Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa - Hepburn Springs, Victoria

Matthew F.

We went to Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa expecting a relaxing experience, but it ended up falling short. When we arrived, there wasn’t a warm welcome—just a quick ‘hi’ before we were taken to change, with no real guidance or friendly interaction. We weren’t asked if it was our first time or given any directions, which felt impersonal. Afterward, we were led into another room to fill out a form, but no one told us what we needed to fill out, so we ended up completing the wrong information, which was a bit awkward.

When it came time for the spa, I asked about the milk in the bath, and the response I got was simply, ‘it’s just milk.’ I didn’t ask again, but the answer didn’t make much sense and felt dismissive. My girlfriend and I actually ended up laughing when the lady left, which completely broke the mood and made it hard to feel relaxed. Especially with no music in the spa room. To add to this, the person we were speaking with didn’t make any eye contact at all, which made it nearly impossible to have a conversation or feel engaged.

Considering we paid a lot of money for the experience, it was disappointing to feel so unwelcomed and the whole thing felt a bit rushed. We were even cut short by five minutes in the spa, which, while not a huge deal, added to the overall sense that the experience didn’t match the price. The bath itself was nice, but with all the little things adding up, it wasn’t the tranquil, welcoming experience we were hoping for.

Chelsea B.

This was the most disappointing spa experience of my life. My friends and I left here feeling ripped off and lost. I am only writing this to warn others, in the hope they don’t waste their money on a “spa package” that in reality is nowhere near as nice as it sounds.

The receptionist was not organised and was quite rude. It later became apparent that she did not inform the massage therapists that we were all booked in for a package, therefore, we were awkwardly kicked out after our massages and had to go back to reception to find out what was going on with the rest of the package.

The regional tasting platters were awful, they consisted of lots of pickles, dried fruit, cheap crackers and a tiny bit of cheese. I was surprised they even made us a coffee.

The entire time it seemed the staff failed to communicate with one another and we felt like it was all thrown together. We understood the bathhouse was being renovated and was unavailable at the time, but they honestly shouldn’t have taken our booking if it was going to be this horrible of an experience. We were told when booking that our package would still be honoured, and we’d be compensated for no bathing experience through an upgraded massage. It didn’t feel like this was the case. Even the spa gifts included in our packages were one short, there were 3 of us, but they gave us 2 gifts… very strange. So we also had to ask what was going on with that, so they gave us a packet of tea from the shelf in the cafe.

Anyway, we are so sad that our spa day was like this and we won’t be recommending it to anyone.

Katherine S.

The experience from booking to appointment was disappointing and a shambles. Management need to get their act together, especially when charging top dollar.
The online booking system and automated telephone system were frustrating and badly designed. We booked three different treatments two months in advance. Our appointment times were changed twice, but we were only notified the first time.
On the day, one person had to wait 1 hour in a bathrobe in the waiting area before their private bath was ready. The others had to wait 25 minutes before their bath was ready, even though when they arrived, the staff said it was already being prepared. The bath time was then cut to 30 minutes rather than one hour because of our subsequent massage appointment with no apology or offer of alternative arrangement. On top of this, the room (bath 10) smelt dank and mouldy and was not relaxing at all. Following our baths, we did not receive a spa gift that was supposed to be included in the package.
For the massage, we requested a female masseuse when we booked, but no female was available on the day.
This experience was gifted to family members, and it’s particularly disappointing that they did not have a great time. There are plenty of small service providers in the area who care about what they do. Spend your money with them.

Kirstie D.

I honestly wish we read the reviews before booking. $230 per person for a massage. We were sent a message 3 days before saying as they had renovations, we were to go to villa 12, we arrived at villa 12 to no sign or staff. We called and the staff took 7 minutes to respond to us (the time matters as you need to get there 15 minutes before or it eats into your massage time) when they finally answered they told us they were now not using villa 12 and to come to reception. We walk down and the massage cards were filled out incorrectly. We now have to wait for them to be re filled out. A staff member then gleefully told us that the Block was there filming yesterday and they are frazzled from it. Like that was ment to impress us. The person re writing that cards then had the nerve to tell us we should have been 15 minutes early. My jaw hit the floor. When we advised what had happened there was no apology and we were told that it was a back of house issue. We are then put in a cold holding room before being taken to a locker room that has not been re stocked and had to wait again for the staff to find dressing gowns. We were not told what underwear to keep on and we just had to work it out. The person giving the massage spent time trying to find things in the cupboard and loudly slamming doors during the massage (shame the Block didn't give you soft close doors) then we were taken back to the cold holding room to fill out a review form. I wrote what happened and ticked that I would like a person to contact me to discuss my review. That was over a week ago. I gave the business the opportunity to contact me and discuss this privately and they choose not to.

Martin L.

I recently visited this place to “bathe in natural mineral water,” and it was a complete letdown for the price. At close to $60, I was expecting a relaxing and enjoyable experience, but it fell short in every way.

The water wasn’t warm enough to feel relaxing. It was more like a regular indoor pool than anything special. With only two very small pools available, the experience felt overcrowded and underwhelming. On top of that, the pools were dirty, which was disappointing given the high price.

What made things worse were the additional charges—you need to pay extra for both hiring a locker and a towel. These should be included in the entry fee, especially at this price.

The shower area was another major downside. It was dirty and poorly maintained, making the experience feel far from premium or enjoyable.

All in all, I feel like I paid nearly $60 just to soak in a small, lukewarm pool. The entire experience lacked value, comfort, and quality. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Talkradio A.

We stayed for two nights during my wife's birthday weekend. Yes, it was pricey, but we enjoyed every minute. The villa we stayed in was one of the most luxurious accommodations we've been in (even compared to our international trips). The restaurants nearby were fantastic. The nearby walks were beautiful. As part of the weekend package we had a whole day of bathing and remedial massage. By the end of it, I was so relaxed i almost passed out. Not something i'd spend money on regularly, but as a special event, highly recommended. The only let down was that it's not easy getting someone on the phone. In a couple of cases, it took a few hours.

Dan P.

To be honest, i probably wouldn't return. I would say the attraction for most is that it's in hepburn springs. Once you have been once you probably wouldn't go again not for the price. 3 of us attended booking a milk bath & massages & charcuterie board. Over $700.00 and i felt that it wasn't the experience they claim to fame. The taps in the milk bath are literally falling off, we were told to be careful if we needed to touch the taps. After having the milk bath, we expected to go straight into massage or have to wait atleast 10 mins or so. We WAITED 45minutes! We were starting to get frustrated because that's not how an experience should go. I asked twice and the lady kept saying any minute. 2 of the massages were really good and my poor mum had the worst, the 60 minute massage was extremely poor. Mum didn't feel relaxed at all, the lady kept fumbling around in the cupboards and taking her hands off mums body. Mum said out of the 60minutes the lady would have had her hands on her for no more than 30 minutes. The other two massage therapists were great, they never took their hands of us. To be honest I wouldn't go back. That's really unfortunate. Asked me to email them after they responded to this review, Its funny cause i emailed them after i left the facility and no one bothered to respond.

Jessica M.

I wish we had read these reviews before we booked. I'm not one to complain ..BUT the customer service at check in desk was appalling, the women was rude and unwelcoming. As another reviewer mentioned, the bathhouse has "community pool vibes", no ambience, unclean, over crowded, one pool closed, loud, chlorine smelling (no luxury aromas), broken wobbly hand rail... Nothing like what we've come to expect visiting other spas. We came all the way to Hepburn Springs for the luxury reputation it has....but our local SOAK in Brisbane is far more luxurious, with more to offer and much less expensive.

All of the spas at Hepburn are warm (no variation of heat and no ice cold plunge). What's more, it is so loud with different humming noises, and echos of kids playing in the family spa next door. We love kids, but this was our weekend away from them to relax, we felt anything but....with the exception of our massage in the sanctuary (this was nice).

I'm sure we will get the same response here as the other Google Reviewers "thank you, helps improve our service, hope we get to host you again, blah, blah, blah", there have been complaints on here before, and they haven't changed their service, so I wouldn't expect them to change now. My advice, use your money to book somewhere more luxurious (please research better than we did).