s most concentrated mineral rich springs. Treat yourself to the salt magnesium pool, and indulge in 100% pure private mineral baths.
Packages are also offered, designed to cater to your wellness and ensure you’re feeling at ease.
You can also receive dedicated spa treatments and therapies to set you off into your well-cation – see what I did there?
Find it here.
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Metung Hot Springs, Gippsland Lakes
From the team behind Fingal’s wildly popular Peninsula Hot Springs, Metung Hot Springs is the perfect haven to switch off and reconnect with yourself, with someone special and with nature.
Designed with intimacy and seclusion in mind and centering around the natural healing, mineral-rich geothermal waters that flow from 500m below ground, Metung Hot Springs features a full range of geothermal bathing pools. The hilltop escarpment (16+ area) and bathing ridge feature with lake view pool, architecturally designed sauna, refreshing cold plunge pool, reflexology walk, hillside pool, geothermal showers, trail pool (featuring a slow meandering ramp for guests with accessibility needs), unique bathing barrels and star gazing pool perfect for those calm summer nights.
There is also a bathing valley and amphitheatre with an all-day cafe, guest amenities and a considered retail store.
The destination also features unique safari-style glamping accommodations perched over a freshwater lagoon, and there’s also a tranquil day spa on-site which welcomes guests with authentic Larn’wa Aboriginal Lore wellness rituals and native botanical spa creations to beautifully enhance guests bathing and wellness experiences through balancing massages, facials and body treatments.
Check it out here.
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Alba, Mornington Peninsula
Within a beautifully landscaped 15-hectare property on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, a one-hour drive from central Melbourne, the world-class thermal springs and day spa sanctuary offers contemporary bathing and spa experiences with a range of indoor, open-air, and outdoor thermal pools, and a menu of spa services created to renew, repair, and recalibrate.
Impressively, Alba offers 31 pools of varying sizes including geothermal pools, cold plunge pools and herbal-infused botanical pools. Every pool has been meticulously detailed in response to the setting within the property and social purpose. Some pools are submerged in a flowering meadow, some created as apertures to the sky, others are gently cradled within drifts of waving grasses. There are pools that are intentionally intimate and peacefully private, while others are social.
In the higher reaches of the site The Hemisphere provides bathers with tranquil hidden gardens, a semi enclosed geothermal pool (The Hide), a cold plunge pool and access to a steam room and sauna.
Alba also offers a range of therapeutic spa treatments and a premium quality dining experience at restaurant Thyme, located in the heart of the springs and spa complex.
Take a moment and book your visit to Alba Thermal Springs & Spa here.
Now Open: Alba, the luxe new Thermal Springs and Spa Destination, on the Mornington Peninsula
Japanese Mountain Retreat, Montrose
The closest mineral springs to Melbourne and only a 45-minute drive from the CBD, Japanese Mountain retreat is nestled amongst the lush scenery of the Dandenong Ranges.
Bathe in mineral waters heated to 40 degrees and you’ll be feeling like you’re in Japan.
Providing the most romantic getaways in Melbourne, if you’re a couple then this will surely fit your agenda. Visit for a day to immerse yourself in private hot spring bathing, massages or even dining. Why not even stay a day or two? I recommend two.
Find it here.
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Deep Blue Hot Springs, Warrnambool
If you’re heading to Warrnambool any time soon, be sure to check out or check into the Deep Blue Geothermal Baths. The first-ever hot spring hotel in Victoria, you certainly want to experience this firsthand.
Sourcing its water from the Dilwyn Aquifer, this location is your place to relax, rejuvenate and replenish. Let off that steam and let your mind run free in the springs or spa treatments available. With fifteen enhanced bathing experiences to be used and an extensive walking and cycling trail nearby, Deep Blue Baths is an out of this world encounter.
Plus, you can head down to Deep Blue Hot Springs in Warrnambool and experience their Hot Spring Sanctuary after dark. Whether it’s gazing at the stary night sky from the reflection bay, immersing yourself in the neon lights of the colour therapy caves or basking under the rainforest shower in the rainforest pool, Deep Blue offers unique experiences for everyone.
Find it here.
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Aurora Spa & Bathhouse, Sorrento
Accommodating up to 60 guests at a time, the Aurora Spa & Bathhouse offers a year-round indoor bathing experience without interruption from the elements.
A highlight of the destination is the European-style bathhouse – an expansive 500m2 all-weather bathing experience – with interiors by design studio Woods Bagot – that celebrates the healing power of water. Guests can explore the subterranean space at their leisure or follow Aurora’s Bathing Ritual – a ten-step immersive bathing journey with a circuit of hot and cold experiences designed for optimal wellbeing and featuring hydro massage elements, and magnesium mineral rich waters.
There’s a cleansing botanical salt ritual, sky-lit Daydream Pool (36 degrees), the cold plunge (10 degrees), reflexology pool (37 degrees) and vitality pool (35 degrees), alongside Sensory showers and additional contrast therapy experiences like an aromatherapy steam room, halotherapy (salt) suite, and the aptly named ‘Centella Thermal Lounges’.
It also has one of the largest saunas in the southern hemisphere, as well as a custom-made and first of its kind, ‘Glacial Mist Room’, custom-designed to recreate the elements indoors, including mist, rain and ice – and for the very first time, wind.
As well as offering guests timeless bathing traditions with a modern twist, Aurora Spa & Bathhouse provides spa treatments, meditation, wellness coaching and retreats; and an elegant Aurora Spa Store features an array of carefully curated items, allowing guests to take home a little piece of their wellness experience.
Find out more here.
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Ofuroya the Japanese Bathhouse, Collingwood
If you’re more into tradition, take a trip Ofuroya Japanese Bath House. Located in Collingwood, you’ll be able to experience Japan from the land down under. Take a dip the first and only traditional Japanese public bathhouse (operating since 1999), and discover peace, solitude and relaxation that only the Japanese can provide.
The Japanese Bath House is run as a traditional sento and is separated into men’s and women’s areas. As with all traditional Japanese bathhouses, it’s clothes off, rinse with a handheld bowl, and then jump in for a relaxing, long, hot soak.
Before your visit make sure to read up on the origin of Japanese bathhouses and take your experience and immerse into another country’s culture.
Find it here.
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Saltwater Hot Springs, Phillip Island
This is one for your bucket list.
Set to be one of the best spots in Victoria for a steam and soak when it opens in February 2022 in Newhaven, this hot spring will comprise over 45 bathing pools of varying sizes from small ankle-deep podiatry wading areas through to relaxation pools able to sit 10 people, day spas, treatment rooms and facilities and a restaurant (The Cape Kitchen), all within a stunning landscaped setting.
With the intention to provide a substantial boost to the local economy, this $10 million project is premised on a vision to promote relaxation, health and wellness within a spectacular coastal environment. To begin with, ten bathing pools will open up, powered by a 900-metre bore, which will extract 20 megalitres of groundwater to supply the pools with 38C aquifer mineral-rich water from under the 130-acre property. According to brand manager Tom Lade, further stages of the project – to be rolled out in later years – will include up to 30 more bathing pools, treatment rooms for massages and varying wellness treatments.
Check out the website here.
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Sanctuary Day Spa, Ballarat
Located in the stunning Mercure Ballarat gardens is Victoria’s little slice of paradise. This holistic retreat is like walking into a dream both architecturally and spiritually. Director Sarah Emmanuel wants everyone who walks through to “experience luxury,” and you certainly do from the moment you set foot in the building.
How could anyone be stressed or tense when there are six luxury treatment rooms including two dual suites, private bathing, a floating pedicure lounge, relaxation lounge with open fireplace and The Sanctuary with sauna and heated hydrotherapy pool. It’s simply heaven or in Emmanuel’s words, the Ballarat Sanctuary Day Spa will “ guide you towards a lasting sense of wellbeing through holistic healing and nurturing treatments.” I’m daydreaming just thinking about it.
Ballarat Sanctuary Day Spa offers both solo and couples treatments with a wide range of immersive experiences like the Couples Spa Ritual, 2 x 60 minute massages, private bathing and of course, it has to come with bubbles and strawberries. So absolutely romantic and perfect for a couple who’ve been separated by the border closures as a romantic reunion getaway.
To book your experience head to the website here.
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Sense of Self, Collingwood
Tucked away on Stanley Street, this new Melbourne spa is the definition of a luxurious, urban oasis.
Here you’ll find a Finnish-style sauna at a hot 80 degrees, a large 39-degree mineral bath, a day spa and a cold plunge pool, as well as the message and mindfulness studio where there is an extensive list of body treatments for relaxation, remediation and pregnancy, backed by a soothing lounge area where naps are encouraged.
Passes give you access to all the facilities and start at $49 for two hours. Bathing on the weekend will set you back $59 for two hours, or you can get discounted multi-packs from $140 for three.
With a focus on self-love and self-care, inspired by connection, inclusivity and restoration, every treatment here is designed to help you feel your best.
Find out more info here.
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The Lake House Spa, Daylesford
Nestled amongst the lush gardens of the Lake House hotel, which also includes a multi-award winning restaurant, this award-winning, state-of-the-art Spa designed with blonde wood and splashes of Tiffany blue is surrounded by waterfall fed streams and offers nine treatment areas over three levels.
Indulge in a hot mineral water spa in one of the lovely treehouses where the deep tub is prepared with 100 percent pure mineral water from a specially selected nearby spring; or try a massage and indulge in a blissful Elemis treatment, or choose from their long list of treatments that use natural exfoliants, clays and oils to pamper your skin.
The Hydrostorm is a perfect treatment for two people to share; incorporating vertical vichy, Swiss shower, colour therapy, steam and aromatherapy. Large expanses of glass offer views to the lakeshore, stream and cool fern gully, while outdoor balconies and sunlit lounges also provide a lovely setting to relax with a restorative herbal tea.
Check it out here.
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Lancemore Spa, Werribee
Located within the Werribee Park Lancemore Mansion, the Lancemore Spa is incredibly luxe. It is quite literally an oasis of calm in one of the world’s most liveable cities, you’ll find treatments like facials, soaks, massages, manis and pedis, while the traditional Turkish Hammam experience is a signature of theirs, with mud and oils available for you to lather yourself in.
You can also add handmade chocolates or a glass of bubbly if you’re really wanting to treat yourself.
You can visit the website here.
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The Mineral Spa, Hepburn Springs
Another one in Victoria’s spa country, The Mineral Spa is an idyllic restorative haven with a focus on rejuvenating massage and body treatments and relaxing mineral spa bathing.
Nestled amongst nature at the Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel, The Mineral Spa is architecturally designed to reflect the environment and landscape. It is suffused with natural light and enhanced by the soothing sound of the spa’s water and breathtaking views into the countryside.
Here, guests can enjoy the highly awarded mineral water Retreat, a relaxing indoor/outdoor haven with steam room, lavender sauna, detox box, outdoor sun deck, two outdoor mineral water spas and cold plunge pool. They also do custom ‘girl’s weekends’, private bathing, and couples’ specials, as well as night bathing on a Friday or Saturday evening.
Check out the website here.
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Norbu Infrared Sauna at The Olsen, South Yarra
Tucked away inside the Olsen Hotel, Norbu is a luxurious in-house spa facility that can be used by the public if you book ahead – and we recommend you do because it’s an absolute treat.
With massage, endermologie, body shaping, detox programs, scrubs, facials and luscious organic treatments and packages, this is an ideal destination whether you want to treat yourself or indulge with a loved one.
A highlight is their infrared sauna treatment, dubbed The Detox Box. The detox box increases circulation and is great for sore muscles, jet lag, insomnia, lactic acid build up, detoxification, weight loss, arthritis, high blood pressure, and your immune system, and it’s perfect for those who find regular saunas a bit too hot.
Check it out here.
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