Nature’s embrace: A wellness escape to Elements of Byron

Amid lush rainforest, native birdsong, and ocean air, Elements of Byron offers a deeply restorative stay grounded in nature

Warning: Australian cliché incoming. I adore Byron Bay. It is bohemian, it is carefree, it is beautiful. It is also wet.

I always beeline for Byron with my sights set on sunshine, even though I am almost always met with at least some rain. And so it was, as we pulled into Elements of Byron, the resort’s façade taking on the soft lines of an impressionist masterpiece behind the torrential downpour.

Thankfully, long gone are the days when such weather would summon disappointment. Instead, I take the opportunity to cosy up, to breathe deeply, to reconnect. And Elements is just the place.

Nature first

When it was first unveiled in 2016, Elements of Byron promised barefoot luxury with nature at heart. Almost a decade later, it has remained true to this ethos, settling into its verdant surrounds with careful regard for its role as caretaker.

In the sweeping lobby, we are greeted by smiling staff who complete a swift check-in and offer the lay of the land. Elements sits on 22 hectares, so there is plenty to highlight. At our villa, we are greeted by two green frogs, sitting at ease on the footpath and relishing the soggy landscape. I keep my distance while capturing a quick video for the kids, who we’ve left behind with Grandma. Bless them.

Elements is home to 202 villas across eight categories, including options that cater to families (maybe next time) and groups. Décor is clean and classic – think blond timbers and neutral tones with a flourish of colour by way of abstract artwork and accent cushions. These design choices allow the elements to shine, as presumably intended.

No time to cuddle up with those accent cushions just yet. Thanks to the wet weather, and the preposterous traffic that inevitably follows, we arrive later than planned and have a fast turnaround to make our dinner reservation.

Freshly foraged

The native finger lime and foraged beach herbs served oyster-side are indicative of the Azure menu. New Executive Chef Craig Robertson has picked up where his predecessor left off, committing to native ingredients with many of those – saltbush, river mint, finger lime, Davidson plum, to name a few – locally foraged. Tapping into his own Northern NSW roots, Robertson has introduced a ‘Forest to Foreshore’ dining philosophy, building on the resort’s elements motif and giving local ingredients top billing.

Signature dishes, such as wild-farmed venison with pickled ink-gin blueberries, celeriac, Davidson plum gel, and black garlic; and market fish, served with Warrigal greens, Ballina pipis, a crustacean broth and macadamia, emphasise the sense of place.

For those particularly curious about indigenous ingredients, resident naturalist Alistair Oakman conducts foraging tours through the resort (available by appointment).

The early bird

When I meet Alistair the following morning, it isn’t foraging on the menu (#boomtish); rather, we are off on a guided rainforest walk. Elements’ lush trail meanders through four distinct ecologies: rainforest, eucalypt forest, wetlands and coastal dunes. Since conception, the resort has made a sustained investment in revegetation and the results are flourishing. More than 200,000 native plants, including species such as banksias, grevilleas, melaleucas and she-oaks, have been installed to date, with the design carefully curated to support native birdlife.

As you may have heard, an interest in birdwatching can swoop in unexpectedly in middle age. Lucky for me, then, that Alistair is also a bird expert and our time together captures parts of Elements’ recently launched (and usually self-guided) Bird Trail. There are more than 120 bird species that call this sanctuary home and we spot plenty of feathered beauties, including the tawny frogmouth, blue-faced honeyeater and eastern whipbird.

To the soundtrack of birdsong, we dine on a few foraged delights (note to self: procure sunrise limes for my next gin and tonic) as we make our way to the ocean, where my attention is suddenly seized by a whale slicing through the surf. This is some rainforest walk!

It takes some mettle to drag me from this vantage point, but Alistair does so with grace and returns me to our meeting spot overlooking the resort’s lagoon pool. This is the focal point of the property, where overwater swing beds, cabanas and loungers are inviting and, importantly, ample. Although it wasn’t pool weather when we arrived, the sun does eventually come out to play, at which point we forgo this hotspot and make a beeline for the adults-only option. Here, cabanas and loungers line the water on three sides and the swim-up bar delivers an on-point coconut marg.

I spend a decent chunk of the afternoon horizontal. First, on the poolside cabana, soaking up all available vitamin D, then on the daybed of our private deck, toggling pages of my book with microsleeps, and lastly, in the villa’s freestanding tub, where the near-boiling water melts away the last of the tension.

Skin deep

Although I am, of course, aware that previous appointments would be documented in the system at Elements’ Osprey Spa, the warmth of being welcomed back on arrival feels heartfelt. It is the third time this year that I am greeted by Lena and her reassuring manner guides the spa’s gentle rhythm.

Since its inception, Osprey Spa has championed nature-led wellness, stocking vegan, cruelty-free, and ethically sourced products and providing a sanctuary within a sanctuary. The Osprey treatment menu has recently enjoyed a glow-up with the arrival in April of Vanessa Megan Skincare. The award-winning line is crafted using 100 per cent natural, Australian-made ingredients, to mimic Elements’ philosophy.

Today though, I sink into a signature massage, allowing the warm, fragrant oil to melt away long-held tensions and for each stroke to quiet racing thoughts. They persist, those thoughts. Of course they do. But each time they threaten to disturb the peace, I am lulled back to the steady rhythm, first set by Lena and now in the oh-so capable hands of Tiffany.

It is such a particular feeling to leave a spa treatment. As if the nourishing oils that envelop the skin also possess the power to protect and comfort you for the rest of the day. I don’t dare shower before dinner. I don’t even attempt a face. Just a light lick of lippy and a little mascara to pair with the glow – a glow that carries me right through to departure.

elementsofbyron.com.au