Barr + Wray has long been known for excellence in water leisure engineering. Design director
Graeme Banks explains how spa design also became a natural fit in the company’s portfolio
Barr + Wray’s spa design for the Grand Hyatt Colombo in Sri Lanka
You’ve been a leader in the water and aqua-leisure engineering business for almost 60 years. When did you add spa design to your wide range of services? We decided to add spa interior design to our services around three years ago, primarily due to clients requesting a one-stop shop when it comes to spa design. We’ve always offered the technical design aspects of the spa, so it seemed a logical step forward to offer our clients a full design package.
What’s your philosophy when it comes to spa design? To never stand still and always try to innovate. We constantly get asked to create something new and unique.
What in your opinion makes the perfect spa environment? Making sure that the spa has the perfect journey in relation to the surroundings, theme, culture and architecture. The spa also needs to have the major fundamentals including wet area, relaxation and treatment rooms.
What do you see as the biggest challenges of spa design, especially when you’re working in different cultures? Some of the biggest challenges we have are mainly due to where the spa is located in relation to its surroundings and architecture. This can have a big impact on the journey, views, access and movement, etc. Different cultures do pose their own unique challenges, but this can always be resolved by good design.
What can they expect from your spa design process? Our design process is unique in the fact that we offer both technical design and interior design thus enabling a more integrated package. With every client, we always engage, evaluate, design and deliver.
What projects are you currently working on? We’ve recently finished design projects in Hong Kong, the UK, Dubai, Sri Lanka and Qatar. 2018 is already looking busy for us with more projects within Europe, Middle East and Asia, so watch this space.
What excites you about the wellness market today, and do you have any predictions for the future of spa design? I think everyone is now more socially aware of their own wellbeing and because of this there’s so much variety and choice in the spa industry which can only be a good thing for us all.
For the future of spa design, I think we’ll see two things happening. Firstly, technology will play a bigger part to give our guests a truly immersive experience; and secondly, spas will become more family oriented and not just the domain of singles and couples. So expect also to see mini kids spas appearing in the future!
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Promotional feature: Anne Semonin
Katherine Connolly, newly appointed global
director of retail and spa operations at Anne
Semonin, discusses her plans for the brand
Promotional feature: Thalion
Thalion is the first company to develop highly
specialised mineral therapies for clients, says
training manager Sophie Alemany
Research: Finishing touch
A new study shows that massage can
help muscle re-growth after an injury –
even when applied to the opposite limb
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...]
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...]
Barr + Wray has long been known for excellence in water leisure engineering. Design director
Graeme Banks explains how spa design also became a natural fit in the company’s portfolio
Barr + Wray’s spa design for the Grand Hyatt Colombo in Sri Lanka
You’ve been a leader in the water and aqua-leisure engineering business for almost 60 years. When did you add spa design to your wide range of services? We decided to add spa interior design to our services around three years ago, primarily due to clients requesting a one-stop shop when it comes to spa design. We’ve always offered the technical design aspects of the spa, so it seemed a logical step forward to offer our clients a full design package.
What’s your philosophy when it comes to spa design? To never stand still and always try to innovate. We constantly get asked to create something new and unique.
What in your opinion makes the perfect spa environment? Making sure that the spa has the perfect journey in relation to the surroundings, theme, culture and architecture. The spa also needs to have the major fundamentals including wet area, relaxation and treatment rooms.
What do you see as the biggest challenges of spa design, especially when you’re working in different cultures? Some of the biggest challenges we have are mainly due to where the spa is located in relation to its surroundings and architecture. This can have a big impact on the journey, views, access and movement, etc. Different cultures do pose their own unique challenges, but this can always be resolved by good design.
What can they expect from your spa design process? Our design process is unique in the fact that we offer both technical design and interior design thus enabling a more integrated package. With every client, we always engage, evaluate, design and deliver.
What projects are you currently working on? We’ve recently finished design projects in Hong Kong, the UK, Dubai, Sri Lanka and Qatar. 2018 is already looking busy for us with more projects within Europe, Middle East and Asia, so watch this space.
What excites you about the wellness market today, and do you have any predictions for the future of spa design? I think everyone is now more socially aware of their own wellbeing and because of this there’s so much variety and choice in the spa industry which can only be a good thing for us all.
For the future of spa design, I think we’ll see two things happening. Firstly, technology will play a bigger part to give our guests a truly immersive experience; and secondly, spas will become more family oriented and not just the domain of singles and couples. So expect also to see mini kids spas appearing in the future!
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Promotional feature: Anne Semonin
Katherine Connolly, newly appointed global
director of retail and spa operations at Anne
Semonin, discusses her plans for the brand
Promotional feature: Thalion
Thalion is the first company to develop highly
specialised mineral therapies for clients, says
training manager Sophie Alemany
Research: Finishing touch
A new study shows that massage can
help muscle re-growth after an injury –
even when applied to the opposite limb
Private hotel owner and developer HVL Hotels will open a new luxury resort and tourism
destination called Laval Hunter Valley in the second half of 2027 in Pokolbin, Australia.
The annual wellness festival dedicated to wellbeing, culture, longevity and human connection,
called Alma, will be hosted by Rocco Forte hotel, Verdura Resort in Sicily, Italy.
Capella Hotel Group has appointed Feisal Jaffer as chief development officer as the company
ramps up its global expansion of both its Capella and Patina brands.
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
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...]
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...]
