A Touch of Class
HIGH-END SPAS ARE INDULGING CONSUMERS BY PACKAGING HIGH LIVING WITH HEALTH.
High-end spas are indulging consumers by packaging high living with health
T he therapists at the Rait Spa at the Suryagarh Palace Hotel in Jaisalmer travel 300 km west in the Thar Desert to hand-harvest salt from the banks of the Luni River. As part of its signature Thermal Salt therapy, the guest is covered from head to toe in the river salt, known for its therapeutic qualities, and then wrapped in a muslin cloth.
Such locally found ingredients are what differentiate the high-end spas in places as far and wide as Oberoi’s Wildflower Hall in Shimla, Warren Tricomi Salon and Spa in Goa, and ESPA spa at The Leela Palace in Udaipur, from your neighbourhood spas. “Luxury is no longer about the grandest option but providing the experience that is rare and absolutely authentic – the way it is meant to be,” says Mahesh Natarajan, Senior Vice President - Marketing at IHHR Hospitality, which runs the wellness spa Ananda in the foothills of Rishikesh.
Spa therapy has become the big trend in the wellness industry for a few years now, both at the top end of the market as well as the bottom. But what distinguishes the true luxury spas from the plain vanilla ones that the hoi polloi fre-
quent is the degree of attention paid to everything – from the special ingredients used to coat the body, to the masseurs who have undergone specialised training or flown in from distant shores, to the exotic detox packages they source and offer from around the world. It is not just the prices they charge or the celebrities they attract that make the top-end spa special. It is often the lengths they are willing to go to provide that something extra that no other spa can.
Of course, the economics of the luxury spas are also different from that of the normal spas. They usually charge `4,000+ for a one hour session that can go up to `1,50,000. For these luxury spas, actual therapy is only 30-40 per cent of the overall experience; it is the added attractions and attention to detail that truly differentiate them from the rest, says Manish Patwardhan, Founder of Spa Consultants. Hence, they are positing themselves as complete wellness centres promising to take care of the mind, body and soul.
Back to the Roots
The problem is not just lifestyle. Natarajan believes it is the overall healthcare system with a focus on curative medicine that is unable to give a healthy lifestyle to the people. “There is a strong need to revive the traditional healing systems, which focus on preventive care, for a more holistic approach for living.”
This has paved the way for age-old healing methods such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Ayurveda and Western therapies such as aromatherapy, craniosacral therapy and Reiki in these spas. Kate Sim, Head of Spa Operations, The Oberoi Group, says the biggest change they made at the Wildflower Hall, Shimla, was doing away with ‘fad’ treatments such as the chocolate spa and papaya wraps, and reviving the authentic massage practices of Bali, Thailand and China which, over the years, had become refined at their spas. “The only difference is that the delivery of these traditional massages is in a more sophisticated fashion. For instance, instead of neem wood beds used traditionally, which can be quite uncomfortable for today’s guests, we use hydraulic beds,” she says.
Their therapists are flown in from Bhutan and then extensively trained for two months, followed by an apprenticeship for six months. “The innate quality of serving others is ingrained in the Buddhist- dominated Bhutanese people and that is a great asset for spa therapists,” she adds. Thai massage experts and TCM specialists are flown in from their countries of origin during the lean seasons to provide advanced skill training to the staff. Similarly, Ananda Spa, spread over 24,000 sq. ft, too, offers ancient therapies such as Yogic Detox that uses hatha yogic cleansing techniques to detox in a natural and effective way. Its Renew programme focuses on anti-ageing and rejuvenation treatments for senior citizens, while the Ananda Active programme – a combination of treks, yoga, aqua fitness and therapeutic spa – caters to younger consumers. Ananda now has more than 80 body and beauty treatments; the durations varying from three days to 21 days. The price range per night can vary from `22,000 to `99,000.