A health spa that's top of the drops

Amy Cooper prefers her algae to come with a glass of wine. I've always been a spa commitmentphobe. Anything longer than a day treatment is too daunting. Tried it once, got caught with a bottle of wine behind a tree on the second day, was made an example of by an angry naturopath and that was that. The French think similarly, so they tend to combine their spas with luxury hotels. This way, you can detox within your comfort zone, knowing the safety of your room and the wine list are close by. Meanwhile, everyone on the outside believes you're suffering in a fulltime health farm. Genius. At the Sebel Resort and Spa in Windsor, the reassuring bulk of the 41/2star hotel snuggles close to the pretty, colonnaded Villa Thalgo, home to a host of Thalgo French hydrotherapy treatments. The villa was Australia's first purposebuilt day spa and you can treat yourself to as much time as you like there while staying in the hotel. Advertisement: Story continues below I'm shown to a balcony suite overlooking the spa entrance, and from here I can watch the stressed, scrunchedup new arrivals enter the spa below before floating out again later. Right now, I prefer to enjoy the peace and privacy of the room, a generous space (about 47 square metres) full of reclining options: big, multipillowed bed; sofa with squishy cushions; leather armchair in a corner just made for curling up with a book. There's a writing desk, too, but I won't be using that as enthusiastically as the spa in the en suite bathroom. The view is an expanse of green rural idyll part fields, part golf course stretching into the distance. I'm only an hour out of Sydney, but feel much further away. The Hawkesbury region, with its historical villages, picturesque countryside (70 per cent of it is national park) and five rivers is an antidote to big city malaise. The Sebel itself, beside Windsor Rosetta Stone Language in the valley's south, has sanctuaries aplenty shady trees, pretty courtyards, a lake with secluded benches around it and of course, Villa Thalgo. I'm booked in for a body scrub and marine algae wrap and first take a dip in the villa's generous pool. There's another pool with six hydrotherapy exercise stations. You stand chesthigh in water, grip the handrails, press a button and jets pummel you all over. This is called an "analytic pool", which makes me feel a bit like a lab sample, but that's the language of French spas. Here, staff wear white coats and rooms have intriguing names on the doors: Blitz hose room, Hydrobath, Rain massage. Not that it isn't decadent. Jessica, my therapist, explains the body scrub feels particularly good because the beads are rounded for extra comfort. Towels are huge and impossibly soft, and the affusion shower with which I rinse off the scrub is an eightjet, toptotoe delight. Next, Jessica mixes up marine algae from powder into warm goo. This isn't a cosmetic, chemically created "marine" fragrance it's the salty, seaweedy real deal, almost overpowering. I'm smothered in it and wrapped in foil so the algae's detoxifying properties can begin their work. Twenty minutes later, I step into the affusion shower again and rinse off my dark green coating. Underneath is a shinier, smoother me. Then it's time to boost my healthy glow in the hotel's Harvest Restaurant. The wine list has plenty of delicate drops to complement a newly cleansed system, and the menu's hearty dishes make good use of fresh local produce. Once I'm up in my room only the odd peal of laughter from below dents the peace. The combined effects of pinot and algae kick in surprisingly early and I have no trouble sinking into a deep, delicious sleep. Trip notes Address: Sebel Resort and Spa, 61 Richmond Road, Windsor.Bookings: Phone 4577 4222 or contact Mirvac central reservations on 131 515.Rates: Rooms from $130 a night. Prices for individual therapies and treatments range from $20 to $675.Getting there:A 60minute drive from the Sydney CBD via the M2. Verdict:A peaceful retreat surprisingly close to town.

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