The Springs Hotel has been a long standing feature of the Hepburn/Daylesford region, the undisputed spa capital of Victoria, Australia. With its beautiful art deco design, the hotel has been drawing visitors with its open fire guest lounges, laid back bar and spacious hotel rooms for decades. Hotel guests and diners have always made the romantic Deco Restaurant and casually funky Retreat Café a regular dining experience when journeying to Hepburn Springs to “take the waters”. The recently completed Springs Retreat Mineral Spa on the grounds of the Springs Hotel is therefore an inspired addition to this Hepburn Springs tradition. The spa is richly inspired by Chinese teachings, with treatments designed to soothe the body as well as lift the spirit. The concept and design of the Spa has been expertly developed to evoke the feeling of a true retreat. With guests limited to those over 18 years of age, and guests numbers purposely kept to a minimum, visitors need only enjoy the tranquil lounge areas and decks overlooking either Zen inspired or traditional English styled gardens as they prepare to have their mind, soul and bodies indulged. For busy, time strapped guests, the Hotel and Spa have conveniently styled a series of all inclusive “Escape Packages”. Each package includes a selection of spa treatments along with all meals plus accommodation for 1, 2, up to 5 nights. With a quick scan of the 8 packages on offer, it was hard to go past Escape Package No.5. Including lunch and cooked breakfast in the Retreat Café, 3 course dinner in the stylish 1920’s inspired DECO restaurant, and an afternoon of spa treatments before retiring to my hotel suite. Even an overcast and chilly Victorian weather forecast was not going to overshadow this weekend of luxurious R&R. Wrapped in my thick fluffy bathrobe, sipping fragrant herbal tea, I sat with my attentive therapist to plan my treatments. An Indigo Detox Clay was selected for my first treatment, a Lymphatic Clay Massage and Soft Pak Float. Imported from Lorient, France, this glorious indigo blue mud was infused with lemon, cypress, juniper, verbena and eucalyptus. For those not fans of the intense deep tissue style massage, the lymphatic clay massage is the ideal alternative. With light, gentle strokes, it is designed to stimulate the lymph nods just under the surface of the skin. As the clay is softly massaged into the arms, legs, back and chest, the therapist constantly directs the massage strokes towards the kidneys. This is to kick start the flow of toxins to be eventually flushed from the body. The massage takes place on specially imported German-designed soft pak beds. These unique treatment beds, (only 6 in Australia), with 4 at the Springs Retreat Spa House, are far more than just heated treatment benches. With a twinkle in her eye, my therapist, Kelly, delighted in demonstrating the “surprise” feature of the soft pak bed. Now covered in blue mud from head to foot, giving the appearance of an extra from a late night sci-fi series, I was wrapped in crisp, momentarily white sheets and then cocooned “tortilla-style” within the rubbery flaps of the bed. With a flick of a switch the base and flaps were hydraulically pumped with heated water. Raising barely an inch above the table courtesy of the waters’ buoyancy, the sensation was that of a 3-D waterbed. The heat of the encasing water took up where the lymph massage left off, helping the skin absorb the remedial essential elements infused in the mud. In this luxuriating cocoon, drifting for 20 minutes in a peaceful, darkened room, all those vital pressing thoughts that were filling my brain magically just melted away. To “de-blue”, I was taken to my next treatment, a hydrotherapy bath. Set on an electronic program, this single occupant bath employs various combinations of massaging jets. Rotating from shoulders, to arms, low back, thighs, legs, to full body massage, this gentle treatment makes good use of the 200 pulsating jets set in the tub. With a Botanical facial to follow, plus some mellow time in the communal but limited (only 6 guests at a time) “Retreat” area to enjoy the wet & dry saunas and 3 plunge pools overlooking the gardens, the afternoon was drawing to a peaceful and contented end.