Before jetting off to Brisbane to find out what The Dome Retreat had to offer, I had some high expectations set with help from Google, where people were singing the praises of the city’s top day spa. Having also noted the spa’s 5-star rating and its ranking among the top 10 hotel day spas in the Conde Nast travelogue, I wasn’t surprised to see it set among the Marriott Hotel’s beautiful decor, where attentive staff were waiting to direct me to the fourth floor.
The spa shares the floor with the hotel’s pool and sauna facilities, which are available for all spa visitors to take a dip and relax before or after any treatments. I was warmly greeted by a cheerful receptionist who showed me to one of the lush gold and burgundy velvet-trimmed changing rooms before offering to have a cold drink or herbal tea ready for me after I had changed. With only a few sectioned changing areas in each room, I could take my time to slip into the robe and slippers provided in the peaceful quiet room.
The receptionist had left a form waiting on the couches in the light-filled waiting room, where magazines and jugs of fruit-infused water were on hand to help spa-goers start to relax. The therapists popping in and out of the area with clients were extremely attentive and each one stopped to ask if they could get me another drink.
I took the opportunity to book a treatment I wouldn’t necessarily choose when visiting a spa and booked in for the spa’s Signature Body Treatment for 60 minutes (which is also available for an even more decadent 90 minutes). My therapist Stephanie took me into the spacious low-lit room and asked some extra questions about my back injuries and preferred massage pressure before explaining the treatment and leaving me to get undressed and organised.
The treatment involved Stephanie massaging hot oil onto my skin and adding aromatic salts for a vigorous scrub and this half hour was stress relieving and surprisingly relaxing. Although The Dome don’t ask about the preferred level of conversation, Stephanie asked the occasional question but was not disruptive, which I often find conversation to be during relaxing treatments. After the scrub, Stephanie left the room so I could use the shower in the room to remove any excess salt before the aromatic massage in the second half of the treatment, which was relaxing but with firm pressure to relieve any tension.
I left the treatment with extremely soft skin and the absent-minded state and incoherent mumbling that come with a good hour spent at the spa. The treatment was the perfect mix of exfoliation and relaxation and the staff were professional, friendly and attentive – right down to the receptionist making sure I fixed my mascara smudges before I left. The Dome is luxurious without being pretentious and is definitely a place I will visit again in the Sunshine State.
Before jetting off to Brisbane to find out what The Dome Retreat had to offer, I had some high expectations...
...set with help of the spa’s 5-star rating and its ranking among the top 10 hotel day spas in the Conde Nast travelogue so I wasn’t surprised to see it set among the Marriott Hotel’s beautiful decor, where attentive staff were waiting to direct me to the fourth floor.
The spa shares the floor with the hotel’s pool and sauna facilities, which are available for all spa visitors to take a dip and relax before or after any treatments. I was warmly greeted by a cheerful receptionist who showed me to one of the lush gold and burgundy velvet-trimmed changing rooms before offering to have a cold drink or herbal tea ready for me after I had changed. With only a few sectioned changing areas in each room, I could take my time to slip into the robe and slippers provided in the peaceful quiet room.
The receptionist had left a form waiting on the couches in the light-filled waiting room, where magazines and jugs of fruit-infused water were on hand to help spa-goers start to relax. The therapists popping in and out of the area with clients were extremely attentive and each one stopped to ask if they could get me another drink.
I took the opportunity to book a treatment I wouldn’t necessarily choose when visiting a spa and booked in for the spa’s Signature Body Treatment for 60 minutes (which is also available for an even more decadent 90 minutes). My therapist Stephanie took me into the spacious low-lit room and asked some extra questions about my back injuries and preferred massage pressure before explaining the treatment and leaving me to get undressed and organised.
The treatment involved Stephanie massaging hot oil onto my skin and adding aromatic salts for a vigorous scrub and this half hour was stress relieving and surprisingly relaxing. Although The Dome don’t ask about the preferred level of conversation, Stephanie asked the occasional question but was not disruptive, which I often find conversation to be during relaxing treatments. After the scrub, Stephanie left the room so I could use the shower in the room to remove any excess salt before the aromatic massage in the second half of the treatment, which was relaxing but with firm pressure to relieve any tension.
I left the treatment with extremely soft skin and the absent-minded state and incoherent mumbling that come with a good hour spent at the spa. The treatment was the perfect mix of exfoliation and relaxation and the staff were professional, friendly and attentive – right down to the receptionist making sure I fixed my mascara smudges before I left. The Dome is luxurious without being pretentious and is definitely a place I will visit again in the Sunshine State.
Spa Detective Kirby
June 2011
Main photo courtesy of The Dome
