World spa&wellness

SPA PROFILE
Shangri-La Hambantota Resort & Spa
The Shangri La Hambantota Resort & Spa in Sri Lanka
opened in June last year, with facilities including Chi, The
Ayurveda Spa. Nestled away in the idyllic setting of the
resort grounds, the spa has been attracting both national
and international spa-lovers ever since it opened on June 11, 2016.
The 53-hectare resort features seemingly endless beaches with
soaring king coconut palm trees and fine, white sand, and it would be
easy for the spa to rest on its laurels and use the picturesque location
as their sole selling point. After all, when you’re set in Sri Lanka’s
largest resort, in a property managed by such a prestigious brand,
most of the hard work is done for you right? Wrong. Rather than trade
on the hotel brand’s excellent reputation, Chi, The Ayurveda Spa
seeks to create a unique and location-rich experience for each guest
that comes through its doors.
How exactly is it doing that? “The spa draws on Sri Lanka’s rich spa
heritage,” explains spa manager Dolnapa Promyim. It took ayurveda,
the 5,000-year old system of healing, as the core value around which
the overall experience was based: “You could say that ayurveda
[shaped] our sense of the place,” Promyim continues.
The spa is spread out over a generous amount of space and
features 12 treatment rooms, five of which are located in outdoor
cabanas – three couples’ and two single cabanas. Of the remaining
seven indoor rooms, three are dedicated to ayurveda treatments
while the others can be used for the spa’s non-ayurvedic options.
The decor is a combination of calming natural materials and
Hambantota’s own colours.
World Spa & Wellness | July/August 2017
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