Where to relax in paradise: Ikatan Balinese Day Spa, Noosa, Queensland

I love going to spas. For one, it sheds a bit of light on how the other half live. And by ‘other half’, I mean women, of course! For another, it’s absolutely awesome being pampered.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m a manly kinda guy. I can talk sport and use an axe, I can throw and kick a ball, and yeah, I’ve been in a street fight. But bloody hell, how good are spas?!

There’s something ultimately self-indulgent in going to these places where they place soft music, rub you down in nice-smelling oils, serve you funny-tasting tea… basically treat you like a princess. I love it!

But going to a day spa in the middle of the forest while you’ve been forced to relax by a beautiful beach in the paradise of the Sunshine Coast – now that’s opulence!

While Mrs Romance and I were in Noosa recently, this is exactly what I did. I paid a visit to Ikatan Balinese Day Spa, about 10 minutes south west of Noosa Heads.

Set deep within the trees, Ikatan is a paradise within a paradise – a paradise matryoshka doll if you will. Everywhere is so green you feel completely relaxed straight away.

From reception, which is in a Balinese style hut, we went through to the gardens to wait for our treatments and have a bit of high tea – which is another thing women do that’s awesome by the way!

The gardens are beautifully tended, with hindu statues and water features dotted about the place. There are garden tables to wait or you might score one of the cool cabanas they’ve got for that extra regal feeling.

The high tea that comes out is very tasty indeed: little quiches, pies, sandwiches and salmon scrolls, and decedent chocolate petit fours. Perfect!

When the time came for my treatment – a 60-minute full body massage – my therapist Brooke N took me to another Balinese hut and explained the pants situation to me. Yes, they employ the same strange onion bag undies that most spas do.

“They’re unisex,” Brooke told me. But doesn’t ‘uni’ mean ‘one’? Unicycle, unicorn, uni-brow… anyway, just so you know, there wasn’t enough room in there for ‘everything’. Thank god there was a modesty towel!

The massage itself was sublime. Brooke was professional (and completely non-judgey) and skilled, and by the end of the hour I felt so relaxed that stringing simple sentences together was virtually impossible.

Back at the cabana, we sat back and took in the scenery over a cup of refreshing tea and struggled against the urge to fall asleep. What a magnificent problem to have!

Ikatan Balinese Day Spa

Open: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm.

46 Grays Road,
Doonan (10 minutes out from Noosa)
Qld 4562
T: (07) 54711199
W: IkatanSpa.com
Fb: @Ikatanspa

Top tips:

• If you’re staying on Noosa and have booking of 2 hours and over per person, you can organise free transfers with Ikatan to and from your holiday accommodation.
• If you want to make this a more romantic event, ask about couples massages. It looks like they have facilities for it here.
• For more things to do in and around Noosa, check out our post on the ultimate romance recharge in Noosa, Qld or head to QueenslandHolidays.com.au for more info and bookings in the Sunshine Coast and beyond!

What do you think about blokes invading women’s space? Is it ok for guys to go to spas? Do you find those weird mesh undies comfy? Tell us in the comments!

For more information on what you can do in the Sunshine Coast and the Noosa area, here’s our ‘romance recharge guide to Noosa’.

Images by Mr Romance.

Mr Romance visited Ikatan Day Spa as a guest of Tourism & Events Queensland.