Ski and Spa Australia

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Marc Llewellyn takes a look at the spa scene on the Australian slopes.

After a hard day careering down mountains, when your boots hurt and your muscles ache, one of the best things in the world is a massage.

These days a spa treatment on the ski slopes is becoming a regular part of a winter holiday, as more and more people realise that a bit of heavenly pampering will make them feel on top of the world.

And, you don’t have to be a bruised and battered ski fanatic to enjoy a good rub down and a soothing facial, non-skiers are loving the benefits too.

In New South Wales there are two main ski and spa options, The Denman Hotel & Spa, in Thredbo, and The Spa at Lake Crackenback.

The Denman is a boutique mountain resort, perfectly positioned in the heart of Thredbo Village and just moments from the chairlifts. It's a Featured Spa on Day Spa Guide.  

The Denman Hotel & Spa, Thredbo’s premier luxury boutique hotel, has launched the first all-inclusive luxury ski & spa package for this coming Thredbo ski season, valid from 11 June 2010.

Offering everything that skiing enthusiasts could want both on and off the mountain, this special two-night weekend escape features accommodation in king-bed balcony rooms with views over the mountain, Saturday night gourmet dining in The Terrace Restaurant, spa treatments in The Denman’s Thalgo Day Spa, as well as two-day Kosciuszko Thredbo lift tickets.

The Denman Hotel & Spa boasts a dress circle position at Terrace Diggings in the heart of Thredbo Village, just a few minutes walk to the Crackenback chairlifts. The Hotel offers 36 guest rooms with ensuites, with a wide range of room styles and sizes.

Spa guests can choose from indulgent spa packages, facial treatments, body treatments, hand and feet treatments, plus waxing and tinting. Among the signature spa rituals is a 2.5-hour Serenity Now package that includs a facial, an exfoliating body treatment and a full body relaxation massage.

The Denman also boasts the award-winning Terrace RESTAURANT, and the Après BAR, a Thredbo institution.

Meanwhile, The Spa at Lake Crackenback has five treatment rooms with panoramic mountain views. A deluxe treatment room contains a luxurious infinity edge bath - the perfect way to wind down after a full day skiing or bushwalking.

Want the royal treatment? Why not indulge in a 24-carat Gold Facial. The spa is part of Lake Crackenback Resort, which is 15 minutes from Thredbo and Perisher Blue (Perisher Blue Resort is accessed via the resort’s private driveway which leads to the ski tube).

In the Victoria Alps spa lovers can choose between three spas, The Breathtaker On High Spa Retreat in Mt Buller, Mii Spa at Quay West Resort & Spa at Falls Creek, and Onsen Retreat & Spa at Dinner Plain.

The Breathtaker on High Spa Retreat is a Featured Spa on Day Spa Guide. The spa therapies use luxurious LI'TYA products, which combine ancient indigenous medicines and massage techniques, with aromatherapy, colour therapy, and herbalist principles. Signature treatments include the LI’TYA Mala Mayi Body Wrap. This includes an invigorating exfoliation using Australian desert salts and aromatic oils, a full-body mud wrap, an Aboriginal-inspired scalp massage, and a Kodo full body massage.

Breathtaker has six treatment rooms, a heated lap pool, and a large spa and steam room. Soak in hot pools, revive under water jets and renew in warm steam.

A favourite with families and couples alike, Breathtaker All Suite Hotel and Alpine Spa Retreat offers exceptional alpine hospitality, and well-appointed, self contained suites which include a kitchenette. Apart from the spa, other highlights include pro-activ physiotherapy seven days a week, The Loft Lounge & Bar, a gourmet pizzeria, a top-rate restaurant, and plenty of facilities aimed at children.

Elsewhere, Australia's newest all year round alpine resort and spa, the Quay West Resort & Spa Falls Creek is a fully self-contained apartment-style resort hotel, located at the base of the main ski runs of Falls Creek.

The resort offers luxuriously-appointed apartments and penthouses, a restaurant, a bar, a cafe and an indulgent day spa – Mii Spa.

Among Mii Spa’s Signature rituals is a two-hour Mii Spa Heavenly Therapy, which a full body salt glow exfoliation, a relaxation massage, an aroma facial and hand treatment. Another treatment worth noting is the Rubber Leg Rescue, which is good for “mountain muscle meltdown”. Sore, tired, aching legs and feet are soothed and reinvigorated with this specialty treatment, ensuring you are able to recover and enjoy the rigours of the next day’s skiing.

Finally, there’s the Onsen Retreat and Spa, at Dinner Plain, which offers Japanese-influenced still water bathing pools and a range of spa treatments. One of the Signature treatments here is the Indulgence Ritual, which includes a 90-minute Hot Stone Massage, a facial, a pedicure and a Spa Cuisine lunch.

Find all these spas located on the Day Spa Guide Google mapping System.