Woodlands Rainforest Retreat

Woodlands Rainforest Retreat sits on five acres of mountain property outside Narbethong, about 80 kilometres east of Melbourne, and its central premise is simple: nobody else is going to be sharing your pool. The outdoor rock pool, the private cedar hot tub, the indoor Roman bathhouse, each one is reserved for a single couple at a time. Mineral water for the outdoor bathing comes from 80 metres underground, though the venue hasn’t published the specific mineral composition.

Every bathing facility is reserved for a single couple at a time, the outdoor rock pool, the cedar hot tub, and the indoor Roman bathhouse with its domed ceiling and mosaics.

The Roman bathhouse is the most architecturally striking thing about the place: a domed ceiling, exotic marble, mosaics. It’s a fairly dramatic thing to build in the Victorian ranges. Outside, the rock pools sit within landscaped tropical and Japanese-style gardens, with walled enclosures, lawn areas, and secluded sections throughout. Five acres is a lot of ground for a property designed to accommodate two people at a time.

The broader property includes Japanese-style villa accommodation, a restaurant and bar with both indoor and outdoor dining, and a kitchen producing the charcoal BBQ meals that feature in the signature packages. Google reviews, 4.3 stars across 96, tend to mention the quiet consistently. Birds and river sounds rather than traffic, and consistent praise for the private villas and attentive staff.

Treatments run through a dedicated spa space called the Spa De Marrakech, with couples massages in 50- or 80-minute formats and a handful of body treatments. The main packaged option comes to $615 per person and bundles 80 minutes of outdoor bathing with the longer massage and a Japanese Charcoal BBQ meal. That’s the most complete pricing available publicly; other configurations may exist but haven’t been published.

The main packaged option bundles 80 minutes of outdoor bathing with an 80-minute couples massage and a Japanese Charcoal BBQ meal, $615 per person.

Swimwear is optional across all bathing facilities. Towels and robes are available for hire, and private change rooms and showers are provided alongside poolside covered daybeds.

One thing to confirm before you make the drive from Melbourne: it’s not clear from the public record whether day-use bookings are available to visitors who aren’t staying overnight. Accommodation runs to one or two nights in the Japanese-style villas, and that may well be how most guests arrive. Phone lines are open daily from 8 AM to 5 PM, which is the right time to ask.