The second Lefay Resort has made its debut in the Italian ski area of Madonna di Campiglio, featuring one of the largest spas in the Alpine region. Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti features 88 suites along with 22 Lefay-branded residences – the first of their kind – as well as a 5,000sq m Lefay spa.
“We don’t build hotels – we build spa hotels,” says Alcide Leali, managing director of Lefay Resorts. “Spa is always the core of our properties.”
Lefay owns and operates a much-respected, forward-thinking spa hotel in Lake Garda, Italy, and has also announced plans for a third resort in Tuscany. “We’ve always said we want three properties in Italy: lake, mountains and countryside,” says Leali. Within the next 10 years, he hopes to have five properties in total, and is looking at branded locations with partners in Switzerland and Austria to help position Lefay as the “European leader in spa resorts”.
“Lake Garda will always be unique in terms of location and view,” says Leali. “But Lefay Dolomiti is an upgrade in terms of infrastructure, with bigger rooms and a bigger spa.” The spa at Lefay Dolomiti is 30 per cent bigger than Lake Garda, to be exact – 5,000sq m versus 3,800sq m – which means an impressive 50sq m of spa per key. “We wanted to enter the market with a property that’s not just a leader today, but that will still be a leader in the next 10-20 years,” says Leali. “Our expectation is that the spa will grow.”
Lefay’s wellness method, which combines classical Chinese medicine with modern western techniques, will be used across the spa, with signature energy treatments that aim to rebalance and rejuvenate the body and mind by stimulating the classical Chinese meridians to activate the energy systems. The Lefay Spa Method Scientific Committee has created five energy circuits for the spa, with different levels of temperature and humidity and dedicated phytotherapy (herbal teas) designed to help guests understand the type of energy they need to find balance again. The area is based on the classical Chinese concept that energy (qi) cyclically moves through five phases, depending on the season or time of day.
The interior design concept was imagined by hospitality designer Alberto Apostoli, whose clients include operators such as Four Seasons and Relais & Chateaux.
Guests can relax and detoxify in the Alpine salt-water lake and breathe the benefits of the salt grotto and regenerate using mud therapy with mud from the Val di Genova, which is enriched with malachite for its antioxidant action, magnesium for its energising anti-ageing effect and rhodolite to stimulate natural immune defences. Lefay has also introduced a range of vegan-certified natural products that use ingredients from the local area, such as horse chestnut, oils enriched with mountain pine and juniper, mineral alpine salt and traditional butter from the Alps. In addition, the spa offers some non-invasive skin treatments, physiotherapy, osteopathy and an a la carte menu with western massages, and eastern massages and rituals.
The resort has been designed by architect Hugo Demetz, who worked on the original Lefay Resort and used wood and stone so the hotel blends into the surrounding landscape. Lefay has positioned itself as a sustainable brand, and the new resort is certified by ClimaHotel, and supplied by renewable energy sources, and controlled by advanced electrical, thermic and hydric systems.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa Programmes: On the menu
Energy medicine at Six Senses; aroma retreat on Croatia’s Island of Vitality and menopause programming all feature in our spa menu round-up
Top team: Rosewood
Jane Kitchen talks to the wellness team behind Rosewood, and its forward-thinking spa concepts, as CEO Sonia Cheng leads a vigorous global rollout
Everyone’s talking about: CBD
Are CBD treatments and products an unregulated fad, or a serious business proposition? Spa Business investigates
Promotional feature: The Madison Collection
Innovation of form and function in robes and towels is a vital part of attracting the next generation of wellness consumers. Charmaine T Lang from The Madison Collection explains how her company consistently maintains its successful point of difference
Interview: Markus Engel
The CEO of Asia’s Urban Resort Concepts talks to Spa Business about positive disruption in the hospitality and spa sector
Promotional feature: The Wellness
A beautiful pool can be the standout feature that draws new customers. It can also cut your running costs if it’s designed to be sustainable. Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of The Wellness, explains
Interview: Davide Bollati
Liz Terry speaks to the founder of Comfort Zone about the group’s new botanical garden and ongoing commitment to environmentalism
Research: Generation gap
A new consumer study by ISPA uncovers spa-goer preferences and habits across different age groups
Promotional feature: Phytomer
Formulating the ultimate universal product to heal and defend the skin has taken three years of R&D for Phytomer, the French luxury marine skincare brand. The company’s scientific director tells Spa Business about the launch of the groundbreaking Prebioforce serum
Event Report: APSWC Round Table
Industry leaders contribute to APSWC’s third white paper at annual gathering. Catharine Nicol reports from Malaysia
Family spa: Play time
Spa Business takes a look at innovative spa programmes for children and families
Eco spa: Going green
Joanna Roche and Bonnie Baker share their ambitions for the Green Spa Network
The MSpa Oslo series is a perennial bestseller in global markets. With innovative
engineering and premium performance, this completely portable spa line-up is expertly
designed to meet the needs of customers worldwide. [more...]
The second Lefay Resort has made its debut in the Italian ski area of Madonna di Campiglio, featuring one of the largest spas in the Alpine region. Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti features 88 suites along with 22 Lefay-branded residences – the first of their kind – as well as a 5,000sq m Lefay spa.
“We don’t build hotels – we build spa hotels,” says Alcide Leali, managing director of Lefay Resorts. “Spa is always the core of our properties.”
Lefay owns and operates a much-respected, forward-thinking spa hotel in Lake Garda, Italy, and has also announced plans for a third resort in Tuscany. “We’ve always said we want three properties in Italy: lake, mountains and countryside,” says Leali. Within the next 10 years, he hopes to have five properties in total, and is looking at branded locations with partners in Switzerland and Austria to help position Lefay as the “European leader in spa resorts”.
“Lake Garda will always be unique in terms of location and view,” says Leali. “But Lefay Dolomiti is an upgrade in terms of infrastructure, with bigger rooms and a bigger spa.” The spa at Lefay Dolomiti is 30 per cent bigger than Lake Garda, to be exact – 5,000sq m versus 3,800sq m – which means an impressive 50sq m of spa per key. “We wanted to enter the market with a property that’s not just a leader today, but that will still be a leader in the next 10-20 years,” says Leali. “Our expectation is that the spa will grow.”
Lefay’s wellness method, which combines classical Chinese medicine with modern western techniques, will be used across the spa, with signature energy treatments that aim to rebalance and rejuvenate the body and mind by stimulating the classical Chinese meridians to activate the energy systems. The Lefay Spa Method Scientific Committee has created five energy circuits for the spa, with different levels of temperature and humidity and dedicated phytotherapy (herbal teas) designed to help guests understand the type of energy they need to find balance again. The area is based on the classical Chinese concept that energy (qi) cyclically moves through five phases, depending on the season or time of day.
The interior design concept was imagined by hospitality designer Alberto Apostoli, whose clients include operators such as Four Seasons and Relais & Chateaux.
Guests can relax and detoxify in the Alpine salt-water lake and breathe the benefits of the salt grotto and regenerate using mud therapy with mud from the Val di Genova, which is enriched with malachite for its antioxidant action, magnesium for its energising anti-ageing effect and rhodolite to stimulate natural immune defences. Lefay has also introduced a range of vegan-certified natural products that use ingredients from the local area, such as horse chestnut, oils enriched with mountain pine and juniper, mineral alpine salt and traditional butter from the Alps. In addition, the spa offers some non-invasive skin treatments, physiotherapy, osteopathy and an a la carte menu with western massages, and eastern massages and rituals.
The resort has been designed by architect Hugo Demetz, who worked on the original Lefay Resort and used wood and stone so the hotel blends into the surrounding landscape. Lefay has positioned itself as a sustainable brand, and the new resort is certified by ClimaHotel, and supplied by renewable energy sources, and controlled by advanced electrical, thermic and hydric systems.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa Programmes: On the menu
Energy medicine at Six Senses; aroma retreat on Croatia’s Island of Vitality and menopause programming all feature in our spa menu round-up
Top team: Rosewood
Jane Kitchen talks to the wellness team behind Rosewood, and its forward-thinking spa concepts, as CEO Sonia Cheng leads a vigorous global rollout
Everyone’s talking about: CBD
Are CBD treatments and products an unregulated fad, or a serious business proposition? Spa Business investigates
Promotional feature: The Madison Collection
Innovation of form and function in robes and towels is a vital part of attracting the next generation of wellness consumers. Charmaine T Lang from The Madison Collection explains how her company consistently maintains its successful point of difference
Interview: Markus Engel
The CEO of Asia’s Urban Resort Concepts talks to Spa Business about positive disruption in the hospitality and spa sector
Promotional feature: The Wellness
A beautiful pool can be the standout feature that draws new customers. It can also cut your running costs if it’s designed to be sustainable. Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of The Wellness, explains
Interview: Davide Bollati
Liz Terry speaks to the founder of Comfort Zone about the group’s new botanical garden and ongoing commitment to environmentalism
Research: Generation gap
A new consumer study by ISPA uncovers spa-goer preferences and habits across different age groups
Promotional feature: Phytomer
Formulating the ultimate universal product to heal and defend the skin has taken three years of R&D for Phytomer, the French luxury marine skincare brand. The company’s scientific director tells Spa Business about the launch of the groundbreaking Prebioforce serum
Event Report: APSWC Round Table
Industry leaders contribute to APSWC’s third white paper at annual gathering. Catharine Nicol reports from Malaysia
Family spa: Play time
Spa Business takes a look at innovative spa programmes for children and families
Eco spa: Going green
Joanna Roche and Bonnie Baker share their ambitions for the Green Spa Network
TLee Spas and Wellness has revealed the design concept for a high-tech spa with body
mapping scanners to improve public health, for AI company Midjourney.
Ameyalli, the 78-acre wellbeing resort and residential community in Midway in Utah, US, has
broken ground on phase two of the hot spring development – the Ameyalli Resort and Spa –
which is due to open in 2028.
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.
The MSpa Oslo series is a perennial bestseller in global markets. With innovative
engineering and premium performance, this completely portable spa line-up is expertly
designed to meet the needs of customers worldwide. [more...]
