What to expect at Alba, Victoria's hot new thermal springs

If there is one thing better than diving into a restorative thermal spring, it is diving into a Karen Martini poke bowl. I am enjoying lunch at Thyme restaurant, at the new Alba Thermal Springs and Spa on the Mornington Peninsula, and I have been lucky enough to do both these things and I am feeling smugly relaxed about it.

Thyme restaurant is a light, bright space that looks out onto the cascading thermal pools, it's a robes-and-slippers friendly dining establishment and at least half the crowd at lunch have opted for the fresh-from-the-springs look.

The menu is equal parts healthy and indulgent, you can have a salad or a schnitzel, zucchini fritters or a crumbed fish sandwich. I kick off with the signature Alba Springs cocktail, local Bass and Flinders Heartbreak pinot noir gin with limoncello, Chambord and fresh lemon, a naughty-and-nice combo that tastes fresh and invigorating while maintaining a bit of a kick.

Karen Martini is in the kitchen today, readying her menu for a photographer, but she tells me that the menu is very much designed around those robed customers who have stepped straight in from being pampered.

"I built the menu around how I might feel after bathing or having a luxurious treatment," she says. "You might want to graze lightly, but I know myself I would be peckish – relaxed and ravenous. It is a chilled, laidback restaurant with attentive service to dine dressed up or in your bathing robe. Whatever makes you feel comfortable goes."

I'm a little too comfortable with my Alba Springs cocktail so I follow up with a Peninsula Cold Press Co. cucumber, apple and mint juice. For starters I opt for a Skull Island prawn toast with shiso, cabbage, wasabi mayo and avocado; the traditional minced prawn replaced with huge pieces of prawn meat.

I then try an Alba rice bowl because I figure that is what spa people do and I am not disappointed; cubes of cured tuna, kimchi and pickled shiitake, avocado and a soft boiled egg sit on a bed rice with some welcome heat from fermented chilli.

"The dishes are very approachable, there is a sense of indulgence but also a comfortable wholesomeness that should suit everyone."

Martini says she is "spoilt for choice" when it comes to the array of producers on the Peninsula and she goes local wherever possible

There is a generous use of very fresh vegetables sourced locally, as are eggs, fish, seafood and meat and, where possible, everything from honey to herbs.

I must admit I am firmly in Martini's camp of relaxed and ravenous having spent the morning bathing in the thermal pools. The variety of pools is a big draw with the aptly named Forest pools a secluded, private way to start. From there I move down to the Luna pool which is perfect for starfishing in, then on to the Cove pool which is one of the deepest and most immersive offerings.

Opposite the Cove is the Shell which is a pool wrapped in a concrete "shell" that encourages bathers to look to the sky. But it is not a place for telling secrets as the shell does tend to send conversations right across to the Cove.

The Hide is the most secluded of the pools, set off to the side with a cave-like entrance, but ironically its hidden nature makes it one of the most popular pools. The central feature is the upper and lower Cascades, with a variety of bathing options.

The spa-and-springs complex at Alba is Brutalist beautiful, a look carried through to the change room with a huge slab of underlit stone as a central seating area and thoughtful touches like the swimsuit water extractor which spins your togs to nearly dry.

Post-springs I don my robe and head up to the Alba Spa where I am received in a futuristic-looking reception with curved pods and sunbeds before heading to the treatment room. I'm in for the signature Alba Artisan Massage that uses heated volcanic stones coated with botanical oils.

Not being a spa regular I don't really know my stone massages from the less stony options but once you feel the hot rocks strafed across your sore muscles I am an instant fan. The satisfying warmth increases the intensity of the treatment and warm stones are left in place to soothe your muscles while the therapist works on other parts of your body making it feel like you have a whole team back there chilling you out.

Showered and dressed I have a lunch date at Thyme, the perfect end to my three-course spoiling session of thermal springs, massage and a healthy but slightly sinful lunch.

Alba Thermal Springs and Spa is located at Fingal on the Mornington Peninsula, a 90-minute drive from Melbourne.

The three-part, half-day visit starts at A$375 (NZ$407) for springs, massage and a two-course lunch at Thyme restaurant, including a glass of wine. There are a wide variety of more indulgent packages as well. See

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