Top 10 spa and wellness things to do in Melbourne

Look after yourself with spa treatments, happy-making exercise, advanced nutrition and escapist retreats in extraordinary environments.

Scheduling a half or full day of 'you time', preferably near the start of your Melbourne holiday, is a delightful way to fast-track the process of rest, relaxation and renewal. You'll quickly peel off layer upon layer of tiredness and stress to find a happier, more relaxed state of mind and body.

Here are our latest ideas for indulgent pampering and wellness enhancement around the city and in country areas close by.

1. Renew with healing mineral waters

Hire a car and head for the Daylesford area 90 minutes north-west of Melbourne, where you'll find Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel at Hepburn Springs. This idyllic rural retreat delivers rest and restoration with divine massage treatments, water therapies, beauty rituals, luxury accommodation and deliciously healthy meals.  The secret of this spa retreat is the region's mineral-rich water, which bubbles up through ancient rock layers.  

2. Enjoy an Aussie-style geothermal spa

Geothermal springs aren't something you'd usually associate with Australia, which is why Peninsula Hot Springs is such a find. Just 90 minutes out of Melbourne, this spa sanctuary won the World's Best Mineral Spa Award for four years running. Highlights include a Turkish Hamam, a cave pool and a hilltop pool with panoramic views of the region. The menu of exquisite spa treatments could keep you here for days.

Peninsula Hot Springs, Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne, Australia. Peppers Mineral Springs Retreat, Hepburn Springs, Melbourne, Australia.

3. Spend some time with Miss Fox

You don't have to leave the city to renew and relax. At Miss Fox in The Walk Arcade, you can succumb to a few hours of pampering and leave feeling years younger. Almost any relaxation or confidence-building treatment imaginable is available here - spa facials, massages, pregnancy treatments, scrubs, wraps and much more. You can also have face and body cos-medical treatments that help turn back time. The in-house champagne and martini bar is icing on the cake. 

4. Soak up some views on a rooftop

Enjoy the high life while you soak at the Reunion Island Pool Club, located on the rooftop of Melbourne Central in the inner city. Buy an all-day pass for the share pools or book a private heated plunge pool for you and your friends. Yoga and boot camp classes are also available on some days, in case you have some indulgent meals to work off. On top of all this, the club has a full bar and snack kiosk.

5. Increase your happiness levels

Described as 'the world's first happiness centre', Serotonin is a Melbourne sanctuary that's all about lifting your mood and making you feel good. You'll eat a rainbow of delicious dishes that are designed to enhance body and mind; you can also update your knowledge of how to stay healthy and happy. A few hours at Serotonin is a special way to look after yourself and come away with new ideas for optimising your life.

Miss Fox, Wellness, Melbourne, Australia. Crown Spa, Melbourne, Australia.

6. Two hours to a new you

The Crown Spa treatment menu describes 'journeys' that are all around two hours long. Some are massage-focused; others include wraps, facials and guided meditation. All of them are perfectly blissful. And if you're not the champion sleeper you once were, the Sleep Support Therapy aims to send that insomnia packing. You'll find the Crown Spa within Crown Towers Hotel on Southbank.

7. Find bliss in a tree house

At Salus Day Spa in Daylesford, hot mineral spas are located in beautiful tree houses. While you're soaking in 100% pure mineral water from a local spring, you can look through the trees to pretty Lake Daylesford. This spa also offers massage, facials, wraps and cocoons. It's within Lake House, a divine boutique hotel, so great food and luxury accommodation can be part of the experience.

Salus Spa, Daylesford, Melbourne, Australia.

8. Welcome the new day from a paddle board

If you're a morning person, you'll relish the opportunity to see the sunrise from a paddle board at Altona Beach in tranquil Port Phillip Bay. This guided eco-adventure will stretch your body, strengthen your core and clear your mind while you watch the new day arrive. There's a good chance you'll also see schools of fish, gummy sharks, weedy sea dragons and stingrays.

9. Get into hot water

The Japanese have evolved the simple act of taking a bath into an art form. Discover what we're talking about at Onsen Ma in Meyers Street, where bath time, sauna and massage collaborate to send your stress packing. An hour-long massage here is surprisingly affordable, as is a long hot soak in the public bath (swimsuits compulsory).  

10. Lounge about at the Lyall

South Yarra is home to one of Melbourne's most luxurious spas. Located within the elegant Lyall Hotel, the Lyall Spa offers a delicious mix of classic beauty treatments, as well as scientific therapies involving stem cell technology.  From a silky sapphire wrap, which uses real crushed sapphires, to cosmeceutical peels and Rhassoul mud treatments, the menu is extensive.