The Freycinet Peninsula sits mid-way along Tasmania's east coast. Aboriginal people have been here for at least 35,000 years. The French explorers who gave the place its name came ashore in 1802. The Hazards mountains rise behind, and Wineglass Bay curves below, sheltering one of the world's top ten beaches.
Saffire Freycinet was designed with all of this in mind. The building is stone and timber, curved rather than straight, and the colours inside echo the bush and ocean outside. Walking through it, there is a sensation of flow. The architecture does not compete with the landscape. It defers to it.
All three treatment rooms in the spa overlook the landscape and the hotel bathing pools. A 90-minute relaxation massage is the kind of treatment where you forget to keep your eyes open. The menu was designed by spa consultant Marionne de Candia (facialist to Elle Macpherson and Kate Hudson, among others) and bodywork therapist Dr Jean Laing. Spa manager Felicity Runciman was voted first runner-up for Best Spa Therapist in the 2013 Spa Association Awards.
Skincare runs to La Prairie's Swiss anti-ageing range, the Australian-made LaGaia naturaceuticals line, Becca Cosmetics and La Biosthetique hair care. Expectant mothers are especially welcome, with a full selection of pre-natal massage and pregnancy treatments.
After an early evening massage, head for Palate, the restaurant built around local ingredients and a kitchen that treats Tasmanian produce with the seriousness it deserves. Luxury Suite packages include a complimentary spa treatment. Every room has a yoga mat, and there is a meditation class and a well-equipped gym for the energetic. The spa won the Australasian Spa Association Award of Excellence in 2013 and was a World Luxury Spa Award nominee. All of which matters less than the view from the treatment bed.
