SPA TRAVEL

Spa vacations are gaining enormous popularity world wide. South East Asia has many wonderful spas to cater to tourists in this emerging market. The majority of South-East Asian spas’ staff are western trained therefore the experience is more like east meets west. A spa is generally a place where people can meet and socialise as well as relax, get pampered, and find wellness. For our 2004 programme Exotissimo will offer two Spa Travel Packages. For further information please contact Exotissimo Vietnam at vietnam@exotissimo.com.  

SPA FACTS The spa industry is growing at an annual rate of 200% in the Asia-Pacific region Spa travel is the fastest growing sector in the tourism industry within the Asia-Pacific region The Asia-Pacific region has become the international centre for spa popularity and development

Who Spas in Asia-Pacific? 40% Baby Boomers (45 to 58 years) 23% Generation S (58 years and over) 18% Generation Y (22 to 33 years) 12% Generation X (33 to 45 years) 7% Generation E (Teenagers to 21 years)

Why is Spa booming in the Asia-Pacific region? Asia Pacific spa embraces east/west synergies Spa resorts and hotel in Asia seem exotic to visitors from Europe and North America Asian spas are more like relaxation centres, without the formal, clinical feel of European spas Asian spas are very reasonably priced

 

Foot massage at Spa Tropic

REGIONAL SPAS

Vietnam

Spa Tropic, a tropical urban spa housed in a beautifully renovated French colonial villa amongst a Zen garden. Spa Tropic offers a retreat for those seeking relaxation and a complete pampering experience. This is a great day spa to use during your stay in Ho Chi Minh City with a wide selection of exclusive treatments that will arouse your senses and take you to a blissful state of relaxation.

Six Senses at Ana Mandara Resort. Located in a tropical garden on Nha Trang,the Ana Mandara’s holistic Six Senses Spa sets new standards in spa design with the use of natural tones, traditional Vietnamese style and water elements. There are three sunken outdoor treatment salas surrounded by pools and miniature waterfalls so you can relax to the therapeutic sound of falling water. Inside the spa, there are treatment rooms for couples or singles, with sunken Jacuzzi baths, a Vichy shower and a Japanese style bath. With separate facilities for men and women, the ‘back to nature’ changing areas are surrounded by ponds and lush vegetation with saunas and steams. Waiting areas for relaxation and private consultation take place in traditional Vietnamese style salas raised on stilts surrounded by coconut palms.

Six Sennses Spa detox body mask

Double Spa treatment room

The Six Senses Spa offers an unrivalled range of treatment techniques from East and West, including massage, face and body care, mind and body balancing and beauty care.

Cambodia

The Amrita Spa at the Grand Hotel d’Angkor. After exploring Angkor, guests can recuperate at this state-of-the-art spa. Facilities include a fully fitted gym and rooms for sauna, steam, jacuzzi and massage. Spa treatments are a blend of traditional European techniques and therapies: aqua-therapy, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, thalassic-therapy as well as facials, slimming and toning treatments. At the Amrita Spa, carefully selected treatments and therapies from around the world are heightened with traditional Khmer touches. In the fitness centre, guests can perfect the art of Khmer dancing, arise with early morning meditation, or enjoy the graceful disciplines of Yoga and Tai Chi in the outdoor Amrita Pavilion. After an exhilarating visit to the temples, tired muscles are tended to at the hands of professional therapists or in the modern hydrotherapy room.

Thailand

The Layana Spa Phuket Resort The Layana offers a unique spa experience - a full moon meditation course. This course is available along with its extended spa menu. They offer a three day full moon meditation course held once a month to take full advantage of the known impact of the moon’s magnetic gravity on the human body, mind and spirit. The meditation focuses on techniques to control active breathing. In addition, the course provides mental and physical relaxation and participants will develop basic skills on which to build further after completion of the course.

Laos

Papaya Spa The new Papaya Spa is situated in a majestic colonial-style residence, surrounded by lush gardens of tropical orchid’s palms, mango, frangipani and coconut trees. The spa offers a unique refuge from life’s daily grind through its herbal steam baths and traditional Lao, Swedish, or aromatherapy massages. Papaya Spa has fully-trained therapists from Vientiane’s Traditional Medicine Institute and additional expertise from the Moh Shivagakomarpaj Foundation, Chiang Mai, and the Cosmoprof Institute of Singapore.

Herbal Sauna at Wat Sok Pa Luang For a unique experience in Laos a trip to this sauna is worthwhile. From downtown Vientiane, it’s only a fifteen minute tuk-tuk ride past shaded tree lined avenues and paddy fields to Wat Sok Pa Luang in south Vientiane’s Sisathanak District. In Laos it’s known as a wat paa or a forest temple where vipassana or insight meditation is practiced, although it is also well-known for its rustic herbal sauna, popular with both expats and locals. Herbs such as kaffir lime (like bergamot), holy basil, lemon grass, lemon, and camphor bark are boiled and the steam from the cosmetic concoction goes up into the small wooden planked sauna cabin directly above and fills it up with medical herbal steam. The monastery houses both monks and nuns. The nuns look after the sauna and grow and collect the herbs as well as cultivate orchids and other flowers which give the place an entrancingly exotic atmosphere.