Spas are strange places to visit for the first time. The websites are all soft focus and nobody tells you the practical things, so people arrive slightly tense about the exact things that don't matter. Here's what actually happens.
Before you arrive
Come ten to fifteen minutes early. Not because we're strict, but because the first ten minutes of your appointment are worth more when you're not still driving in your head. There's a consultation form, a cup of tea, and a moment to stop.
If you're coming up from Sydney, the drive is around ninety minutes to two hours depending on traffic through the lower mountains, so give yourself more time than the map suggests on a long weekend.
What to wear, and what comes off
Wear whatever you like — you'll change into a robe. For a facial, only your face is exposed. For a massage, you undress to your comfort level and are draped throughout; only the area being worked on is uncovered at any moment. Your therapist leaves the room while you get onto the table and knocks before coming back in.
Nobody expects you to have shaved, exfoliated or done anything in preparation. We have genuinely seen it all, and we are far less interested in your skin than you are.
Talking, or not
You do not have to make conversation. Most people don't, and about a third of our clients fall asleep, which we take as a compliment rather than an insult. Your therapist will ask about pressure early on — please answer honestly. "A bit firmer" is useful information, and nobody has ever been offended by it.
Couples rooms
Our couples rooms take two people side by side with two therapists, and they're the most-requested booking we have. A few things people don't expect: you can talk to each other, quietly, if you want to. You can also not. And you don't have to book identical treatments — one of you can have a massage while the other has a facial, as long as the durations match so you finish together.
They book out first on weekends, especially through spring and December. If a couples room matters to you, book further ahead than feels necessary.
Afterwards
You won't be rushed out. There's time to sit, finish your tea and come back to yourself. If you've had a treatment with product applied, your therapist will tell you what's on your skin and what to avoid — usually just heavy makeup and direct sun for the rest of the day.
You're welcome to buy what was used on you, and equally welcome not to. We'll tell you what we used if you ask; we won't work through a sales script if you don't.
The practical bits
• We're at 9 Penault Avenue, Katoomba, open Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30am to 6pm.
• Phones go on silent, or better, in your bag.
• Tell us about pregnancy, recent treatments, medications or allergies on the form — some treatments change or wait because of them.
• Let us know as early as you can if plans change; our cancellation policy is on the site and we'd always rather rebook you than charge you.
That's genuinely all there is to it. The hard part was deciding to book.