Exclusive details for Peninsula Hot Springs expansion revealed
– Charles Davidson, Peninsula Hot Springs founder
Australia’s Peninsula Hot Springs (PHS) is planning a major expansion focused on story-driven experiences including an open-air amphitheatre with seven pools and seating for 700 people, CLADglobal can reveal.
New offerings will include: an educational building; sauna rooms; a deep therapy pool; a fire and ice bathing area; a ‘Food Bowl’ area with on-site agriculture and picnic areas where guests are invited to “eat yourself to good health"; and the amphitheatre which forms the centrepiece of the arts and culture area.
Plans are also underway to add 126 bedrooms – a first for the hot springs.
“The purpose of our business is to create experiences where our visitors can relax in nature and connect with the deep well of their being,” Peninsula Hot Springs founder Charles Davidson told CLADglobal. “Many of our experiences are story-driven – we want them to be places where guests can be engaged in the experience.”
Arts and Culture
The new arts and culture area will include seven pools with underwater speakers, allowing 70 people to float in the water and listen to talks and music while they look up at the sky. The amphitheatre has seated terraces that provide space for up to 580 people to watch plays, talks and concerts, while another 120 can listen from the pools.
“We’ll be providing entertainment and education from the Amphitheatre Bathing Bowl as well as the Food Bowl,” said Davidson. “These are two unique, open-air spaces for arts, culture, relaxation, health and wellbeing.”
This will also help with capacity issues, said Davidson: “Demand has been rising – half the time we’re at full capacity and we can’t allow additional people into the facilities.”
Food Bowl
In December, the first stage of the Food Bowl area – a three-acre (1.2 hectare) terraced garden – will be completed. The garden will be used for growing vegetables, herbs, teas, mushrooms and medicinal plants, and the produce will be used in the cafes on site and sold in the retail outlets.
“Visitors will be able to walk the gardens and talk to the horticulturist,” said Davidson. “The chefs in the wood-fired pizza oven area will walk with groups to collect fresh tomatoes, capsicums and other vegetables, and use it for the topping on pizzas.”
The Food Bowl will have seven terraces, with the initial four completed and producing produce by December this year. The additional three terraces, along with a lake and stage at the bottom, will be constructed in 2018. Guests will be able to sit on the ledge of each terrace to watch performances and speakers on the stage.
Overnight facilities
The hot springs will also add 126 rooms of overnight accommodation, including 22 private lodges with access to their own private thermal hot spring pool, as well as condominiums and a glamping area with luxury tents. These will be introduced in a staged rollout from July 2018 to November 2020.
“The lodges are specifically designed for the unique climate in our region of Australia, which has distinct seasons – often all in one day,” said Davidson. “The thermal heat from the hot spring water will be used to hydroponically heat all the buildings, providing the nicest possible heat with the least environmental impact.”
Theoretical and experiential wellness
A new building designed for education will also open in December, enabling PHS to deliver programmes for guests and for external clients – such as local gyms, yoga and pilates studios and massage schools – to bring professionals to the facility to learn.
“We see ourselves as creators of spaces where wellness can be provided at a theoretical and experiential level,” said Davidson.
Saunas are being built to enable groups of 20 to 30 people to be in the space at once, so that sauna masters can train classes. Two new sauna rooms will provide a variety of temperatures and humidities and will enable a class to be held on one side while the public can enjoy the facility on the other.
Fire and Ice
A 'Fire & Ice' area will include cold baths, ice baths and an ice cave for guests to experience contrast bathing by spending time in saunas and hot mineral spring pools before plunging into cold and ice experiences.
“This is very good for blood circulation and for generating an overall sense of invigoration and being alive,” explained Davidson.
The size and styles of the pools are specifically designed for social bathing experiences. “Finding time to relax and be with friends or yourself in a natural setting is at the core of the hot springs bathing experience,” said Davidson. “There is a lot of fun and laughter to be had with friends when going in and out of what could be considered extreme bathing experiences like ice and cold plunges and very hot saunas.”
Peninsula hot springs Australia arts and entertainment spa wellnessNew wellness experience debuts at Peninsula Hot Springs
Peninsula Hot Springs teams with Mental Health Australia
Major expansion for Australia's Peninsula Hot Springs
Peninsula Hot Springs Spa
UAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
From climate change to resource scarcity, Exploration Architecture uses biomimicry to address some of the world’s major challenges. Its founder tells us how