spicers sangoma

WoW… luxe, aesthetic, quality, chilled, conscious, organic … this is a very special retreat space for the self-love devotee & unassuming spiritualist!

Sangoma means highly respected healer, shaman or wise one in the Buntu culture of West Africa … a wonderful nod to the homeland of original owners, Michael Bodle & Zanga Butler.

Bodle & Butler purchased the Sangoma plot of land after owning a weekender in the area. Together, they worked with Sydney architect Barbara Tarnawski to design the majestic home space complete with three guest studios. The property was later purchased in 2014 by the Spicers Hotel group who added an additional 5 deluxe accomodation suites. As of today this exclusive adults-only retreat property caters for up to only 16 guests at any one time! There is a spaciousness & exclusivity vibe as guests gently dance around the venue between the central Amara restaurant, Spa Anise, infinity pool space, their accomodation suites & the various nooks & sacred resting spaces.

From the minute you enter through the security gate driving up the pebbled road to this 5 star compound you sense that creativity, pleasure & opulence awaits.

Dappled shades of Australian bush green illuminated with beams of sunlight project across the valley. Protea bushes native to both southern lands (South Africa & Australia) fill the spaces between towering gums, rustic art, sensitively placed accomodation suites & natural rock sculptures.
We are greeted in the drive by an awaiting concierge offering valet parking at the front door. Then ushered through the mood-lit corridor to an open reading room come observation deck with spectacular 180 degree views over Sydney basin& the Nepean River to the coastal beach line beyond. The fire-side room filled with African art treasures, modern paintings, rugs, chests, leather lounges, animal skin ottomans, kudu horns & other eclectic pieces.

We came for the luxury day spa experience including massage, two course harvest lunch & access to sauna, infinity pool & grounds of this deluxe property.

Our massage venue, Spa Anise, is a bush tent perched creek side on the verge of a gully filled with native bushland gums & eucalyptus. A renaissance style chandelier fills the tent roof in rainbow sparkles. Our treatment combines a full body massage with hot stone and face cleanse using beautiful Willow products. So so so good!

Then … lunch!!!
Hatted Restaurant Amara is designed to impress … from the delicate violets swimming in vodka lychee cocktails to delicious meals using gourmand foams & smoking techniques.

Lunch in the grandiose warehouse come lodge style restaurant (complete with polished concrete floors) was superb boasting a menu of ingredients sourced locally from the Hawkesbury valley & surrounding orchards, growers & farms of neighbouring Bilpin, Richmond & Kurrajong.

We dined on perfectly cooked coral trout presented delicately placed atop a bed of lentils & heirloom tomatoes. Sides of sesame sprinkled broccolini, a fabulous mix of braised onion, chard & beetroot, a home baked sourdough & crisp mixed leaf salad with thinly sliced apple, dill & mint … so yum 😋 … each presented in gallery worthy earthenware ceramic bowls plates & dishes.

The dining rooms wraps itself around a modest sized infinity pool with panoramicviews of the Sydney basin over the Richmond valley … so close to Sydney yet hovering gently, safely, snugly as if floating in another dimension of time.

This was a truly exceptional experience … the service present yet unobtrusive … the space earthy & open, yet unpretentious !!! You won’t be entertained, you won’t be pandered to, you will be totally present, invited to totally reconnect to self as you gently elevate into a realm of the quiet consciousness you so wholly deserve. The retreat resplendent of itself, the use of beautiful Leif products (love their Buddha Wood hand wash 😉) is another high-end touch!

Thank you thank you thank you Spicers … for a fabulous luxury spa day !!! 🙏 🧖🏼‍♀️🥂

find out more … http://www.spicersretreat.com