Reset on a Sydney Wellness Short Break

Revitalise your mind, body and soul with a wellness escape to Sydney. The city’s beautiful natural surrounds set the tone for a relaxing retreat, and the range of wellness centres and nutritious dining options offer a way to revive and rejuvenate. From aerial yoga to delicious plant-based meals, here’s the ultimate Sydney wellness itinerary.

Highlights:

• A long lunch at award-winning vegetarian restaurant Yellow
• An indulgent spa session at the Langham’s amazing day spa
• A non-alcoholic cocktail at a rooftop bar at Barangaroo

Greet the morning

In the hip inner-city suburb of Surry Hills, Sky-Lab‘s Aerial Yoga Stretch class will help you develop your flexibility and awareness of your body in space with its low-intensity aerial Vinyasa class. Using an aerial hammock, you’ll float through various poses with the support of expert instructors.

Or you can treat yourself to a morning float at Sydney Float Centre in neighbouring Darlinghurst. Clear your mind as you relax in a zero-gravity lightless, soundless float pod.

Then head to Kawa Cafe, on Crown Street in Surry Hills, for a wholesome breakfast. Grab a green juice and the hefty Vegan Big Breakfast with avocado, roast pumpkin and tomato, mushrooms, homemade baked beans and hummus on toast. You can eat heartily knowing the food and drinks Kawa serves up are all ethically sourced and accredited by Choose Wisely.

After breakfast, you can wander along Crown Street for some retail therapy. Discover beautiful boutiques and local lifestyle products such as Elms Store, for a great selection of wellness books and homewares; Luna Beauty & Apothecary for naturopathic potions and oils; and Provider Store, which focuses on ethical and sustainable products for slow living.

Take a leisurely lunch 

Enjoy a locally sourced meal at Silly Tart Kitchen in Kings Cross, a 20-minute walk from Surry Hills, complete with homegrown produce and herbs picked from the restaurant’s garden in Goulburn, a regional city about two hours’ drive from Sydney.

Or indulge in long lunch by ordering the tasting menu at award-winning vegetarian restaurant Yellow in Potts Point, just down the road from Kings Cross. The warm and inviting restaurant lives up to its name, with yellow accents throughout the room. Sit back for a leisurely dining experience all about veggies.

Still digesting that big vegan breakfast and want something much lighter? Head to Orchard St. on  Glenmore Road in Paddington, less than 10 minutes’ drive from Surry Hills. Here at The Intersection, a cluster of Australian fashion designer boutiques, Orchard St.’s Elixir Bar dispenses herbal elixirs, nourishing raw food treats and organic juices to tide you over until dinner. (Orchard St.’s Elixir Bar in North Bondi is another great option for breakfast after a morning swim at Bondi Beach.)

Have some ‘me time’ in the afternoon 

Rejuvenate after hours spent exploring the streets of Surry Hills and surrounds with an infrared sauna at Cultivate Recovery in Darlinghurst. This treatment uses far-infrared rays at a lower temperature than normal saunas to help physical and mental recovery and improve performance.

Or head over to Alkaline, a day spa with a holistic focus on anti-ageing at Potts Point, for a Pick-me-up Facial. After this facial cleanse, exfoliating compresses, face polish and mask your skin will feel absolutely radiant.

For the ultimate indulgent afternoon, pay a visit to The Day Spa by Chuan at The Langham, Sydney near Barangaroo in the city centre. Take a dip in the Langham’s 20-metre heated swimming pool under a dome painted as a star-filled evening sky, then relax and recharge with a 90-minute, full-body Nourishing Wellness Massage. It will leave every inch of your skin feeling moisturised and strengthened.

Enjoy a nourishing dinner  

You can dine thoughtfully on sustainably caught local seafood in Barangaroo at Love.fish. Overlooking Darling Harbour, Love.fish serves up fresh seafood dishes like Sydney rock oysters and char-grilled Clarence River octopus.

Or sample chef Danielle Alvarez’s signature farm-to-table cooking at Fred’s, on Paddington’s Oxford Street. Enjoy dinner complemented by a selection of organic wines in the beautifully styled restaurant. After dinner, head downstairs to Charlie Parker’s for a nightcap, or head back to your hotel to get your beauty sleep.

Still feeling the buzz from your afternoon treatment? End the evening with a nightcap at Untied Rooftop. This rooftop bar in Barangaroo has just the elixir for you — the Watermelon Mint Spritz cocktail, made with alcohol-free Seedlip Grove 42 spirit, is practically a health drink.

Stay in style with a spa on hand

A number of luxury hotels in Sydney have excellent spa facilities that make having a wellness stay a matter of stepping out from your suite and into a treatment room. Alongside The Langham, Sydney, there’s The Darling hotel at The Star in Pyrmont, across a pedestrian bridge from Barangaroo. The Darling has two exclusive couples suites and a Moroccan hammam, as well as 11 standard treatment rooms. Try a Dihlbi facial, which uses Australian brand Li’Tya‘s powerful serums. Li’Tya’s products are created using ancient Aboriginal knowledge of native botanicals to leave your skin looking its best. And at QT Sydney, in the very heart of the city, the quirky luxury hotel’s SpaQ offers spa packages such as The Plush Princess, a 150-minute indulgence with green tea salt scrub, full body massage and facial massage.

Or you can stay at Paramount House Hotel in Surry Hills, which occupies the former Paramount Studios building. The boutique hotel has a popular café on the ground floor and the old-Hollywood-style Golden Age Cinema in the basement, but the drawcard here for wellness buffs is the rooftop Paramount Recreation Club, which features a fitness pavilion, treatment rooms and a health-focused kiosk.