AusLeisure

Details of a proposed $100 million luxury hot springs spa hotel and retreat - the first such luxury project in regional Victoria - at a site on the banks of the Gippsland Lakes, have been released.

Developer Seacombe West wants to develop a wellness resort, powered by renewable energy and with a focus on traditional Aboriginal culture, on the secluded southern shores of Lake Wellington.

The project is called Nunduk, which means ‘The Bark of a Tree’ in the language of the local Aboriginal people, the Gunnai-Kurnai.

To be located on a 2480 hectare site that is currently used as a sheep farm, the resort will consist of 36 luxury rooms in the main hotel, 45 rooms in villa units, plus restaurants, spas, treatment rooms, galleries, lounges and a deck.

The complex, located on about nine hectares, will be built three metres off the ground to cater for floods and will be set back 120 metres from the lake foreshore.

Reports suggest that three leading luxury resort operators - Six Senses, Goco Spa and Banyan Tree Spa - are interested in the project.

Seacombe West says it aims to create "the benchmark premier luxury resort and wellbeing spa facility in Australia".

The project will have sustainability as a key focus - aiming to be both off-grid and self-sufficient - and will include a hot springs spa hotel and retreat powered by renewable energy, and with a focus on Aboriginal culture through art, songs and stories, along with Aboriginal medicinal experiences.

The Nunduk Spa Retreat will be purpose-built to the principles of regenerative design, with leading academics and industry experts guiding the process, including the Thrive Research Hub at the University of Melbourne.

Self-sufficient renewable energy options will include solar panels, biodiesel generators and integrated water cycle management. The main hotel will include a green roof to allow local animals, such as kangaroos, to graze there.

Subject to local planning permission, the project will start construction in May 2019 and completed by December 2020.

Related Articles

7th September 2018 - Victorian first as traditional landowners take on park management

9th April 2018 - Global Wellness Summit announces ‘Shaping the Business of Wellness’ as 2018 theme

31st January 2018 - Researchers explore wellness benefits of residential retreats

4th January 2018 - Native title plan to maximise tourism opportunities for Gippsland Aboriginal community

6th August 2017 - Belgravia Leisure’s Hepburn Wellness Group wins four World Luxury Spa Awards

29th January 2017 - Significant growth in international wellness tourism

20th October 2016 - Mornington Peninsula hot springs to be exploited for wellness tourism

4th February 2015 - Fitness and wellness holidays a growing trend

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