Byron Bay welcomes new wellness experience

THE Health Lodge in Byron Bay has reopened its accommodation wing and revealed its much-anticipated bathhouse after a one-year renovation.

The upgrade has been a longtime dream of the integrated medical centre’s founder, naturopath Reine DuBois, who bought the derelict former backpacker hostel on Bangalow Rd in 2015 and set about transforming it.

“Every time I put the vision down it just keeps coming back,” she said.

“If I didn’t complete it, I just wouldn’t be able to rest.”

The Byron Bathhouse features three infrared saunas and a filtered mineral pool which uses high-grade magnesium salts to detox heavy metals, reduce pain, relieve stress, boost circulation and help improve sleep, mood and skin health.

The accommodation offering, which was previously rented to holidaymakers with one room reserved for retreat guests, has been converted into nine stylish studio rooms with ensuite bathrooms and two self-contained rooms for longer stay guests.

No chemicals, toxic glues, pastes, or plastic were used in the renovation, and DuBois went out of her way to create a clean sleeping environment, with natural fibres, light, filtered air, and water.

The rooms are set around a central courtyard, which has an outdoor kitchen where meals for retreat guests will be prepared with locally-grown organic food where possible.

DuBois also has plans to build a dome at the rear of the property, which was formerly home to Bamboo Yoga School, to offer yoga for guests.

The facility offers three-day health retreats for people suffering conditions such as insomnia, depression, addiction and fertility issues, through to five or 10-day medical retreats.

DuBois has been passionate about the integrated health model for more than two decades, with The Health

Lodge featuring mainstream practitioners such as psychologists and dentists alongside allied health professionals, including osteopaths and chiropractors, and complementary health professionals like naturopaths and acupuncturists.

“What we can offer a patient jointly is 20 times more potent than what we can offer them one on one,” she said.