Balinese Retreat

TOUCH DOWN IN BALI just 45 minutes from downtown Melbourne. Arguably Victoria’s most exotic escape, Balinese Retreat in the Dandenong Ranges is made just for two.

Enter a silk-draped pavilion furnished with exotic daybeds to reach your quarters via a walkway lit by 24 Balinese lanterns. There’s a waterfall tumbling in the background and tropical water gardens complete with huge ferns. Draped in white gossamer nets, a hand carved opium tree bed dominates your private sleeping pavilion, with folding doors drawing back to reveal a teak deck above the water. The bathroom comes complete with a sunken jade mosaic-tiled spa pool where you can soak with the louvred doors flung wide open to bring nature inside.

Sounds dreamy? You'll also enjoy a Thai banquet served in the Bale – a private thatched pavilion by the water. For yet more indulgence, book a personal chef to prepare a Thai-inspired dinner just for you.

His-and-hers massage

A menu of spa treatments is the icing on the cake. Sign up for some Sodashi spa therapy – whether a his-and-hers Shiatsu massage or herbal makeover and body wrap. Then open the doors to your lantern-lit water garden, and the night is yours.

It’s dress optional for breakfast at Balinese Retreat – just dip into your well-stocked pantry. Do get dressed for dinner, when it’s exotic Thai-inspired dining on the water's edge.

© Room for Romance