Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa

A fabulous rejuvenating visit to the Hepburn Bathhouse. We chose the Sanctuary package ~ well worth it. We also chose the twilight package, a saving of $70 for us. 🙌 The Package ~ so many inclusions, Turkish Steam with scrub, Aromatherapy steam, sauna, spa, ice pool, massage jet spa beds, salt pool, drip bucket ice water….. great value!! Loved the ambience. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend 💫

We just spent the morning relaxing in the Sanctuary. What a wonderful relaxing experience. We arrived early and we were the only customers for a while and enjoyed the general area before the Sanctuary. The salt pool was amazing, I loved the cold plunge pool and survived the sauna 😁 just what we needed to end a hot week visiting the area. We were based in Castlemaine so only a 30 minute drive. Thanks to the welcoming staff. Would certainly recommend and will return ❤️

Was a great experience, we enjoyed the 'Santuary' steam room with salt rub is absolutely magnificent, built in lay down beds in the spa/pool was so relaxing. Very clean facilities. Probably a little expensive. Enjoyed morning tea at the cafe, with a very fast, friendly attendant.

This is my second time coming to Hepburn Bathhouse and so glad I came back with my partner. This is my favourite springs experience, the staff are so lovely and you can tell they enjoy what they do. We were booked in for regular bathing however to our complete delight had been upgraded to the Sanctuary. My previous experience back in 2021 was in the Sanctuary as well and definitely think it is worth the upgrade if you want to take your bathing to the next level. We were shown around all the facilities (which are excellent, some new additions as well since my last visit). The Hammam was great and especially loved the outdoor pool. The whole experience really left me wanting to come back very soon. As mentioned, I have done pretty much all the hot springs throughout Victoria and this remains my favourite, it is so tranquil and feels much more intimate than others. Definitely worth staying the night after in the surrounding area to explore further - beautiful part of the country.

My partner and I stayed at Hepburn Bath House for two nights and, unfortunately, the experience did not meet expectations, especially given the price. The apartment was not cleaned to an acceptable standard. The balcony in particular was very dirty, and overall the accommodation did not feel well maintained or worth what we paid. More concerning was a serious security issue. We were initially checked into the wrong room, and as a result our access code was given to another guest. This led to a stranger walking into our apartment while I was getting out of the shower, which was extremely distressing. When we raised this, the situation felt brushed over rather than taken seriously. We were offered bathhouse tickets, which felt more like an attempt to quiet the situation than properly address it. When we asked for a new access code, we were told the other guest could simply “forget” the code and return the paper it was written on — an explanation that did not provide any real reassurance. Because of this, we spent much of our stay feeling stressed and anxious about the security of our belongings while we were out. Overall, the lack of cleanliness and the way a significant safety issue was handled left us very disappointed. We would not return and would not recommend staying here.

I went for the “Sanctuary”. Based on the name, I imagined something very serene, but it was rather busy, sometimes busier than the general bath. There are multiple pools - bubbly, still, extra salty, but the actual difference felt rather marginal. My favourite - the outdoors one - unfortunately was also the smallest one and therefore filled up rather quickly at times. Apart from one cool-down plunge pool, all others were at roughly the same temperature, rather hot at around 37 degrees, not much variation. Apart from the “salt pool” (presumably, meaning higher concentration of the same, as I could not see any sign explaining it as the other pools; but my sensory experience wasn’t significantly different - I had to focus to possibly note a vague difference in buoyancy and softness, but it could also have been my imagination), there did not seem to be any difference in mineralisation between the pools. The DIY salt scrub for the hamam was a nice touch, though. Otherwise, it was hard to tell whether the mineralisation had a more notable effect compared to the non-mineral baths elsewhere (I’ll update this review if it turns out I got cured of something). According to a friendly staff member, the pools are also chlorinated as required by the applicable regulations. Having a sensitive, eczema-prone skin that tends to get upset after too much contact with chlorinated water, I was a bit worried, but it wasn’t too bad, feeling just a tiny little bit tight and dry afterwards. Maybe the minerals set off each other in that regard. All in all, it was a rather nice experience, but the offering did not feel significantly different from what is sometimes available in better gyms - thus, at the current price it did not come across as great value for money. On the other hand, location in the midst of numerous drinkable springs is amazing, the design is stylish, the venue is clean and feels well looked after, the staff is very welcoming (and happily offer extra towels when yours happens to be taken by someone else while in hamam). But then again, there are no mirrors in the changing area (only in toilets) and my shower cubicle smelled of urine… So, the venue itself and the team are great, but there is room for improvement in terms of the overall experience and value for money.

Had a wonderful experience for a quiet 9am session. Would highly recommend this time as you will mostly have the place to yourself. We did the sanctuary bathing experience on a Saturday morning, greeted and shown around by friendly staff. The pools were the perfect temperature, loved the jets settings and the in water cabanas, and the surrounding nature made the experience very serene. Would highly recommend.

The jet spa pool temperature is cold. It is not hot. The pool water is hotter than the jet spa otherwise is perfect for mineral bath house. Jet Spa press / start button is working on off. It doesn’t re start the jet spa each time you press it. The journey/ road to Hepburn is not smooth. Pot holes are everywhere. Location is a bit out of the way. Service is awesome.

Hepburn Bathhouse is definitely a waste of money. For one thing, your purchase only gets you two hours in the spas. This isn't obvious anywhere on their website. We assumed it would be like the Peninsula Hot Springs down in Mornington where you book in with your arrival time, and are then welcome to stay as long as you like (two hours, five hours, whatever) until they close. Here, you are limited to two hours, no matter when you arrive. For a weekend bathing session, the price starts at $44. This gets you access to "The Bathhouse," which consists of two mineral pools, both of which are very noisy, small, and crowded. One is lukewarm and the other is hotter, but neither are HOT hot. If you go mid-week, the price is cheaper at $34. But it's still not very good value for money when you consider that you can only stay for two hours and only visit two mediocre, crowded pools. If you want something a little more satisfying, and you have money to burn, you can book in for The Bathhouse + The Sanctuary ($94 weekend, $74 mid-week, again for only two hours), which gives you access to a separate area with better, less-crowded pools -- but these still did not wow us by any means. The Sanctuary experience includes a pool with ill-fitting "relaxation couches," a salt water pool, two steam rooms (one a Turkish hamam), and an outdoor deck with lounge chairs, a very hot pool, and a cold plunge pool. As for the pool with the so-called "relaxation couches," well, it's not that relaxing. You lay back in these uncomfortable metal chair thingies and powerful jets pound you with water from all sides. If you're too short, like me, the jets go straight up the wrong part of your body, if you catch my meaning. Felt more like a medical procedure than a relaxing experience, ha! Also, the fabric that's supposed to hold back your head and neck actually fell OFF my metal chair thingie and I had to stick my hand down among the jets and dig around in the dark water to try and find it. Not awesome. The Sanctuary also includes a salt water pool and "monsoon showers" in a dark room with aging Brutalist architecture -- not very relaxing at all, and it didn't even seem all that salty -- better to just take a dip in the bay for free if you're looking for saltwater! The outdoor deck with the hot pool and cold plunge pool was Hepburn Bathhouse's only saving grace. The deck is made of dark wood and has a pleasant, onsen-like ambience. There's a tiny hot pool that overlooks a peaceful scene with a tiny burbling creek and gum trees, and it's hot enough that you FINALLY feel like you're in a mineral hot spring. I spent most of my allotted two hours in this pool, alternating with the cold plunge right next to it. Hepburn Bathhouse certainly tries to give you the "luxe" experience, with your own bathrobes, slippers, lockers, and plenty of free water and apples. But it just falls short. The service was especially bad: the lady at reception was very strange and airy-fairy, and the guys downstairs who give you your towels and robes are very brusque and act like they couldn't care less. Bottom line: this place is NOT worth the money if you can only stay two hours. Hepburn Bathhouse either needs to lower their prices, OR they need to let you stay as long as you like. Otherwise, this place is highway robbery. Much better to spend the $40 and head down to Mornington Peninsula, where you get to experience 20 different pools and stay as long as you like. As it is now, I wouldn't recommend you waste your money here.

What will 2 hours and $83 buy you? A one way ticket to relaxation-ville that's what! Sure it's going to seem like a lot of money beforehand, but just hand over your plastic, collect your goodie bag filled with fluffy robe and towel and then get your swimmers on before you can think if the dollars make sense... Trust me, 20 minutes floating in the large pool, complete with chilled out music and views of the outside gum trees and flowing stream and you will have long forgotten the financial aspect. Move your way around to the different pools - all with different temperatures, pummeling jets, mineral properties and the like. After two hours your fingers will be pruny and your worries a million miles away. Pro tips: - Bring thongs/flip-flops because the stones around the pools are a bit stabby. - Don't plan anything requiring much energy afterwards because you're going to feel sleepy and spacy. - Pack a small snack or visit the tea rooms afterwards. All that relaxation gets the hunger going!

I was very disappointed by my visit to Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa. I'm glad that I was able to attend on a week day & at an off-peak time as I dread to imagine how cramped it would feel if they had the maximum capacity of people attending. The Bathhouse itself consists of just one small relaxation pool & an even smaller spa pool. I opted to pay the extra fee and not only access the Bathhouse but also the "Sanctuary", which provided access to a salt therapy pool, steam room & spa couches. The word sanctuary conjured up a place where you would be able to relax & unwind. Indeed the images online suggest that this is what awaits you. I found the spa couches to be very uncomfortable to recline on as they were a metal frame with thin pieces of material strung across, my height was not a good match to these seats. The jets were then so powerful that you pretty much had to cling on for dear life and it was impossible to relax due to the excessive noise that said jets produced. I headed to the salt pool only to be confronted a by a couple who were inappropriately canoodling & for whom perhaps the private couples spa would have been more appropriate!!! Again this did not make for a relaxing experience. Perhaps the quietest place was the steam room but I can only tolerate this for a short amount of time & it would have benefited from some eucalyptus or other essential oil being added into the steam. The website spoke of a relaxation deck, this adjoined the spa couches & did not look very appealing on the day that I was there as the environment was cold & as previously mentioned the sheer noise in the place was not conducive to relaxing. In other spas that I have been to these kind of areas normally have some soothing music playing to which you then recline & possibly take a mini power nap to. The package you purchase provides two hours of access, which I initially thought would be nowhere near enough time. As it was I'd had enough after just an hour!!! The best part of the day was the discounted cream tea that I enjoyed after the spa in the Hepburn Pavilion Cafe

I didn't by any means dislike the Bathhouse - I enjoyed myself. It's a pretty setting, it's relaxing and a good way to de-stress. However it is WAY too expensive for what it is. I paid something like $55 (it goes up to $79 on Fri/weekends) for full access to the shared facilities. It's not that $55 is a "lot" of money - but it's poor value for what you get in return, which is time-limited (2 hrs) access to essentially just a few not-so-large facilities. I couldn't help but think back to my days in Budapest, Hungary where I paid just A$12 for a full day's access to the Szechenyi spa with its 20 or 30 different spas. For sure, life in Hungary is much cheaper than in Australia...but not 5x cheaper! You will have a pretty good time if you come to the Bathhouse, but you won't walk away feeling like you got good value for money at all.

What a great little place this is! I headed here on a trip with my room mate and his boyfriend for a little getaway. Thinking that I might be a third wheel I was very careful to giving the couple some quiet time together while I paddled around the pool. Very important to book if you want to secure a private setting!

Staff are inflexible, snobbish and do ZERO to entice you to spend $37 on what is essentially a noisy swimming pool. If you are looking to replicate an Onsen or Zen experience.....this is not the place to do it.

What a setting. The bathhouse is set deep in beautiful secluded bush surrounds. It is an architects dream. With glass everywhere and pitched ceilings, it is stunning. There are several options in the way of water play! From a large pool adjoining spa to the more private "Sanctuary" where adults can escape the squeals of kids. Once you have spent some time soaking in the pools you can robe up and make you way towards the pampering of your choice! We had a one hour massage that will leave you so relaxed, the drive back to Melbourne will seem impossible. So perhaps seek out one of the many beautiful buildings that house countless B & B's, again any architects dream. So if you were in need of some zen time AND happened to be an architect, you just might never leave!

Before you begin to read note - I have contact Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa twice prior to posting this and got no response. The kicker is I also posted up on there facebook page asking to have someone contact me and they have deleted my post and block me from the page. So professional. My partner and I attended the Hotsprings on the 29th Dec 2015. We wanted to have a bit more privacy and relaxation so we paid the extra for the Sanctuary, total $138. Didn't know that I was also paying for a skin infection as part of the package. Within a few hours of leaving the Bathhouse and Spa the back of my right thigh, lumber and the right side of my torso started to come up with red, raised splotches. Something that I have never had before. This continued for several days and when I went to the doctor he informed me that I had contracted a tinea infection all along my body. The kicker is I didnt get it on my feet which is where people normally get it. So in addition to the $138 I now had a $20 doctors appointment and $20 worth of medication. Joy. Now at first I was annoyed but hey a quick chat with the team at the HotSprings should clear any issue up in terms of customer satisfaction so I dropped them an email and jumped on their facebook to get them to contact me. Well my email has gone unanswered and they not only deleted my facebook post off there page but have restricted my access to their page to read only. Really? Now i'm just p*ssed off. Thanks for ruining an otherwise perfectly nice escape to the country Hepburn Springs Bathhouse & Spa. Now for a general review: 1. The only thing stopping people who pay for general area to the 2 pools and those who pay the extra for the Sanctuary are colours wrist bands and no staff to monitor this. We had people coming and going into the Sanctuary with KIDS on several occasions and paying customers had to take it upon themselves to actually tell these people that kids were not allowed in that section. 2. The general area consists of two pools, a hot pool which is pretty small and a larger cold pool with families use as a swimming pool, no relaxation to be had here. 3. The actual sanctuary is pretty small too, only 2 pools, a steam room and a waterfall shower. If you want to go to a real hotspring/mineral spring and actually enjoy yourself, save the 3 hour drive out to Hepburn and make your way down to the Mornington Peninsula Hot Springs and enjoy some real R&R. Never going back here - will be telling everyone about this experience & maybe one day I might here back from these guys.

After being blown away by the springs at the Mornington Peninsula, I had high expectations and was much anticipating my trip to Hepurn Springs. Considering the entry fee I paid was higher than that at the peninsula I gathered it would be just as good if not better. What I got was a lack lustre public pool with the ''Sanctuary" being quite a modest name for what I found was just a big spa with some metal couches bunged in it. I am seriously disappointed for what I thought was going to be a relaxing & soothing day of bathing turned into a public spa for anyone over the age of 18. Won't be going back in a hurry.