SPAS WITH PANACHE Gaia Retreat & Spa
Byron Bay,
Australia
The Kukura House is the main meeting place for
guests
at the Gaia Retreat & Spa.
Gaia
Retreat & Spa
Byron Bay
Australia
+61.2.6687.1216
www.gaiaretreat.com.au
North of Sydney, Australia, on the New South Wales
Coast, set
on a stunning 20-acre property in the undulating
green hills
above the surf paradise of Byron Bay is Gaia Retreat
& Spa
– a place of sanskrit symbolism, healing vibrations
and
barefoot elegance. Founded by Olivia Newton John and
her friend
Gregg Cave, the retreat is designed to indulge,
pamper and rejuvenate.
The focal point is the all-in-one lobby, lounge and
dining area
known as the Kukura House, a spectacular Samoan
longhouse with
cantilevered ceilings draped with silk tapestries,
and lit by
designer fixtures. There is also an expansive deck
with outdoor
seating, to take advantage of Byron's balmy climate.
Kukura
is Cave's domain, where he connects with guests to
ensure
their wineglasses are full at dinner and that all
their needs
are met. And the place to get your needs met is
Gaia's
Amala Day Spa.
“Byron Bay is the home of Australia's best mind-body
therapists, and we hire the best in Byron Bay,” says
Asura,
Gaia's spa manager. The spa offers unique body
polishes
and masques – all of which are mixed in-house using
natural
ingredients. Ever have dark chocolate systematically
smeared
over your entire body? You can get it here. You can
also order
the Ayurvedic Shirodara treatment, in which warm
sesame oil
is streamed onto your third eye, or simply lay back
in a Cleopatra
milk bath in the private outdoor courtyard. The
massage treatments
are equally enticing. Gaia offers a dozen different
kinds. Choose
from the fine-tuning of craniosacral, the delicious
pain of
shiatsu, the passive yoga of Thai or the Hawaiian
dance: kahuna.
And if you just want a plain-old, deep-tissue
massage, the spa
will find hands that will wring the tension from
every cranny.
And it all takes place in a tranquil, Zen-style
healing center
accented with copper tile and designed by Cave.
But the best part of Gaia is its intimacy. With only
15 guest
bungalows, even when Gaia is fully booked, your
morning yoga
class will never be crowded, and you won't have
trouble
making a spa appointment. Most importantly, there's
always
a patch of sun in which to nap.
