Even before launching Joali Being in the Maldives, Turkish businesswoman Esin Güral Argat was deeply invested in her own wellbeing, incorporating mindful eating habits, yoga, long walks, meditation and daily exercise into her lifestyle. Still, as she geared up to create her own wellbeing hospitality concept, she faced a significant learning curve. “We knew this would require a deeper understanding of the industry’s nuances and the ability to craft a unique experience for our guests,” she says. “So we identified an expert team to explore the most valuable offerings, incorporating science-based principles.”
Güral Argat was at the top of her business game five years ago, working as vice president of family business Gürok Group, a Turkish conglomerate spanning industries from glassware to construction, tiles to tourism. Since 2008, she’d been managing the tourism division of the business, including Turkey’s Ali Bey brand. But the Maldives had a special place in her heart, for its “breathtaking beauty, genuine local hospitality and ease of access”.
This passion for the destination resulted in the entrepreneur and her team launching Joali in 2018. The island resort brought a fresh, art-immersive concept to the Maldives. At the same time, Güral Argat spotted an opportunity to develop another island in the same Raa Atoll. Seeking to carve out a distinct identity for this sister resort, she brainstormed the possibility of devoting a Maldivian island to transformative wellbeing.
POOL OF EXPERTISE
Güral Argat and her team dived into research, connecting with practitioners globally to forge the philosophy for this new resort. “We travelled extensively, seeking insights from experts and experiencing various wellness concepts and products,” she reveals. “Immersing ourselves in events, such as the Global Wellness Summit, proved invaluable. During these explorations, we had the privilege of connecting with consultants, professor Gerry Bodeker and Claire Way. Both the expertise of Claire at Spa Strategy [especially on design and layout] and professor Bodeker’s research work on the science behind our core concept became key assets for our new destination.”
Joali Being opened on Bodufushi island in November 2021, providing an immersive, 360-degree wellbeing offering. “Every detail has been meticulously studied, ensuring a thoughtfully crafted guest journey,” says Güral Argat. “We’ve built our offering around four pillars – Mind, Skin, Microbiome and Energy. For me, the Mind pillar resonates the most because it offers solace and rejuvenation, helping people find balance.”
These pillars work in combination with a central theme of weightlessness, which informs the resort’s biophilic design principles, with spaces created to facilitate the flow of energy and promote lightness and joy.
There’s a moment of symbolic arrival at the Gate of Zero welcome jetty, which invites guests to shake off excesses and baggage. But it’s the four pillars that really guide individual journeys, with a 15-minute pre-arrival Wellbeing Consultation followed up by a 60-minute Integrative Lifestyle Assessment on the first day, performed by senior wellness consultants such as ayurvedic doctors, naturopaths, a TCM specialist and nutritionists. After this diagnostic assessment, guests are assigned one of the four pillars, with meal selections, treatments, workshops and movement guided by this choice.
While there are 13 pre-designed packages, 95 per cent of guests have a personalised programme.
FOUR PILLARS OF HEALTH
“Our practices are rooted in the four pillars, to align with the broader scope of wellbeing,” Güral Argat explains. “In my personal view, there’s a difference between wellbeing and wellness, with the former encompassing physical, social and mental health while the latter generally focuses on physical health and preventative care.”
The facilities on the island are indeed truly comprehensive, from a herbology centre to watsu pool, cryotherapy chamber to sound therapy hall, culinary learning centre to meditation deck and aufguss sauna to Himalayan salt inhalation room. The island’s 68 villas are matched by 39 treatment rooms, a ratio reflective of the wellbeing focus. Multidisciplinary studio Autoban, responsible for designing both Joali resorts, has created a series of incredible, high-ceilinged structures that reinforce connections to the island’s rich natural vegetation through organic indoor-outdoor transitions.
Güral Argat visits the island regularly, most recently staying with her family for a month. Her feedback on treatments is relayed to the resort team of 350 staff. As a fan of the Mind pillar, two therapeutic experiences stood out during her last stay, as she explains: “Aligned with our philosophy of ‘joy in weightlessness’, I found our watsu treatment to be particularly transformative. The experience of floating and being guided gently through the water was incredibly profound, allowing me to let go of physical and mental tension and leading to a sense of inner peace. Sound healing, curated by the talented [visiting] practitioner Aurelio Hammer, was also a soul-enriching journey, with the ethereal sounds and vibrations leading to a state of deep relaxation and introspection.”
FEMALE EMPOWERMENT
Güral Argat faced logistical challenges when it came to persuading a small army of professionals to relocate to Bodufushi. The resort team, drawn from more than 30 nationalities, has a female ratio of 35 per cent, the highest in the local hospitality sector. This is no accident, as Güral Argat is renowned for championing female entrepreneurship, with her glassware company dominated almost entirely by women.
Senior managers at Joali Being work hard on staff retention – an issue for Maldivian resorts, which find it hard to keep young, ambitious employees on one island for more than a year. A weekly wellbeing programme for staff includes massages, nutritional activities, access to the pool and gym and regular sports tournaments to keep up spirits. This helps create a close-knit camaraderie and some employees have been with Joali Being since launch.
This also means staff can share the resort’s wellbeing intentions in a natural, non-intrusive way. The food is delicious, nutritious and plentiful, for example, but employees may need to explain why salt or a traditional bread basket aren’t automatically available, or why tea is gently promoted as a beverage of choice, rather than alcohol. This doesn’t mean alcohol isn’t available, it’s just not advertised. Instead, it’s matched by an equally appealing list of nutritionally beneficial mocktails.
EVOLUTION AND EXPANSION
The ambition to become established as a global leader in wellbeing hospitality means keeping technology and treatments updated. Reiki, chi nei tsang and outdoor group cycling are all being added to the menu, along with treatments from magnesium-rich product line The Tides Wellness and anti-inflammatory skincare brand Dr Barbara Sturm.
Most recently, the spa at the original Joali resort has been rebranded as Joali Being Cure to create an “elevated experience”. It now offers a taster of the signature massages, specialised treatments and a network of visiting experts from the wellbeing island.
Overall, the goal is for the Maldives to become a viable alternative to Thailand or the Middle East for wellness travellers.
Beyond Bodufushi, Güral Argat is eyeing expansion for the Joali brand, as she confirms: “We’re open to opportunities in other captivating destinations around the world.” Meanwhile, back in Turkey, Gürok has revealed a new hospitality brand called Bijal. Given Güral Argat’s mission to keep driving the tourism arm of her family business, could this become her next introduction to the Maldives?
