Relaxation isn’t hard to come by in Byron Bay. Hugging the easternmost corner of NSW, on volcanic land thought to hold a unique vibrational energy, the beloved bohemian town has long been a place of healing. And although it’s experienced something of a commercial upheaval over the past few years – with high-end hotels and luxe celebrity homes changing the fabric of the once unpretentious hippie haven – there’s still a unique magic that seems to hang over the town. Now, hidden beneath one of Byron’s most luxurious hotels (it was just listed on a prestigious list of the best hotels in the world), you’ll find Navia: a surreally beautiful Scandi-inspired bathhouse that’s bringing the town’s relaxation game to the next level.
Navia co-founders Lucia Wilkinson and Patrick Dusting were travelling Scandinavia when the idea for the space was born.
“We travelled through Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and absolutely fell in love with their style of bathing. It’s a completely different culture from what we have here – in Australia it’s quite isolated, but over there, the instant you walk in you feel at home. We felt like we just had to bring that style of bathing to Australia, and where better to do it than Byron, a place that’s already so community-focused?” Dusting tells me, while we’re sitting in the carefully minimalist, rust-toned lobby, a space that calms your nervous system even before you’ve spent two hours soaking and steaming in the room below.
Descend the stone staircase, and you’ll find a huge, cave-like bathhouse that will transport you to another realm. To reflect the Scandi aesthetic, natural light is intentionally kept to a minimum, with warm, orb-like lights placed between the arching sauna doors, and clusters of (electric) candles gathered along the walls. The design is Lucia’s masterwork, with, by her own admission, “inspiration from the saunas we visited in Finland, and a lot of help from Pinterest”.
The standout features here are the two magnesium baths (the larger one heated to a warm, hot-tub-like temp and the smaller a chilly 8ºC), but the space is also home to a steam room, stunning dark timber sauna, 2ºC ice bath and a carefully curated snack station. To allow guests to fully embrace the “hygge” state of mind (hygge is a Danish concept that translates roughly to "cosiness"), sessions last for two hours, and guests are encouraged to take breaks between soaks and steams to relax on the sofa with a cup of tea and a plate of dried fruit. You’ll also find massage therapists on site, offering 60- and 90-minute remedial, relaxation and pregnancy treatments designed to complement the bathhouse experience.
Foundation memberships start at $75 per week for one year of unlimited sessions. You can learn more and book over here.
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