“This isn’t an Australian ambition – this is trying to be the best in the world.”
Luxury property developer Tim Gurner, founder and CEO of Gurner Group, wants his new holistic members-only wellness and social club to be in a league of its own.
Called Saint Haven, the first pieces of the puzzle are coming together behind a discreet black-glass facade on Wellington Street in Collingwood, ahead of its March opening.
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SIGN UPGurner is gunning for six-star-hotel service and Soho House style in a space where you can exercise, recover and relax, as well as eat, drink, socialise and even work.
“There’s nowhere that’s got everything from a meditation cave to a hardcore music-pumping HIIT studio, to organic food, to the best massages,” he tells Broadsheet.
At the intersection of relaxation and recovery, two dramatic baths will be a centrepiece of the long, sprawling site. Inspired by ancient Italian grottos, one will be a thermal mineral pool set between a steamy 33 and 35 degrees, while the other will be the polar opposite – an invigorating cold plunge set between six and eight degrees. There’ll also be a two-tiered cedarwood sauna, a steam room (using filtered water) and a hammam-style experience where you can scrub yourself with big bricks of Himalayan salt.
Also expect cryotherapy, IV infusion therapies and pressurised hyperbaric oxygen pods, which are said to help energise, and improve sleep and mind clarity. A curve-walled meditation cave will host mindfulness and breathwork classes.
Exercise-wise, the Saint Haven offering will include reformer Pilates, performance cycling, HIIT training, and strength and conditioning. And a central “fountain of youth” will let you fill up your drink bottle from a constant stream of pure water.
The space as a whole – designed by Gurner Group’s in-house interiors team – takes cues from the serene wellness retreats and bathhouses of northern Italy, leaning heavily on materials like marble, limestone and natural oak to create a truly deluxe experience.
There’ll also be a restaurant (open to the public), bar, lounge and co-working space.
As with Soho House, the model is such that there’ll be an application and interview process to determine membership, which will range from $130 to over $1000 a week.
“We want people who are genuinely trying to make a change,” Gurner says. “You don’t have to be the fittest person in the world, but you have to genuinely be coming here to try and live your best life … [We’re] trying to get people of similar mindsets [together].”
Saint Haven is set to open on Wellington Street, Collingwood in March 2023. The application process will begin soon.