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Swedish-based spa consultancy Raison d’Etre has made a splash in the cruise ship sector by launching the first of three LivNordic spas as part of a deal with Viking Ocean Cruises
Viking Star will cruise around Europe and is one of three ships to have a LivNordic spa
LivNodic, Raison d’Etre’s spa concept, opened on board the new Viking Star cruise ship in May and features one of the first snow rooms at sea.
Anna-Cari Gund, managing director at Raison d’Etre, says: “This is a relationship with a like-minded brand. Given Viking’s Scandinavian heritage is was a natural fit and it’s an opportunity for us to expand our spa concept at sea for the first time.”
Although Gund won’t reveal details of the deal, she does confirm that Raison d’Etre will be managing the spa and its 10 staff. The new cruise ship can hold up to 930 passengers and will travel around Europe.
LivNordic at sea spas are also planned for two further Viking cruise ships which are due to launch in 2016 and 2017.
The LivNordic spa concept has been inspired by Nordic wellness principles – especially its bathing rituals. Group spa manager Nora Forsberg explains: “In Scandinavian countries, we like to sit in the sauna for as long as we can before rolling around in the snow or making a hole in an ice-covered lake and pouring water over ourselves”. It’s then customary to complete the journey with a Swedish massage.
As such, the new spa on Viking Star has comprehensive hydrothermal area including heat experiences by Effegibi, plunge pools, hot tub and a saltwater pool. The snow room was installed by TechnoAplin which supplies snowmaking equipment to ski resorts around the world. The minimalist menu includes three types of Swedish massage, with a number of upgrades, and treatments by HydraFacial and The Organic Pharmacy.
The overall feel of the spa is light and airy, with a contemporary, natural design running throughout the rest of the facilities which include eight treatment rooms, a hair salon and barber’s shop.
Raison d’Etre launched the LivNordic concept in 2012 and can be franchised or licensed. Aside from the flagship spa at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden (see SB10/2 p54), another is due to open at the Cayan Tower in Dubai Marina towards the end of this year.
Raison d’Etre is owned by US investment firm Pegasus Capital Advisors, which also owns Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas. See p46 for our interview with Pegasus’ Craig Cogut.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2015 issue 3
Letters:
Investors better placed to make profits in spas than operators, says Roger Allen
News report: LivNordic
Raison d’Etre signs a deal with Viking Cruise Lines for its LivNordic spa brand
Trends: Spa Foresight™ 2015
The team behind Spa Business share their insights on what the world of wellness will look like in the future
Interview – Craig Cogut:
The founding partner of Six Senses’ investment firm Pegasus Capital Advisors reveals his vision for the spa operator. Rhianon Howells reports
Promotional feature: RKF Linen
Founder and CEO Riadh Bouaziz talks about the development of the linen company’s revolutionary
new Dreamsoft product and its uptake in leading hotels and spas worldwide
Thought Leaders: Expert predictions
Thought leaders from around the world, working in different industry sectors, talk about spa trends, challenges and growth opportunities
Promotional feature: Thalgo
After 50 successful years in the professional spa and beauty industry, the Thalgo brand is as strong and as innovative
as ever
Promotional feature: ManageMySpa
CEO Sudheer Koneru explains how a move from enterprise technology into spa
software resulted in the creation of a powerful system
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
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Capsix
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Swedish-based spa consultancy Raison d’Etre has made a splash in the cruise ship sector by launching the first of three LivNordic spas as part of a deal with Viking Ocean Cruises
Viking Star will cruise around Europe and is one of three ships to have a LivNordic spa
LivNodic, Raison d’Etre’s spa concept, opened on board the new Viking Star cruise ship in May and features one of the first snow rooms at sea.
Anna-Cari Gund, managing director at Raison d’Etre, says: “This is a relationship with a like-minded brand. Given Viking’s Scandinavian heritage is was a natural fit and it’s an opportunity for us to expand our spa concept at sea for the first time.”
Although Gund won’t reveal details of the deal, she does confirm that Raison d’Etre will be managing the spa and its 10 staff. The new cruise ship can hold up to 930 passengers and will travel around Europe.
LivNordic at sea spas are also planned for two further Viking cruise ships which are due to launch in 2016 and 2017.
The LivNordic spa concept has been inspired by Nordic wellness principles – especially its bathing rituals. Group spa manager Nora Forsberg explains: “In Scandinavian countries, we like to sit in the sauna for as long as we can before rolling around in the snow or making a hole in an ice-covered lake and pouring water over ourselves”. It’s then customary to complete the journey with a Swedish massage.
As such, the new spa on Viking Star has comprehensive hydrothermal area including heat experiences by Effegibi, plunge pools, hot tub and a saltwater pool. The snow room was installed by TechnoAplin which supplies snowmaking equipment to ski resorts around the world. The minimalist menu includes three types of Swedish massage, with a number of upgrades, and treatments by HydraFacial and The Organic Pharmacy.
The overall feel of the spa is light and airy, with a contemporary, natural design running throughout the rest of the facilities which include eight treatment rooms, a hair salon and barber’s shop.
Raison d’Etre launched the LivNordic concept in 2012 and can be franchised or licensed. Aside from the flagship spa at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden (see SB10/2 p54), another is due to open at the Cayan Tower in Dubai Marina towards the end of this year.
Raison d’Etre is owned by US investment firm Pegasus Capital Advisors, which also owns Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas. See p46 for our interview with Pegasus’ Craig Cogut.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2015 issue 3
Letters:
Investors better placed to make profits in spas than operators, says Roger Allen
News report: LivNordic
Raison d’Etre signs a deal with Viking Cruise Lines for its LivNordic spa brand
Trends: Spa Foresight™ 2015
The team behind Spa Business share their insights on what the world of wellness will look like in the future
Interview – Craig Cogut:
The founding partner of Six Senses’ investment firm Pegasus Capital Advisors reveals his vision for the spa operator. Rhianon Howells reports
Promotional feature: RKF Linen
Founder and CEO Riadh Bouaziz talks about the development of the linen company’s revolutionary
new Dreamsoft product and its uptake in leading hotels and spas worldwide
Thought Leaders: Expert predictions
Thought leaders from around the world, working in different industry sectors, talk about spa trends, challenges and growth opportunities
Promotional feature: Thalgo
After 50 successful years in the professional spa and beauty industry, the Thalgo brand is as strong and as innovative
as ever
Promotional feature: ManageMySpa
CEO Sudheer Koneru explains how a move from enterprise technology into spa
software resulted in the creation of a powerful system
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Capsix Founded in 2016 by Carole Eyssautier, PhD in AI, François Eyssautier, robotics engineer, and Stéphan [more...]
