An ambitious $150 million health and wellness concept club modeled off the vaunted luxury of Soho House is coming to Melbourne. Spearheaded by Tim Gurner of the $10 billion Gurner Group, Saint Haven is positioned as the world’s first health, recovery and anti-aging club of its kind. Opening in Collingwood early next year, the high-concept haven of health and wellness looks like a luxury Italian grotto that’s been transplanted down under.
Saint Haven has been conceived as a “sanctuary” with a scope based on the supposed eight pillars of health and wellness – social connection, nutrition and supplementation, ultimate luxury, insights and tracking, ancient wisdom and modern science, recovery and anti-aging, movement and mindfulness, and strength and conditioning.
Reportedly, the project is Gurner’s way of redefining the global health and wellness industry, fashioned as an evolution of a growing market that puts more value on restorative and meaningful experiences than the kind of churn-and-burn that’s typical of the luxury space.
Saint Haven Collingwood will be the first of its kind but Gurner is hoping that it won’t be the last. Plans are already in place for Gurner Group to expand the concept with eight to ten locations already earmarked for expansion across Australia. Global locations aren’t off the cards either, but for now, it’s looking like Gurner Group’s focus for Saint Haven will be entirely based in Australia.
The exclusive private club has been modeled on Soho House, which is also set to make its Australian debut and for years now has been scouting locations in both Sydney (Darlinghurst) and Melbourne (South Yarra).
Saint Haven will be based on the learnings Gurner acquired across his 20-year health journey which saw him conduct extensive research into the world’s most established bio-hacking and longevity practices. Something that has seen him build up somewhat of a peak-performance team of health professionals, many of whom will be involved in Saint Haven and its extensive program for members.
“Think of Saint Haven as a private wellness club where performance meets recovery, strength meets mindfulness, and modern science meets ancient wisdom in a stunning design-led setting with world-class service and care,” said Gurner.
The idea for Saint Haven seems to be to integrate everything about wellness into one holistic space, unified through a firm grip on luxury. There will be a wellness bar and restaurant serving non-alcoholic cocktails and nootropics, six distinct training performance and exercise zones, various recovery and bio-hacking spaces, thermal baths, a members lounge, a co-working space and various holistic medicinal and ancient treatments.
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From photos released by Gurner Group, it’s looking like some of the more popular spaces will be those two dramatic baths that look like they’ve taken inspiration from ancient Italian grottos. Reportedly, one will be a thermal mineral pool while the other a cold plunge bath, with both sitting nearby a two-tiered cedarwood sauna and a steam room.
Specific treatments expected to define Saint Haven include cryotherapy, IV infusion and pressurised hyperbaric oxygen pods. There will also be a space to tap into the ultimate treatment, which is the one you perform yourself – a cave-walled meditation cave will be home to various mindfulness and breathwork classes.
And just in case you didn’t get the idea that Gurner’s Saint Haven was serious about providing the most comprehensive wellness experience in the world, there will also be a literal fountain of youth where Saint Haven members can fill up their drink bottles with a constant stream of pure water.
Saint Haven membership will be based on an application and interview process with prices starting at $130 a week and ranging to upwards of $1,000 per week.
The first Saint Haven will open its doors on Wellington Street, Collingwood in March 2023.
