After three years in development, the doors have opened at the Spa Hotel Esé, a purpose-built spa property for millennials in Lithuania, owned by Rūta and Vytenis Zalaga.
The concept for the hotel was developed by consultancy E77 and masterminded by E77 owner and founder, Egle Rukšėnaitė.
She says the opening was borne out of a desire to create a hotel that fulfils the need for a spa destination targeting younger clients.
“At E77, we’ve long had a dream to create a destination spa hotel for younger clients,” she says. “In my opinion, this new space is somewhere where traditional luxury does not shine, but instead luxury is expressed through art, cosy spaces, natural design and a high-quality spa offering an unadulterated and sustainable experience full of innovation.”
Spa Hotel Esé is located in the spa town of Birštonas known for its clean air, therapeutic mud and mineral water springs. The Lithuanian word Esé actually translates to personal story or own reflections and helped inspire E77 to conceive the spa hotel as an opportunity for guests to create, compose and share.
The new destination is complete with a 300sq m spa including four treatment rooms, an aromatherapy sauna, Finnish sauna, Jacuzzi, steam bath sauna and swimming pool.
The destination has been conceptualised specifically for the modern tech-savvy millennial customer, with details including automated self-service check-in and check-out for the hotel, an electronic entrance to the spa and smart door locks to cater to a millennial mindset.
Guests may also check how busy the pool is through screens online, by the entrance to the spa, or inside elevators, and decide when to visit.
“This is no ordinary hotel, but a truly Instagram-worthy hotel,” says Rukšėnaitė. “It’s the very first hotel designed for millennials in the Baltic States and serves as a point of art – no boring plain walls here.”
Three spa treatment rooms include massage beds provided by Netherlands-based Bellezi while one unique room offers access to Meden-Inmed’s Aquai hydromassage membrane bed. Rukšėnaitė says that the latter room was realised after E77 acknowledged that some millennials may be more introverted, so the team decided to include a private spa treatment room for guests to spend time alone and experience touchless treatments without a therapist present.
Other spa treatments include a menu of organic treatments supplied by organic Irish marine skincare brand Voya.
When guests arrive at the hotel they choose between 40 minimalist guestrooms each designed to tell a different story. “By having five unique room options – Sea, Mountain, Labyrinth, Green Room, Ocean Blue and Camping Apartment – guests have enough variety to pick a room based on their mood,” she says.
Rukšėnaitė is also consulting on the creation of a thermal spa resort and hotel for developer, Releven. The hotel will be built in historic pine forests in Lithuania’s coastal region of Klaipėda.
Due to launch between 2023-24, this project is being developed with architects Basalt, who were part of the team that worked on Iceland’s iconic Blue Lagoon resort.
The centrepiece of the 168-room resort in Giruliai will be a 3,000sq m spa complete with 25-30 treatment rooms and 1,700sq m of indoor and outdoor thermal pools. The pools will be filled with local geothermal mineral water extracted from 1km underground.
After a €40m (£34.4m, US$48.7m) investment, Rukšėnaitė says Releven’s vision is to create an oasis of natural wellbeing which immerses guests in lush green forest and invigorating sea air, offering a retreat from busy life.
Klaipėda is known as a healing destination thanks to both its mineral water and invigorating sea air which is enriched with a high iodine concentration – a trace mineral that is important for regulating thyroid activity.
The new resort’s philosophy will centre around whole-body wellbeing, sustainability and harnessing the healing power of the natural environment to rebalance guests.
“The opportunity to enjoy exceptional service, local history, nature in all seasons and a distinctive thermal wellness offering will together create a completely different and unique spa and wellbeing experience,” says Rukšėnaitė.
