There are two kinds of holidays: the kind that requires extensive planning, restaurant reservations and multiple stopovers, and the kind built around complete rest and relaxation.
Personally, I prefer the latter, which is how I found myself at The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne.
The luxury hotel has just introduced its new Rituals of Renewal experience, in collaboration with Parisian fragrance house Diptyque, promising guests the kind of reset that makes you feel like a whole new person.
From the moment you arrive, there’s little reason to look beyond the hotel doors, particularly when you’re enjoying the view from more than 80 floors above the city.
Rituals of Renewal includes a stay in a Club-Level room or suite, with access to The Ritz-Carlton Club, a dedicated Club Concierge and five culinary presentations throughout the day to rival Melbourne’s iconic foodie scene. The private lounge is a destination in itself, whether you’re lingering over a late breakfast or settling in for an afternoon cocktail without the crowds or the need to be anywhere else.
Then there’s Level 64, where the infinity pool, sauna, steam room, vitality pools and gym invite you to move between the water and a state of near-horizontal relaxation without any particular objective. Suspended high above Melbourne, the infinity pool is a particularly persuasive argument for staying put.
The centrepiece of the experience, however, is the bathing ritual featuring Diptyque’s Les Rituels de Soin collection. A dedicated bath concierge prepares a warm, fragrant bath for your return to the room, transforming an everyday routine into something altogether more indulgent. The ritual is followed by turndown service, complete with a signature wellness bite and a pot of Love Tea Sleep Tea.
After dinner, returning to a room where everything has been taken care of feels like the ultimate luxury. No last-minute plans, no rushing to get somewhere, no decisions to make. Just a hot bath, a cup of tea and the rare opportunity to properly switch off.
The real test of a restorative stay, of course, is how you feel when you wake up. After an evening spent embracing the ritual, I found myself reluctant to leave the little bubble of calm I’d created without ever stepping outside the hotel.
To soften the sombre realisation that one cannot live at the Ritz-Carlton forever, the experience concludes with a take-home gift box containing one of the hotel’s signature robes and Diptyque’s Les Rituels de Soin Evening Discovery Set.
I hold onto it tightly as I step outside, open my emails for the first time in a blissful 24 hours and return to reality. Five weeks somewhere beautiful would be lovely, of course. But there’s something to be said for one night that makes you feel as though you’ve been away for much longer.
For more, visit: ritzcarlton.com
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