Where sauna meets scenery. Where wild weather is embraced. Where senses are invigorated.
Behind windswept sand dunes on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, Lon Retreat & Spa — member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World — will open a new design-led, open-air Contrast Therapy Space on Monday 10 November 2025. This immersive thermal environment invites guests into the elemental ritual of heat, cold and rest, guided by nature, coastal weather and Lon’s long-held philosophy (since it’s opening in 2018) of slowing down.
Lon has long been known for its award-winning mineral pool and hot soak — fed from natural mineral springs flowing through limestone caves deep beneath the 250-acre farm. Now, this new outdoor contrast space introduces Finnish sauna, magnesium-rich natural plunge, Swedish soak bucket, a communal fire-pit and relaxed designer lounges with views stretching to ocean, lighthouse and resident farm cows.
It is contrast therapy, but the Lon way — unhurried, sensory, elemental, coastal.
Holistic thermal therapy — ancient ritual, modern design, coastal horizon
Thousands of years of bathing cultures — Nordic sauna, Roman thermae, Japanese onsen — have understood the healing power of thermal cycling. The Lon experience honours this timeless wisdom, but anchors it in place: wind over dunes, salt air, horizon line, ancient waters, uncluttered silence.
Indoors, the mineral pool reveals itself slowly behind sandstone walls. Guests can float weightlessly in the large mineral pool (26-28°C) or sink into the hot mineral soak (38°C) and breathe deeply.
Then glass doors open outward onto the contrast therapy deck — where sauna meets scenery.
The body warms.
The breath lengthens.
Then — the invitation to plunge.
Access + availability
Hotel guests will be the lucky ones — receiving complimentary and extended access to all bathing and contrast therapy spaces 6am–10pm daily throughout their stay at Lon.
From Monday to Saturday, day guests visiting Lon Spa may add a 90-minute Contrast Therapy Access Pass to any minimum 60-minute spa treatment. This guided thermal sequence is designed to be experienced prior to a massage or body ritual — meaning guests arrive to the treatment table already softened and soothed. A towel, gown, locker hire and a herbal tea are included and several of Lon Spa’s signature rituals include Contrast Therapy in their spa package.
Awards & recognition
From our small corner of the world on the Bellarine Peninsula, we are grateful to share that Lon has once again been recognised at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Spa & Wellness Awards, named Best Holistic Health Spa, alongside runner-up for Best Spa in Australasia (for which Lon was the winner in 2024).
These acknowledgments reflect the dedication of our team, the land that holds us, and the community of guests who bring Lon to life.
