Mt Hotham Onsen Retreat & Spa

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That achy feeling after skiing is about to be a distant memory when you check into Mt Hotham’s Onsen Retreat & Spa.

Located in the Victorian Alps in the Great Dividing Range, Hotham Alpine resort is home to the most relaxing experience. The Onsen Retreat & Spa offers patrons massages, facials, skin and body treatments as well as the outdoor Onsen. After you’ve done a few laps through most of the 66 runs over the 320 hectares, a retreat and spa is the perfect stop off before dinner.

Mt Hotham
Get comfortable and cosy in the ski village of Mt Hotham.

This Japanese styled Onsen is heated to 38 degrees and sits just outside in the midst of the snow. The warmth of the natural hot springs is said to relieve muscle pain, fatigue and stress.

 

If you’re staying in the Dinner Plain area, the Retreat & Spa is located smack bang in the middle. However, if you’re 10 kilometres up the road on Great Alpine Road, a shuttle bus can easily take you there and back.

Great Alpine Road
The entry road to Mt Hotham: Great Alpine Road.

What’s Offered?

Bathing

Each bathing session goes for two hours in the outdoor heated Onsen. A single session is $45 per adult and also offers access to the heated plunge spa, sauna, heated lap pool and fitness centre.
Guests can also opt for a Private Geisha Bathing, priced at $110 for 30 minutes. Instead of using the communal Onsen, they will be lead into a private room with a spa containing only the purest alpine water. Guests can choose from an array of customised bath salts to maximise the experience.

Onsen Retreat & Spa, Mt Hotham
Sink into the 38-degree hot springs.

Unlike a traditional Japanese Onsen, the Retreat & Spa requires patrons who are using the communal bathing facilities to wear swimwear. Before your session, you’ll be given a warm fluffy robe and slippers to drape over you walk between each area.

Spa Packages

The packages that Onsen Retreat & Spa have available range from $199 to $760 (couples) and offer a wide variety of treatments. Each package offers a complimentary session of Alpine Onsen Bathing.

 

Enjoy the light touch of their signature massage and organic facials to get you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Most of the packages include a light tasting platter in case your stomach starts rumbling throughout that body exfoliation and wrap.

 

Please note that while some guests prefer to undress entirely for their treatments, whereas some leave on underwear. The Onsen Retreat & Spa explains that they will accept whatever is comfortable for you.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

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Massage Therapies

With a mixture of massage therapies available to patrons, it’ll be tough to choose the favourite. With remedial, volcanic hot stone, muscle focus and Moroccan remedy options, each one will bring you ultimate relaxation. If the classic suits your interests, then the signature massage with customised aromatherapy will do the trick.

 

Body and facial therapy are well performed as well. With organic facials both for men and women, it will replenish, brighten and be a natural anti-aging agent for the skin. And if you’ve ever dreamed of a body wrap, the mineral detox therapy will do you wonders.

Onsen Retreat & Spa, Mt Hotham
The exterior of the Onsen Retreat & Spa.

When to Go

The best time to visit the Onsen Retreat & Spa is right after you’ve spent some time skiing or snowboarding on the slopes. The treatments are incredibly therapeutic and performed by professionals.

 

During the winter season, the centre offers fitness and wellness classes. Sign up for a Mountain Yoga session before your dip in the outdoor or indoor spas. A single class will only set you back $15, which is an absolute steal considering the location. The instructor is an experienced yogi who will cater for all ages and health levels. The class will be about healing your physical, mental and spiritual body.

Nearby Restaurants

When you’ve finished up your afternoon delight at the Onsen, hop down to the local eateries to replenish your bellies.

 

Hotel High Plains is located in Dinner Plain, so very close to the retreat. The menu is full of delights from the Chicken Schnitzel Saltimbocca to the Prawn Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake).

 

And just up the road in Mt Hotham sits The General. They’re well known for the quirky woodfired pizzas. Order up a Flu Fighter or even a Pelly Pond and it’ll have your taste buds dancing.

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Getting There

When heading straight from Melbourne the drive to Mt Hotham will take roughly 4 and a half hours. Whereas Sydneysiders, get yourself strapped in for a long 8-hour road trip.

Mt Hotham
The journey from Melbourne is 4 and a half hours driving.

For those who hate to drive that long, HothamBus offers discounted express coaches heading to the Victorian snowfields. The bus departs from three major cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

 

HothamBus also offers day trips for central Melburnians straight to Mt Hotham. The overnight service departs at 1:50 AM, offering guests a whole day of swooping along the snowy ravines and relaxing in the Onsen retreat.

 

Open 10 AM to 6 PM Monday through to Sunday, these expansive services are offered every day.

Address: Big Muster Drive, Dinner Plain

 

Is High Country where you’re planning on heading? Click here for our guide on everything you need to know.
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Good food, beautiful nature & history: your guide to a long weekend in West Gippsland

(Credit: Rob Blackburn)

    Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
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    From rainforest walks and scenic drives to historic gold-rush towns and standout regional dining experiences, you can find it all in West Gippsland.

    Hover over West Gippsland on Google Earth and you’ll see vast tracts of land spread out like green velveteen around the Toorongo Falls Reserve. It’s a landscape that feels almost impossibly lush for a region sitting little more than an hour from Melbourne.

    Track southeast in late autumn and early winter and you’ll see pockets of the Mt Baw Baw Plateau dusted in snow. In addition to the forests of mountain ash veined with creeks and rivers, there are pastures and farmland cross-stitched together to form pretty patchworks.

    But West Gippsland isn’t defined by scenery alone: in addition to its awe-inspiring nature, a Venn diagram of the region includes gold-rush history and great culinary experiences.  Spend a long weekend here and it quickly becomes clear how often these three overlap.

    Getting there

    Messmates Dining west gippsland
    Spend the weekend eating and exploring in West Gippsland. (Credit: Messmates Dining)

    Getting to West Gippsland involves as easy drive – it’s just over an hour out of Melbourne along the Monash Freeway.

    Not driving? Catch the train from Melbourne on the Gippsland line, terminating at either Traralgon or Bairnsdale, and hop off at Warragul or Drouin.

    Visit historic villages

    Walhalla historic township
    Wander into Australia’s Gold Rush history at Walhalla. (Credit: Rob Blackburn)

    The West Gippsland region is on the Traditional Lands of the Kulin and Kurnai nations, specifically linked to the Bunurong, Gunaikurnai and Wurundjeri Peoples, whose connection to Country stretches back thousands of years.

    European settlement occurred in the 19th century as timber cutters, farmers and gold seekers pushed into the region’s dense forests. Small towns grew around sawmills and railway lines, and many of those gold rush settlements, timber towns and railway villages still shape the character of the region today.

    The most evocative of these is Walhalla Historic Township, a remarkably preserved gold-rush township tucked deep in the mountains. In the late 1800s, it was one of Victoria’s richest goldfields. Today visitors can step inside that history at the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine, where underground tours reveal the scale of the mining operation that once powered the town’s prosperity. Nearby, the Walhalla Goldfields Railway retraces part of the original narrow-gauge line through the valley, offering a slow journey past forest and river scenery.

    Further west, Noojee is a classic mountain village. It’s surrounded by dense forest and waterfalls and has become a natural base for exploring the Baw Baw region. Just outside town, Noojee Trestle Bridge stands as one of West Gippsland’s most striking relics of the rail era. The towering wooden structure is the tallest surviving trestle bridge in Victoria and today forms the centrepiece of an easy scenic walk with wide views across the valley.

    Alpine Trout Farm west gippsland
    Catch your own lunch at Alpine Trout Farm. (Credit: Nicky Cawood)

    At Alpine Trout Farm near Noojee, visitors can fish for trout in mountain-fed ponds before enjoying the catch prepared fresh onsite. It’s a simple experience that reflects the area’s long connection to the surrounding waterways.

    Back in Warragul, the region’s main service town, the story shifts from heritage to modern regional life. With galleries, restaurants and sweeping views across the rolling farmland of Gippsland, the town has become a lively hub linking the district’s past with its evolving food and cultural scene. Drive through the town and you’ll find heritage buildings, old pubs and weatherboard cottages that hint at the area’s early days as a frontier landscape.

    In other towns the past survives in quieter ways – a historic hall here, a century-old bakery there.

    Walks, waterfalls and wild places

    Toorongo Falls in west gippsland
    Stroll Toorongo Falls Reserve. (Credit: Nicky Cawood)

    Even simple roadside stops can feel cinematic in West Gippsland. The region also delivers plenty of opportunities to lace up your walking shoes.

    One of the region’s most rewarding nature escapes lies just outside Noojee at Toorongo Falls Reserve. A network of walking tracks winds through the cool-temperate rainforest where towering mountain ash trees filter the light and the air smells of rich, damp earth. The 2.2-kilometre trail to the viewing platform overlooking Toorongo Falls is short, but spectacular, as the water cascades down over moss-covered rock faces into a cool, green gully in Little Toorongo River.

    Further north, the Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort offers year-round adventures. In winter, the mountain attracts skiers and snowboarders. The warmer months are just as compelling, with scenic drives to see alpine wildflowers, mountain bike trails and panoramic hiking routes that open across the plateau.

    Cyclists and walkers looking for a more relaxed pace can follow the Rokeby Neerim Rail Trail, which traces a former railway line through farmland and small Gippsland villages. The mostly flat trail passes rolling paddocks, creeks and historic bridges, making it an easy way to drop it down a gear when exploring the countryside.

    Taste the best eats of West Gippsland

    Hogget Kitchen west gippsland
    Taste the best of the region at Hogget Kitchen.

    For many travellers, the real drawcards of West Gippsland are the food and wine. The region sits in the heart of Victoria’s fertile dairy country, and that agricultural backdrop has helped shape a dining scene where seasonal produce and local provenance take centre stage.

    Hogget Kitchen has helped put Warragul firmly on the radar for serious regional dining in West Gippsland. Here, head chef and owner Trevor Perkins runs the kitchen alongside well-known winemakers William (Bill) Downie and Pat Sullivan. Hogget Kitchen lives up to its promise of exceptional destination dining; what lands on the table depends largely on what nearby farms have harvested that week as well as a wine list from Wild Dog Winery and other Gippsland producers.

    Warragul is also where you’ll find Messmates Dining where the kitchen team is led by Michelin-trained chefs. The Euro-leaning bistro and wine bar brings a polished edge to the local dining scene using produce sourced from across West Gippsland.

    For something more casual, the century-old Noojee Hotel is the kind of hub that every traveller dreams of finding after a long drive. Expect generous pub classics served on the sunny deck in summer or beside the crackle of a log fire in winter.  Nearby, rustic Toolshed Bar, Bistro & Cabins is the place to go for a wood-fired pizza topped with smoked local trout paired with Gippsland wine, making it a rewarding stop for lunch or an overnight stay.

    Time your visit with the Truffle Festival

    Food lovers visiting in winter should consider timing their trip to coincide with Noojee Truffle Festival, running from 10 July to 2 August 2026. The inaugural event celebrates the region’s emerging truffle industry with tastings, special menus and events built around one of winter’s most prized ingredients.

    Start planning your long weekend in West Gippsland at visitgippsland.com.au.