With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been
known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director
Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
"Barr and Wray offers the full package in spa design,” stated Banks, “we provide both interior and technical design and have been creating spa designs for 60 years, so we’ve got knowledge and experience in abundance and fully understand the process of designing a spa.”
The company provides a complete service, starting from concept design to construction documentation and post-contract supervision. Its service encompasses the entire spa, including wet areas, receptions, relaxation areas, changing rooms, treatment rooms and more.
“As a company, our most important design goal is that the flow of the spa must work,” he continued, “the final product should be a seamless journey transitioning the guests through the different zones and experiences of the spa.”
As Barr and Wray see it, it’s crucial the engineering and operational aspects are consistently integrated and thoroughly thought through during the design planning process.
“We appreciate a spa project is a complex and specialist endeavour which requires a specialist consultant. It’s no good having a great looking spa if all the engineering and operations don’t work,” said Banks. “We make sure all aspects are designed and integrated to create a cohesive final product.”
The company’s most recent design project was unveiled at the recently opened Jumeirah Talise Spa in Abu Dhabi, a 2,200sq m standalone spa with 15 treatment rooms situated in a modern building within the grounds of the Jumeirah Saadiyat Island Resort.
Barr and Wray produced a spa with separate-sex changing facilities, individual male and female wet lounges, a vitality pool, plunge pool, sauna, salt room and steamroom, as well as a rasul, ice fountain and experience showers and hammam with private scrub rooms.
Looking ahead, Banks believes spas and wellness facilities will be crucial in continuing the support of and emphasis on health and wellbeing in a post-pandemic world.
“I think this virus has brought into perspective the need to stay healthy in both body and mind, and in my opinion, a spa can only help you to achieve this.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Our greatest challenge
Spa and wellness businesses will reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating in the community, meaning we have to find models which work in this new reality, says Katie Barnes. So how will this change the industry?
On the menu: Pivot to digital
Which forward-thinking spas are taking their offerings online during the coronavirus pandemic?
Interview: Mary Celeste Beall
The celebrated Blackberry Farm has opened a sister property in the mountains of Tennessee. The owner tells Spa Business why wellness through nature underpins the new destination
Everyone’s talking about: COVID-19
Spa operators, wellness companies and organisations from around the world talk to Spa Business about the impact of coronavirus and what to expect down the line
Promotion: Simone Gibertoni: Clinique La Prairie
World-renowned medical spa, Clinique La Prairie, is creating a global network of
locations to support clients with their wellbeing, every day of the year, says its CEO
Research: First responders
ISPA’s COVID-19 survey offers insights into how the industry has responded to the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine examines the findings
Hotel spa: Country life: The Newt
Karen Roos, owner of the world-renowned hotel The Newt, on design, gardens and a spa housed in an old cow barn
Insights: Calls to action
Industry leaders around the world come together in a crisis to share ideas and innovations in a series of GWS Collaboration calls. Spa Business magazine reports on the highlights
Insights: Webinar wisdom
Spa Business shares its industry-relevant takeaways from the masses of webinars that are being streamed worldwide
Research: Measure for measure
Intelligent Spas reveals its latest global spa benchmarks and explores what they mean in today’s ever-changing climate
Focus on: Extreme wellness
Spa Business tries out two boundary-pushing, cold immersion retreats led by ‘The Iceman’ Wim Hof and Dr Marc Cohen
Promotion: Barr and Wray: Creating
a seamless journey
With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
Interview: Juliu Horvath
The founder of Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis tells Spa Business why he’ll never stop adapting his famous movement modality
Promotion: ISPA publishes Reopening Toolkit
A much-needed guide by ISPA gives essential advice on business planning, standard operating procedures, marketing and communications to support spas through the coronavirus crisis
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been
known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director
Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
"Barr and Wray offers the full package in spa design,” stated Banks, “we provide both interior and technical design and have been creating spa designs for 60 years, so we’ve got knowledge and experience in abundance and fully understand the process of designing a spa.”
The company provides a complete service, starting from concept design to construction documentation and post-contract supervision. Its service encompasses the entire spa, including wet areas, receptions, relaxation areas, changing rooms, treatment rooms and more.
“As a company, our most important design goal is that the flow of the spa must work,” he continued, “the final product should be a seamless journey transitioning the guests through the different zones and experiences of the spa.”
As Barr and Wray see it, it’s crucial the engineering and operational aspects are consistently integrated and thoroughly thought through during the design planning process.
“We appreciate a spa project is a complex and specialist endeavour which requires a specialist consultant. It’s no good having a great looking spa if all the engineering and operations don’t work,” said Banks. “We make sure all aspects are designed and integrated to create a cohesive final product.”
The company’s most recent design project was unveiled at the recently opened Jumeirah Talise Spa in Abu Dhabi, a 2,200sq m standalone spa with 15 treatment rooms situated in a modern building within the grounds of the Jumeirah Saadiyat Island Resort.
Barr and Wray produced a spa with separate-sex changing facilities, individual male and female wet lounges, a vitality pool, plunge pool, sauna, salt room and steamroom, as well as a rasul, ice fountain and experience showers and hammam with private scrub rooms.
Looking ahead, Banks believes spas and wellness facilities will be crucial in continuing the support of and emphasis on health and wellbeing in a post-pandemic world.
“I think this virus has brought into perspective the need to stay healthy in both body and mind, and in my opinion, a spa can only help you to achieve this.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Our greatest challenge
Spa and wellness businesses will reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating in the community, meaning we have to find models which work in this new reality, says Katie Barnes. So how will this change the industry?
On the menu: Pivot to digital
Which forward-thinking spas are taking their offerings online during the coronavirus pandemic?
Interview: Mary Celeste Beall
The celebrated Blackberry Farm has opened a sister property in the mountains of Tennessee. The owner tells Spa Business why wellness through nature underpins the new destination
Everyone’s talking about: COVID-19
Spa operators, wellness companies and organisations from around the world talk to Spa Business about the impact of coronavirus and what to expect down the line
Promotion: Simone Gibertoni: Clinique La Prairie
World-renowned medical spa, Clinique La Prairie, is creating a global network of
locations to support clients with their wellbeing, every day of the year, says its CEO
Research: First responders
ISPA’s COVID-19 survey offers insights into how the industry has responded to the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine examines the findings
Hotel spa: Country life: The Newt
Karen Roos, owner of the world-renowned hotel The Newt, on design, gardens and a spa housed in an old cow barn
Insights: Calls to action
Industry leaders around the world come together in a crisis to share ideas and innovations in a series of GWS Collaboration calls. Spa Business magazine reports on the highlights
Insights: Webinar wisdom
Spa Business shares its industry-relevant takeaways from the masses of webinars that are being streamed worldwide
Research: Measure for measure
Intelligent Spas reveals its latest global spa benchmarks and explores what they mean in today’s ever-changing climate
Focus on: Extreme wellness
Spa Business tries out two boundary-pushing, cold immersion retreats led by ‘The Iceman’ Wim Hof and Dr Marc Cohen
Promotion: Barr and Wray: Creating
a seamless journey
With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
Interview: Juliu Horvath
The founder of Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis tells Spa Business why he’ll never stop adapting his famous movement modality
Promotion: ISPA publishes Reopening Toolkit
A much-needed guide by ISPA gives essential advice on business planning, standard operating procedures, marketing and communications to support spas through the coronavirus crisis
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Mexican operator, Solmar Hotels and Resorts, is hosting a series of events in celebration of
Global Wellness Day, including a Temazcal ceremony at its Playa Grande Resort and Spa in Los
Cabos.
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
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.
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
