Two-time Olympian Ed Fernon has listed the freehold going concern of his award-winning wellness retreat The Nunnery and Spa in Leura with ResortBrokers for $3.9 million.

The Olympic pentathlete, who competed in the London and Tokyo Games, bought the heritage property in 2020. The Nunnery and Spa opened in mid 2022 following an extensive restoration and refurbishment which Fernon undertook during Covid.

“I’ve tried to create a quiet place where people can come away and escape the noise of the world,” says 35-year-old Fernon. “Wellness retreats are in growing demand, and this was the perfect place to establish it in the serenity of Leura.”

The Nunnery and Spa includes 10 spacious bedrooms with individual bathrooms, panoramic garden views and a peaceful ambiance for meditation and yoga. The spa, which won the Hotel & Spa of the Year for New South Wales at the 2022 Travel & Hospitality Awards, has the only float therapy tank in the Blue Mountains.

Fernon’s repositioning of The Nunnery continues the tradition of using the property as a place of retreat. The main house was built in 1906 as a country residence for the family of Sydneysider Charles W. Bennett, who co-founded the famed Speedwell bicycle brand in Sydney in 1882. In 1935, the property was bought by the Catholic Church who used it as a retreat for the Little Company of Mary order of nuns. During this time, the premises became known as The Nunnery and added its small chapel, which Fernon has respectfully restored.

The Nunnery and Spa occupies an expansive 6,020 sqm site that includes vacant land, which could be developed to add more rooms, subject to council approval.

The retreat is located on East View Avenue less than three minutes’ drive from the centre of Leura, which lies on the edge of the Blue Mountains about 1.5 hours’ drive from Sydney.



“The Blue Mountains is where Sydney people go to rest and rejuvenate and there’s no more idyllic place to do that than The Nunnery,” says ResortBrokers’ Jacqueline Featherby who is handling the sale with fellow broker Tim Mayoh.

“Ed has done an incredible job and spared no expense getting the property into the first-rate shape it is today. This is a truly turnkey opportunity. All the hard work has been done, leaving the incoming owner to reap the rewards with a return client base already in place. The Nunnery has already proved a hit as a yoga and meditation retreat for couples and groups and is perfectly positioned to service Sydney’s fast growing wellness market.”