BOUTIQUE, C'EST CHIC! - Hotel V

“V… On The World is
due to complete in 2010
and Abu Dhabi is about
two years further away,”
structure, for example, contains a restaurant
overlooking the island’s marina. There is a
state-of-the-art business centre ready for 100
people and a spa spread over two floors with
treatment rooms that open on to a central,
private water-courtyard with gymnasium and
studio, hammam, swimming pool and salons.
“We have signed with Cinq Mondes,” says
van Gysel. “They have most recently done the
spa at the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne. It
is the perfect example of a traditional five star
hotel with a very modern spa. It has been in
the list of top 10 individual spas around the
world for the third year in the row.
“They give me a truly cross-cultural, crosscontinental
approach to services. A real mixture
of the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe.
They are not stuck in one practice or the other.
It is a small group that only does five spas a year.
The World and Cinq Mondes fit exactly.”
Back in Europe, if it is not a spa like those at
the Beau-Rivage Palace or Georges V that have
modernized the traditional five star hotel, then
it is the food. And van Gysel has recognized
that the boutique segment he is trying to fill
can synthesize this into a whole new niche:
The food spa.
“I want to have this across the V… Group.
The ability to go to a spa and then eat pure, fresh
organic food after the event,” says van Gysel. “It
won’t just be small and luxurious. I will also have
a food menu which is out of this world.”
Van Gysel’s plan is to launch a hotel under
the V… brand every year for the next five
years in the Middle East. “V… On The World
is due to complete in 2010 and Abu Dhabi
is about two years further away,” van Gysel
says. “Oman and Qatar are on the map. Russia
is on the map. After that I will be searching
for further locations. It is important for me to
find places that are not overly crowded with
boutique hotels.
“There is one group doing something similar
to what I am trying to do,” van Gysel says. “It is
called Aman Resorts. They have 20 properties
– some very interesting hotels with beautiful
products. Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston
architects has done a fantastic job with them.
But the group’s strategy is to sell the magic in
a magical place. That is not necessarily what I
want to do. I want to create the magic where
it is least expected. In unusual places. Create
something that is very, very interesting.”
E X C E L L E N C Y Q U A R T E R L Y