Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #40

In The Field
with Yuriy Horovyy
Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #40
2018 Autumn Edition 17
THE “INSIDE LINE” ON WHAT’S HOT IN THE FIELD OF TRAVEL ADVICE
PART 01
WELLNESS TRAVEL
THE
LUXURY SPA
EXPERIENCE
EVOLVES…
WHAT ARE
THE LATEST
TRENDS?
The luxury spa experience is developing
rapidly. In many hotels, what used to be
a quiet space to find a mud bath and a
massage has grown into an entire world
of its own. For a start, the best hotels are
viewing their spa as not just as space, but
an experienced programme where guests
are provided with a complete itinerary
– not just a menu – including a tailored
culinary programme (food as medicine),
meditation and mindfulness, and specialised
fitness training. Virtuoso travel expert,
Yuriy Horovyy of Almont Travel, London,
gives some exceptional insight into what’s
trending at the moment…
Today, it is no longer just about “booking
the spa”, it’s about immersing oneself in a
wellness escape.
A key trend is for spas to source treatments
that depart from the tried and tired. These
might include new traditional methods
farmed from the hotel’s local culture, or
treatments harnessing cutting-edge
technology.
Another trend is to design an
immersive environment
where the details of
the experience have
been carefully
crafted for the
guest’s comfort,
rather than just for
the Instagram shares.
A place that exemplifies this,
in my mind, is Velaa Private Island
in the Maldives. Housed in a round
of bungalows perched serenely above
the waters, the spa places you in a world
far away from even the most obstinate of
distractions.
Entering a private treatment bungalow
the staff invites to prostrate yourself on
to a massage table. Immediately your eyes
begin to focus on the gentle waters playing
beneath a glass floor where fish meander
past, ignorant of the world beyond.
Meanwhile, the masseuse forcefully works
away the knots of stress buried in the
depths of your back (and mind).
THE BEST
SPAS AREN’T
JUST DELIVERING
TREATMENTS, THEY ARE
IMMERSING YOU IN
ANOTHER
WORLD
housing a luminous, egg-shaped cocoon,
courtesy of the future. Over the next half
an hour your body is bathed in waves
of sound and light designed to awaken
subconscious memories of womb-like
serenity.
Retiring again to the recovery area, you
begin to take advantage of the oceanviewed
Saunas and Steam rooms
before discovering the Maldives’
most novel treat, a genuine
snow sauna—which
feels both daring and
soothing against
the persistently
warm
outside.
air
Another spa experience
that has wedged itself
permanently into my soul is
the Terme di Saturna in the heart
of Tuscany. It boasts a mesmerising
array of treatments combining both
well-being and, aesthetic—rare for a
hotel. Their Rebalance programme offers
a five-day excursion into culinary and
pampering delight, an alternating stream
of heavenly bliss and healthy indulgence.
The spa benefits from its advantageous
placement next to a thermal spring and
the opportunity is not wasted in their
treatment programme. This is, after all,
nature’s own spa and an experience
humans have prized since before history.
Life restored, you transition into a recovery
area, lounge on a daybed, facing a
turquoise ocean and azure horizon. Later,
you are directed to a darkened sanctuary,
Whether for the long excursion or the brief
refresh respite, the best spas aren’t just
delivering treatments, they are immersing
you in another world.
SEE YOU AGAIN IN THE NEXT EDITION