Demystify the Spa

There is no business quite like the spa business – let’s try to demystify the spa.

Being children of a government officer, we seldom experienced the luxury of any 5-star hotels during our growing years. That was somewhat compensated with the occasional service of orderlies and the accompanying jing-bang while staying at government guest houses and dak bungalows.

When I was left to fend for myself, I used to drag my feet every time there was a reason to enter one of those places. My purse did not allow for such extravagance—that is another story. But things slowly changed when I started to get involved in the design of hotels. Spaces that once overwhelmed me slowly began to feel familiar, almost tamed.

Another place that carries plenty of mystery is the spa. A spa can be a very dangerous place—it has the capability to extract all your money in exchange for a newer, refreshed, and rejuvenated version of you. When the world has been hit by an economic tsunami and most businesses are witnessing a sharp drop in revenues, it is no coincidence that spa owners and operators are still smiling all the way to the bank.

We often say “what’s in a name,” but I think it is worth understanding how this name evolved.

Spa: Sanus per Aquam — an Old Roman Cure

Spa culture is an adopted tradition taken from the Romans. During the Roman Empire, bathing was used by soldiers returning from battle as a form of hydrotherapy. Mineral springs were particularly soothing remedies then—as they are now. The word spa itself is often linked to the Latin phrase sanus per aquam, meaning “health through water.”

Today, one can find spas in many forms. It could be part of a hotel, a standalone facility, a specialised medical or healthcare spa. Some hotels even offer spa suites or children’s spas.

A spa will generally include the following services:

• Treatment & Beauty
• Thermal Experience
• Refreshing Experience
• Relaxation & Meditation
• Fitness Gym
• Pools

Treatment and Beauty

These services are offered in most wellness centres and salons. They include cosmetic manicure and pedicure, waxing, hairdressing, massages, and body wrapping.

Thermal Experience

This can come from saunas or from radiant heat provided by spaces such as the tepidarium or laconium, or from steam baths with specific therapeutic focus. Today there is a wide variety of saunas available such as Finnish sauna, Kelo sauna, loft sauna, panoramic sauna, hay sauna, and more.

Refreshing Experience

This is often closest to nature and primarily involves water and ice. Examples include experience showers, vitality showers, shower paths, bucket showers, and mill wheel showers. Ice-based experiences include ice fountains and ice grottos.

Other refreshing treatments extend to the feet, such as foot vitalisation and detoxification, Kneipp walks and pediluvium (alternating hot and cold walking paths), and foot reflexology.

Relaxation and Meditation

No continent can match Asia in the variety of relaxation and meditation experiences available. These range from communicative relaxation spaces such as lounges, vitamin bars, and libraries, to soft relaxation such as recliners, waterbeds, and sound oases, to deeper meditative experiences involving aqua therapy, mental relaxation, the “four senses” concept, energy spaces, and chromotherapy.

Fitness Gym & Sport

These cover everyday wellness activities such as cardiovascular training, weight training, high-altitude training (low oxygen environments), studio exercises including aerobics, and indoor or outdoor sports.

Pools

There are usually a wide variety of pools, such as relaxation pools (including massage features), underwater music pools, aqua medic pools, whirlpools, underwater fitness pools (including aqua bicycles and aqua jogging), and Watsu pools.

So the next time you step into a spa, you will know what to look for. I am currently putting together a “Brief Reference to Spa Design”—this is an extract from that work.