The renowned spa at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay,
Bali has just reopened following a major overhaul.
The group’s regional director of spa, Asia Pacific
shares her highlights of the standout facility and
the challenges of launching in a pandemic
Luisa Anderson oversees 10 resort spas for Four Seasons in Asia and has been in the industry for 22 years / PHOTO: Himawan Sutanto
When the original spa at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Bali, was built 28 years ago, it was one of the first high-end facilities on the island. Back then it was ahead of its time and has aged beautifully, but it was time for an upgrade.
Over the past three years it’s been reimagined as The Healing Village Spa based on seven healing attributes of ‘water, community, gemstones, light, sound, plants and love’. It’s been knocked down, reconfigured and enlarged with a two-storey extension, making the overall 2,000sq m footprint 70 per cent bigger. The building appears to ‘float on water’ and its contemporary Balinese design provides a stunning backdrop for the 10 suites and innovative treatments that combine light, sound, thermal and colour therapy.
Luisa Anderson, who oversees 10 resort spas in Asia Pacific for Four Seasons, has led the project by drawing on her 22 years in spa and wellness to source and create everything.
How would you describe Healing Village Spa? It’s sophisticated, but warm and inviting. It’s modern, yet preserves the culture and craftsmanship of Bali. I love the sound of water everywhere, from the ponds to fountains, and the greenery and open air are health giving within themselves. It’s a place you want to linger and be enveloped by.
What are you most proud of? Many of our treatment suites are completed with outdoor relaxation areas which is a real luxury, but the redesign left us with a windowless room that we didn’t know what to do with. This is now home to our Illume Room which is one of my favourite spaces.
Being sealed from outside light, the Illume Room maximises the power of chromotherapy which can be prescribed according to guests’ needs. We worked closely with colour therapist Tricia Sharkey, of The Colour Wellness Center, to create these detailed programmes. A surround sound system pipes out music specially composed and engineered here in Bali (including sounds of Jimbaran Bay) and seven alchemy crystal singing bowls add to the high vibrations. Treatments, which start at IDR2.1m (US$143, €121, £111) for 60 minutes, are performed on a Gharieni bed with heated, crushed quartz crystals. They stimulate inner healing responses and immerse the guest in light, sound and colour.
Another Bali first, our Longevity Garden, is a private DIY treatment space in a lush ‘secret’ hideaway that’s priced at IDR1.2m (US$82, €69, £63) for 75 minutes. Couples take their time to enjoy self-directed healing and nourish each other with local organic products including Indonesian volcanic mud wraps and coconut soap. To maximise mineral absorption, there’s a private steamroom and sun loungers equipped with infra-red gemstone therapy mats by HealthyLine. A cleanse under the powerful waterfall shower is followed by an invigorating ice bath immersion.
How challenging has it been to handle a major reopening during coronavirus? It’s been relatively smooth, surprisingly. We had a long time to prepare as we began construction in April 2019. As the hotel was closed for four months from April through to July 2020 due to the global pandemic, we actually sped up some elements of construction, which otherwise would have taken longer if we’d been open to guests. Training was difficult as we needed to observe physical distancing and rostering was tricky since many therapists were on various types of leave.
Maintaining momentum while delaying the ‘big fanfare’ of a new opening has been challenging. We would normally have had many international media experiencing the spa by now. Instead we’ve set up virtual spa tours which end with a crystal sound meditation session with me, along with handmade gifts, and that’s been a great way to connect.
We’ve invited many influential locals too which has helped iron out kinks and stimulate some business.
How have you prepared for operating while COVID-19 is still circulating? All protocols in the resort align with Four Seasons’ Lead with Care programme which was established in consultation with international medical specialists. These include things that have been easy to implement in the spa, such as temperature checks on arrival and showers before treatments, although explaining therapies to guests is tricky when therapists are wearing both a face mask and shield. We’ve worked with Book4Time to get our spa software up to date for a contactless experience (outside of the treatment, of course) with elements like online intake forms, QR codes so guests can access menus on their own devices and bill charges to the room.
How have you adapted treatments? When choosing suppliers we picked ISUN because it uses wild-crafted, organic ingredients infused with gemstones. Many of its treatments, however, incorporate facial components which we’re not allowed to offer at present, so we’ve temporarily replaced these with energy work.
We limit locker and steam/sauna use to two guests at a time, but as every treatment room is a suite with private facilities, this has little impact.
The Longevity Garden is a great space for private outdoor DIY treatments which we expect to be even more popular now.
One of my favourite experiences is also touchless. It uses a Vichy shower by Hydro Co which is fully computerised – there are pre-set programmes and we’ve also created our own with chakra lights and music. It also reduces water usage by 50 per cent which was a key point for us.
How is business at the moment? COVID aside, the spa at Jimbaran Bay is very successful. Over the years, it’s had profit margins of 45-60 per cent and capture rates of 11-20 per cent. Average treatment price has increased year on year along with inflation and guests taking longer treatments.
We’re expecting business to improve when international travel resumes but I’m not going to sugar-coat it, at the moment it’s tough. Bali’s borders have been closed since March and international visitors are our core market. Our strategy is to build our day guest business from local residents, as well as improving capture from domestic hotel guests.
We’re using social media, personal invites and bespoke days for groups. And we’re offering many promotions with unprecedented value, such as our Stay Longer – Second Night Free room offer. We have one of the island’s most successful Beach Club restaurants, Sundara, which is an all-time favourite place in Bali and attracts many outside guests, so we’re also offering promotions in tandem with the F&B team.
How is business in your other spas across Asia? I oversee 10 spas at Four Seasons’ resorts in Bali, the Maldives, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. All of these are open except for Nam Hai in Vietnam due to government restrictions and that’s due to reopen on 1 December.
Some spas are doing better than others. Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives never closed and even at the height of the pandemic it still had guests who chose to stay on the island. It now has other international guests and therefore a higher occupancy and higher-spending guests than Bali. Langkawi has also done quite well with the local Malaysian market. In Thailand, Koh Samui secured some local business with a spa treatment included in the stay and Chiang Mai had a very successful advance spa voucher campaign.
What’s the strategy to boost business moving forward? Visibility, innovation and connection. Keep on developing meaningful experiences, deepening the offerings and collaborating with ‘top of their field’ wellness experts. Keep on infiltrating every aspect of the hotel business with awareness. Get this right and it will boost business once borders open and international travellers can visit Bali again.
How well will the global spa industry weather the impact of COVID-19? Once we recover from the huge fall out and financial/emotional suffering I think spas will do well. They’ll continue to evolve and be even more important in the areas of rejuvenation, education and consciousness raising.
What’s the key to surviving? Authenticity, innovation and having the right offerings for the right market.
Katie Barnes is the editor of Spa Business magazine
| [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 4
Editor's letter: Nurturing mental health
It’s time for spas re-evaluate their mental wellness approach to help governments and society to tackle the escalating mental health crisis says Katie Barnes
Spa people: Dr Narinthorn Surasinthon
RAKxa Jai, a cutting-edge medi-wellness spa, has opened in partnership with Bumrungrad International Hospital and Minor Hotels in Bangkok. Spa Business talks to its COO
Spa people: Isabelle Duchesneau
The executive director of Québec's Le Monastère Augustines explains why its priority of serving caretakers is more relevant today than ever
Spa people: Michael Banissy
The world's largest study on touch uncovers the role it plays in our health and wellbeing. Spa Business talks to the lead researcher
Interview: Krip Rojanastien
Chiva-Som’s CEO talks to Spa Business magazine about guiding the destination spa through COVID-19 and its first contract management project in Qatar
Ask an expert: Corridors of power
What will it take to make politicians realise the value of spas? Spa Business magazine asks those in government and others who’ve made inroads
Promotion: Artofcryo: Cold Calling
Artofcryo.com aims to offer the best whole-body cryotherapy chambers as well as a complete, reliable and effective solution for operators and results for guests
Promotion: ISPA: Lead, inform, inspire
Lead, Inform, Inspire. It’s been quite a year for ISPA, with its firm commitment to supporting members through the pandemic, as president, Lynne McNees explains
Interview: Mark Hennebry
Ensana’s chair tells Spa Business magazine about its landmark development, Buxton Crescent, one of the only genuine spa hotels in the UK
Promotion: Lemi: Creating the dream team
This year leading Italian supplier Lemi launched three new spa solutions, and ventured into the creation of signature treatments for the first time. General manager Matteo Brusaferri explains why he sees this as the way forward to help spas maximise their investment
Interview: Luisa Anderson
A Longevity Garden and inner healing room are just two of the extra special features at the new Healing Village Spa at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Bali, says its regional spa director
Promotion: Biologique Recherche
Skincare specialist, Biologique Recherche, is using its knowledge of chronobiology to create new approaches to skincare which yield powerful results
Event review: Global Wellness Summit 2020
This year’s Global Wellness Summit saw two US surgeon generals, leading spa stakeholders and wellness professionals look towards the role they have to play following the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine gives its highlights
Research: Matter of minds
A new study is the first to define and put a value on the global mental wellness industry – estimating it to be worth US$121bn. But what does this mean for spas?
Sponsored briefing: Starpool: Cargo-tecture
During lockdown, Riccardo Turri, CEO of Starpool, was inspired to create a whole new category of product, based on recycled containers. The result is the new i.con spa brand, which fuses luxury, wellness, recycling and design
Software: All booked up
Spa software suppliers take a look at 'big data' to reveal the booking trends they’ve seen since spas have reopened
Promotion: Voya: supporting spa partners
Jessica Anhold, Voya’s head of global sales and marketing, talks community in a time of crisis and how the company is supporting its spa partners
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
The renowned spa at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay,
Bali has just reopened following a major overhaul.
The group’s regional director of spa, Asia Pacific
shares her highlights of the standout facility and
the challenges of launching in a pandemic
Luisa Anderson oversees 10 resort spas for Four Seasons in Asia and has been in the industry for 22 years / PHOTO: Himawan Sutanto
When the original spa at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Bali, was built 28 years ago, it was one of the first high-end facilities on the island. Back then it was ahead of its time and has aged beautifully, but it was time for an upgrade.
Over the past three years it’s been reimagined as The Healing Village Spa based on seven healing attributes of ‘water, community, gemstones, light, sound, plants and love’. It’s been knocked down, reconfigured and enlarged with a two-storey extension, making the overall 2,000sq m footprint 70 per cent bigger. The building appears to ‘float on water’ and its contemporary Balinese design provides a stunning backdrop for the 10 suites and innovative treatments that combine light, sound, thermal and colour therapy.
Luisa Anderson, who oversees 10 resort spas in Asia Pacific for Four Seasons, has led the project by drawing on her 22 years in spa and wellness to source and create everything.
How would you describe Healing Village Spa? It’s sophisticated, but warm and inviting. It’s modern, yet preserves the culture and craftsmanship of Bali. I love the sound of water everywhere, from the ponds to fountains, and the greenery and open air are health giving within themselves. It’s a place you want to linger and be enveloped by.
What are you most proud of? Many of our treatment suites are completed with outdoor relaxation areas which is a real luxury, but the redesign left us with a windowless room that we didn’t know what to do with. This is now home to our Illume Room which is one of my favourite spaces.
Being sealed from outside light, the Illume Room maximises the power of chromotherapy which can be prescribed according to guests’ needs. We worked closely with colour therapist Tricia Sharkey, of The Colour Wellness Center, to create these detailed programmes. A surround sound system pipes out music specially composed and engineered here in Bali (including sounds of Jimbaran Bay) and seven alchemy crystal singing bowls add to the high vibrations. Treatments, which start at IDR2.1m (US$143, €121, £111) for 60 minutes, are performed on a Gharieni bed with heated, crushed quartz crystals. They stimulate inner healing responses and immerse the guest in light, sound and colour.
Another Bali first, our Longevity Garden, is a private DIY treatment space in a lush ‘secret’ hideaway that’s priced at IDR1.2m (US$82, €69, £63) for 75 minutes. Couples take their time to enjoy self-directed healing and nourish each other with local organic products including Indonesian volcanic mud wraps and coconut soap. To maximise mineral absorption, there’s a private steamroom and sun loungers equipped with infra-red gemstone therapy mats by HealthyLine. A cleanse under the powerful waterfall shower is followed by an invigorating ice bath immersion.
How challenging has it been to handle a major reopening during coronavirus? It’s been relatively smooth, surprisingly. We had a long time to prepare as we began construction in April 2019. As the hotel was closed for four months from April through to July 2020 due to the global pandemic, we actually sped up some elements of construction, which otherwise would have taken longer if we’d been open to guests. Training was difficult as we needed to observe physical distancing and rostering was tricky since many therapists were on various types of leave.
Maintaining momentum while delaying the ‘big fanfare’ of a new opening has been challenging. We would normally have had many international media experiencing the spa by now. Instead we’ve set up virtual spa tours which end with a crystal sound meditation session with me, along with handmade gifts, and that’s been a great way to connect.
We’ve invited many influential locals too which has helped iron out kinks and stimulate some business.
How have you prepared for operating while COVID-19 is still circulating? All protocols in the resort align with Four Seasons’ Lead with Care programme which was established in consultation with international medical specialists. These include things that have been easy to implement in the spa, such as temperature checks on arrival and showers before treatments, although explaining therapies to guests is tricky when therapists are wearing both a face mask and shield. We’ve worked with Book4Time to get our spa software up to date for a contactless experience (outside of the treatment, of course) with elements like online intake forms, QR codes so guests can access menus on their own devices and bill charges to the room.
How have you adapted treatments? When choosing suppliers we picked ISUN because it uses wild-crafted, organic ingredients infused with gemstones. Many of its treatments, however, incorporate facial components which we’re not allowed to offer at present, so we’ve temporarily replaced these with energy work.
We limit locker and steam/sauna use to two guests at a time, but as every treatment room is a suite with private facilities, this has little impact.
The Longevity Garden is a great space for private outdoor DIY treatments which we expect to be even more popular now.
One of my favourite experiences is also touchless. It uses a Vichy shower by Hydro Co which is fully computerised – there are pre-set programmes and we’ve also created our own with chakra lights and music. It also reduces water usage by 50 per cent which was a key point for us.
How is business at the moment? COVID aside, the spa at Jimbaran Bay is very successful. Over the years, it’s had profit margins of 45-60 per cent and capture rates of 11-20 per cent. Average treatment price has increased year on year along with inflation and guests taking longer treatments.
We’re expecting business to improve when international travel resumes but I’m not going to sugar-coat it, at the moment it’s tough. Bali’s borders have been closed since March and international visitors are our core market. Our strategy is to build our day guest business from local residents, as well as improving capture from domestic hotel guests.
We’re using social media, personal invites and bespoke days for groups. And we’re offering many promotions with unprecedented value, such as our Stay Longer – Second Night Free room offer. We have one of the island’s most successful Beach Club restaurants, Sundara, which is an all-time favourite place in Bali and attracts many outside guests, so we’re also offering promotions in tandem with the F&B team.
How is business in your other spas across Asia? I oversee 10 spas at Four Seasons’ resorts in Bali, the Maldives, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. All of these are open except for Nam Hai in Vietnam due to government restrictions and that’s due to reopen on 1 December.
Some spas are doing better than others. Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives never closed and even at the height of the pandemic it still had guests who chose to stay on the island. It now has other international guests and therefore a higher occupancy and higher-spending guests than Bali. Langkawi has also done quite well with the local Malaysian market. In Thailand, Koh Samui secured some local business with a spa treatment included in the stay and Chiang Mai had a very successful advance spa voucher campaign.
What’s the strategy to boost business moving forward? Visibility, innovation and connection. Keep on developing meaningful experiences, deepening the offerings and collaborating with ‘top of their field’ wellness experts. Keep on infiltrating every aspect of the hotel business with awareness. Get this right and it will boost business once borders open and international travellers can visit Bali again.
How well will the global spa industry weather the impact of COVID-19? Once we recover from the huge fall out and financial/emotional suffering I think spas will do well. They’ll continue to evolve and be even more important in the areas of rejuvenation, education and consciousness raising.
What’s the key to surviving? Authenticity, innovation and having the right offerings for the right market.
Katie Barnes is the editor of Spa Business magazine
| [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 4
Editor's letter: Nurturing mental health
It’s time for spas re-evaluate their mental wellness approach to help governments and society to tackle the escalating mental health crisis says Katie Barnes
Spa people: Dr Narinthorn Surasinthon
RAKxa Jai, a cutting-edge medi-wellness spa, has opened in partnership with Bumrungrad International Hospital and Minor Hotels in Bangkok. Spa Business talks to its COO
Spa people: Isabelle Duchesneau
The executive director of Québec's Le Monastère Augustines explains why its priority of serving caretakers is more relevant today than ever
Spa people: Michael Banissy
The world's largest study on touch uncovers the role it plays in our health and wellbeing. Spa Business talks to the lead researcher
Interview: Krip Rojanastien
Chiva-Som’s CEO talks to Spa Business magazine about guiding the destination spa through COVID-19 and its first contract management project in Qatar
Ask an expert: Corridors of power
What will it take to make politicians realise the value of spas? Spa Business magazine asks those in government and others who’ve made inroads
Promotion: Artofcryo: Cold Calling
Artofcryo.com aims to offer the best whole-body cryotherapy chambers as well as a complete, reliable and effective solution for operators and results for guests
Promotion: ISPA: Lead, inform, inspire
Lead, Inform, Inspire. It’s been quite a year for ISPA, with its firm commitment to supporting members through the pandemic, as president, Lynne McNees explains
Interview: Mark Hennebry
Ensana’s chair tells Spa Business magazine about its landmark development, Buxton Crescent, one of the only genuine spa hotels in the UK
Promotion: Lemi: Creating the dream team
This year leading Italian supplier Lemi launched three new spa solutions, and ventured into the creation of signature treatments for the first time. General manager Matteo Brusaferri explains why he sees this as the way forward to help spas maximise their investment
Interview: Luisa Anderson
A Longevity Garden and inner healing room are just two of the extra special features at the new Healing Village Spa at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Bali, says its regional spa director
Promotion: Biologique Recherche
Skincare specialist, Biologique Recherche, is using its knowledge of chronobiology to create new approaches to skincare which yield powerful results
Event review: Global Wellness Summit 2020
This year’s Global Wellness Summit saw two US surgeon generals, leading spa stakeholders and wellness professionals look towards the role they have to play following the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine gives its highlights
Research: Matter of minds
A new study is the first to define and put a value on the global mental wellness industry – estimating it to be worth US$121bn. But what does this mean for spas?
Sponsored briefing: Starpool: Cargo-tecture
During lockdown, Riccardo Turri, CEO of Starpool, was inspired to create a whole new category of product, based on recycled containers. The result is the new i.con spa brand, which fuses luxury, wellness, recycling and design
Software: All booked up
Spa software suppliers take a look at 'big data' to reveal the booking trends they’ve seen since spas have reopened
Promotion: Voya: supporting spa partners
Jessica Anhold, Voya’s head of global sales and marketing, talks community in a time of crisis and how the company is supporting its spa partners
Gran Hotel Taoro in northern Tenerife, Spain, has completed the final phase of its three-year
renovation with the debut of its Sandára Wellness Centre.
Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa, the spa business with more than 650 locations across
the US and Canada, has appointed franchise expert Carrie Walsh as CEO as the company plans
to expand.
Synergy – The Retreat Show, the global trade show for retreats, has launched a global research
initiative that will provide insights into the retreat sector from both consumer and industry
perspectives.
The Wellness Tourism Association (WTA) has published a non-regulatory global industry
framework designed to ensure the retreat market offers responsible experiences.
A new survey of UK and international spa practitioners shows that stress, burnout and
wellbeing concerns have caused one in three respondents to consider leaving the industry.
The UK's four Chief Medical Officers have published a refreshed edition of Physical activity
guidelines: UK Chief Medical Officers' report, updating the evidence that underpins the nation's
physical activity recommendations and placing greater emphasis on strength, balance, reducing
sedentary behaviour and, for the first time, supporting people taking weight loss medications.
Anna Bjurstam has left her role as Wellness Pioneer at Six Senses Hotels and Resorts and
launched a new wellness, longevity and “consciousness consultancy” called Wahayla.
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, has opened today (10 July) in the Northwest of England
with a
1,715sq m Fairmont Spa that has been designed using a ‘Wellness without Walls’
concept.
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
