Recently opened in the city’s Sandstone Precinct, Capella Sydney invites visitors to experience its highly anticipated spa, combining sophistication, beauty and wellness exclusively for in-house guests.
Operating under the Capella house-label Auriga Spa, the impeccably crafted space is located on the sixth floor of the former Department of Education building. The retreat comprises ambient spa treatment rooms, a 20-metre heated swimming pool and Technogym-equipped gymnasium, as well as sauna, steam facilities and experiential showers, combining to create a guest-only health and wellness precinct within the walls of the heritage site.
Renowned at Capella’s other international locations, Auriga Spa offers luxurious treatments for the face and body, showcasing prestige products with connections to the country in which the property operates. True to this ethos, Capella Sydney’s spa offering features a custom-made range of skincare products by Byron Bay brand Synthesis Organics.
The spa’s treatment menu is unique and Australia-centric, with signature massages informed by the new and full moons aimed at increasing circulation, relieving physical and emotional tension, and balancing chakras. Ritual-based massages encourage introspection, new beginnings and reflection.
A range of Wellness Journeys connect guests to the land, while the Body Alchemy packages provide luxe exfoliation, detoxifying masks and enzyme peel wraps. The Facial Alchemy includes treatments that restore balance, transform and replenish the skin, with precious oils and bio actives, combined with LED light therapy.
Tasked with leading the direction of Capella Sydney’s Auriga Spa is Dianne April Dayagbil who has extensive experience in the beauty and wellness space including long-running residencies at hotels in Bhutan and the Maldives.
“Auriga Spa brings beautiful and sophisticated health and wellness practices to central Sydney,” Dayagbil says. “As with all other aspects of the Capella brand, the beauty and wellness program is unique to the region in which we operate and highly personalised to the needs of our in-house guests. Experiences are, of course, relaxing and indulgent, but they’re attuned with nature, too, keeping our clients centred and grounded.”
A key feature of the spa is its relationship with the century-old building. The teams from Make Architects and BAR Studio were responsible for the site-sensitive architecture and interior design respectively, with ongoing consultation provided by heritage experts Urbis.
Most prominently, three of the four spa treatment rooms are anchored beneath beautifully restored ‘heritage lanterns’. These treatment rooms – equipped to accommodate individuals or couples – appear as contemporary cubes inserted into the atmospheric space, utilising timbers reclaimed from the site as flooring to further enhance the connection to history.
Offering a nod to the room’s past life as the Department of Education’s art gallery, the pool area, accessible from the spa and gym through grand timber doorways, features a hand-painted mural (Landscape Effect, 2022) by Australian artist Max Berry. The gently hued dreamscape depicting a series of rolling hills forms the backdrop to the pool, its lounge beds and yoga platform, naturally illuminated from above by the largest of the heritage lanterns.
Auriga Spa at Capella Sydney is one in a series of spaces reserved for the use of in-house guests, joined in its exclusivity by the Living Room – a private art-filled lounge on the hotel’s ground floor. To celebrate the official unveiling of the spa, Capella Sydney is offering a special package for guests wishing to immerse themselves in its rejuvenative and restorative qualities.
The Auriga Wellness Transformation experience includes:
• $200AUD Auriga Spa credit per room for guestrooms, suites, and prestige suites bookings
• Overnight accommodation
• Full daily breakfast at Brasserie 1930 for two
• Exclusive guest-only access to the Living Room
• Non-alcoholic in-room refreshments
Terms and conditions apply, see the website for more information.
Auriga Spa is available to in-house guests only. Capella Sydney is now open for reservations, via telephone +61 2 9071 5000 or online capellahotels.com/sydney
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