Jul 25, 20235 min read

Alba Thermal Springs and Spa - Victoria, Australia

Updated: Aug 24, 2023

For centuries, people have sought the wonderful relaxation and restorative benefits of soaking in naturally heated water and we chanced upon a sanctuary and a gorgeous day spa and thermal springs destination, termed Alba, whilst traveling in Victoria, Australia.

Alba Thermal Springs and Spa comprises 32 pools of varying sizes and purposes, with geothermal pools, cold plunge pools and herbal-infused botanical pools – set in 15 hectares of garden right in the heart of Mornington Peninsula. The peaceful surrounds envelope across this contemporary indoor, open-air and outdoor hot spring pools.

The area is well known amongst the locals but now it is primed for international status and to put Australia on the map as a hot spring destination, complete with boutique hotels, golf courses, unique wineries and cellar doors, world-class modern restaurants, natural attractions, pristine beaches and seaside villages.

Design Parameters

The overall landscape and architecture is designed by the team of Hayball and MALA Studio, with stones, concrete pools, flowering meadows, waving grasses all well cradles to suit a social purpose, a setting, a sky aperture, where privacy and intimacy matters, submerged and gentle, using indigenous plants and respect for the natural environment.

With a desire to become Victoria’s most sought-after bathing and wellness experience, the centre’s unique approach to a peninsula-centric landscape design, creation of a coastal-like expression of Moonah woodland and expansive ecology using a biophilia approach.

“From its inception, the ethos behind Alba was based on finding synergies between the environment, community, culture and history,” says Alba General Manager Craig Dodd. “In appointing building architects and landscape architects, we had to find practices that could work together holistically to create a seamless indoor and outdoor experience".

As such, this high-end wellness venue exudes excellence and luxe whilst instilling feelings of calm, relaxation and calm for their guests. Each garden and pool space exhibits its own texture, palette, theme, purpose and ambience, super uncontrived and definitely very natural, so it's personal and space-centric, thus ensuring a superb bathing experience.

Touring Alba

Alba is well-planned for wellness-goers as we traverse across the various hot springs and plunge pools, at its locality, from The Forest, to the Luna, the Eve, the Waves (we like that), the Cove, the Shell, the Seasons (my favourite), the Hemisphere, the Cascades (both upper and lower), the Sands, the Falls, the Botanicals, the Bight, the Dunes and the Tides; the private Springs area is termed the Terrace, the Clouds and the Salts (cleverly named), aside from Thyme (the restaurant and cafe) ; each pool has a different position and view and a differing temperature gradient, based on cold or hot.

From luxurious full day self care packages to half-day rituals and treatments, Alba spa offers a sanctuary for a varying suite of facial and body treatments, from package rituals, Vichy showers, facials by Vanessa Megan and Aika, Massages, Hamman bath (wow fabulous, this is truly lovely), Bath time and Hands & Feet treatments, as well as spa packages and indulgent experiences.

A Well-Thyme Experience

Alba has a renowned restaurant Thyme that showcases locally-sourced, seasonal produce with their menu curated by a well-known Melbourne chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and television presenter, Karen Martini. The menu features fresh, healthy dishes served alongside excellent coffee, herbal tea blends, local cold-pressed juices and signature cocktails, and the wine list highlights the Peninsula’s many local vineyards, distilleries, and breweries.

We sampled a variety of dishes, including House ocean trout gravlax comprising egg, cucumber, crème fraîche, caviar pearls, chives, watercress, capers and crostini, as well as an Alba red rice bowl, cured tuna, cucumber, kimchi, shitake wakame pickle, soft egg, furikake avocado; the O’Connor’s beef, carrot and daikon karē, pickled radish, curry leaves, house rye udon (super excellent and so yummy and one of the best Beef renditions I had in Australia), along with a Crab Crumpet, consisting of a spanner crab (typical in Australia) burnt butter and whipped cod roe on a house crumpet.; we whipped up a Montalto Pennon Hill Syrah as well as a Kerri Greens Pigface Chardonnay - both wines indigenous of course to the Mornington Peninsula region. Immaculate!

Geothermal Experience

The mini roughness near my elbow was removed instantly after an hour's dip, which testifies to the healing properties of geothermal hot springs at Alba; a thought that kept on going through my mind was the ability to navigate the grounds of Alba during winter, but the thick bathrobes, coupled with good directional advice and pathways allowed me to truly enjoy a wonderful spa and hot spring dip in the middle of winter.

The sun came out towards noon time and that wonderful sunshine, coupled with nice cool breeze perfected the entire geothermal wellness experience with water as the mood-setter. I learn to embrace this new verb termed "bathing" in this region, and it also sets the onset and parameters governing "wellness tourism" in this part of Victoria, just 90 minutes drive from Melbourne City in Australia.

Origins of Alba's Water

Alba uses 100% geothermal water, and this water contains naturally occurring minerals including sulphur, calcium, magnesium and potassium and is classified as a ‘sodium chloride bicarbonate spring’. The water is naturally heated to between 37°C and 43°C in underground aquifers 550 metres below the surface and used to fill their pools daily.

The therapeutic benefits of these waters are immense and are said to include the alleviation of neuralgia, bruising, articular rheumatism, stiffness of the shoulders, recovery from fatigue and muscular complaints. As we were curious to how the water is being extracted, we learned that the water at Alba reaches the surface at 43.6°C and is pumped to it’s control room. The water then passes through a sanitation system before being diverted to individual pools all across the venue, and the wastewater from the pools is then collected in their underground storage tanks, pumped to their treatment facility, where it is cleaned and tested again before being re-injected underground, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the geo-thermal aquifer.

Alba cools water for their cold plunge pools; the heat extracted from the cooled water is collected and transferred into their wastewater so that the temperature they inject is the same as the temperature they extract. Alba offers guests an array of bathing experiences including their rain pool (The Falls) and their seasonal pool (The Seasons) where the temperature changes over the year. Alba’s freshwater needs are met through rainwater collection in 10,000 litre tanks, which are used for irrigating their gardens and for their onsite nursery; a truly remarkable sustainable pathway!

Alba Thermal Springs & Spa is a proudly Australian company committed to respecting the natural environment and acknowledging its Traditional Owners – the people and elders of the Boon Wurrung and Bunurong community, members of Kulin Nation.

Recommendation

I would recommend a SPRINGS THYME package priced at A$190 and do allow a duration of 150 minutes for a full relaxed and wellness escapade experience. The package includes: