Time Out – Auriga Spa Sydney

The Auriga Spa – once only open to guests of the five-star Capella Hotel – is now open to the public. So more people can now book in to experience the magic of Auriga, which offers rejuvenation and wellness experiences that appear to have been plucked from the scenes of all our White Lotus dreams (just without the weird guests and/or murder sub-plot).

Set deep within the heritage walls of the Capella Hotel in the centre of Sydney, the Auriga is awash with low-lit moody corners, white marble, an immense 20-metre heated pool, and massages that are tailor-made to reflect the changing cycles of the new and full moon. Quite transcendent, if you ask us. 

While the Auriga Spa is synonymous with the Capella brand all over the world, this new Sydney iteration is distinctly Australian, and it taps into Sydney history, being built off an intentional synergy with the heritage-listed former Department of Education building that Capella Sydney has taken over.

From bespoke aromatic skincare products made by Synthesis Organics in Byron Bay, to heated stones gathered from remote corners of Australia, to native botanical facials and wellness journeys that draw on connecting to country as a ground base, Auriga is centred on working with what we’ve naturally got. This is also obvious in the spa’s careful consideration of the historical legacy of the building that it’s housed in. We’re told that the teams from Make Architects and BAR Studio were deeply invested in site-sensitive architecture and design, working closely with heritage experts to ensure that as much as possible was preserved in the 1930's space. 

When it comes to spa experiences, you’ve got plenty to choose from. Using the moon as a focal point, you can get a variety of massages that promise (amongst many other things) a scent journey and a little tap into your chakras. If a full-body wellness experience is more your thing, you can get wrapped in a volcanic mud wrap and rubbed up with rainforest-infused essential oils. If facials are what you’re after, there are lots of options on the menu, with the star probably being the ‘Australian Elemental Facial Academy’, which gives you a hot stone massage, followed by a facial infused with desert stones, precious gems and botanicals from the land, ocean and rainforest. You can get across the full spa menu here. 

Prefer to spend spare disposable income on food and drink rather than wellness and beauty? Head instead down to the Capella Hotel's basement to feast, drink and make merry like Parisian poets at Brassiere 1930.

Jennifer Coolidge would probably approve.