Formerly director of spa operations for Hyatt, O’Connell has directed Rosewood’s new spa concept, Asaya
At the end of last year, Rosewood Hotels announced two significant spa and wellness developments: a new integrative wellness concept called Asaya, and a new group vice president of guest experience and wellness, Niamh O’Connell.
Formerly director of spa operations and development for Hyatt, O’Connell is a veteran of the spa industry who has also worked in operations for ESPA. It’s under her direction that Rosewood has developed Asaya – a new spa concept for the brand that will make its debut at the upcoming Rosewood Phuket when it opens later this year, and at the Rosewood Hong Kong in 2018.
Asaya is rooted in a belief of self-acceptance and self-discovery, fusing complementary therapies, lifestyle and nutrition coaching with educational wellness programming, fitness activities and specialised healing. Spa treatments will be delivered using authentic ingredients, while “thoughtful” design will include social spaces, as well as areas dedicated to relaxation, reflection and fitness.
“Consciously and unconsciously, wellness is becoming more significant in our day-to-day lives – in the ways we work, eat, sleep and socialise,” says O’Connell. “Asaya is designed to assist guests in recognising areas of their lives they’d like to change and then providing the tools and support they need to make these changes – whether through complementary therapies, fitness activities, or authentic healing treatments. Ultimately this process enables people to adopt an enhanced lifestyle and have a more complete sense of self-acceptance.”
In keeping with Rosewood’s ‘A Sense of Place’ guiding concept, treatments will be strongly rooted in the local culture, featuring recipes from native experts as well as indigenous and natural ingredients. “We want to offer treatments that speak to the location in a very authentic and impactful way,” says O’Connell.
Guests may extend their experience with a stay in an overnight Asaya Suite, with separate sleeping, living and therapy areas.
The Asaya concept will include a wide variety of both indoor and outdoor fitness endeavours, complemented by a partnership with Technogym. It also marks the first time Rosewood has introduced global skincare partnerships, with Maison Caulières and EviDenS de Beautè both on offer.
Rosewood’s existing spa concept, Sense Spa, which focuses on offering reviving indigenous remedies in a luxury setting, will continue to operate. O’Connell says the introduction of Asaya is not the end for Sense and that Rosewood will offer both options going forward. “Sense Spa is a very well-established and valued concept that will remain in operation at many of Rosewood’s properties,” says O’Connell.
Each location will be considered individually to determine whether a Sense Spa or Asaya wellness concept is more suitable, she explains, but any new renovations will incorporate Asaya’s design attributes, as well as the all-important social spaces.
“We’re finding that people are looking to connect and socialise through wellness, a trend that’s becoming known as ‘intelligent socialising,’” says O’Connell. As a result, she says a number of social spaces have been incorporated into Asaya’s design. The reception area will include retail and “lifestyle ateliers” designed for small group wellness seminars, and private Signature Suites and Villas will offer a chance for groups to lounge and explore the concept in a more relaxed way, with dedicated treatment areas and hydrotherapy zones.
“We expect that the residential spaces offered within Asaya will be very popular among brides-to-be and their wedding parties, mother-daughter groups, and friends and families travelling together, but should they not be occupied by a group, the suites and villas will offer individuals an opportunity to experience Asaya in complete privacy,” explains O’Connell.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 1
Interview: Jeremy McCarthy
Mandarin Oriental’s group director
of spa and wellness discusses mental
wellness, spas and technology
Promotional feature: Beautyworld Middle East
Set to take place May 14-16, 2017 in Dubai, Beautyworld Middle East is billed as “three days to rediscover wellness and shake up the industry.”
Promotional feature: ESPA
ESPA has been a leader in the field of therapeutic skincare and luxury spa design and management for 25 years. Founder Susan Harmsworth explains how the company’s recent brand evolution will make ESPA even more relevant to the future of wellness
Promotional feature: Riceforce
Rice Force is set to make further inroads into the spa market in 2017 with the
launch of its new aromatic oils and treatment protocol
Promotional feature: Oakworks
Oakworks’ new Masters’ Collection range, which will consist of over 15 models by the end of 2017, has been designed to offer spa operators the ultimate in modern styling, with solutions and functionality that address each spa’s practical needs
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Formerly director of spa operations for Hyatt, O’Connell has directed Rosewood’s new spa concept, Asaya
At the end of last year, Rosewood Hotels announced two significant spa and wellness developments: a new integrative wellness concept called Asaya, and a new group vice president of guest experience and wellness, Niamh O’Connell.
Formerly director of spa operations and development for Hyatt, O’Connell is a veteran of the spa industry who has also worked in operations for ESPA. It’s under her direction that Rosewood has developed Asaya – a new spa concept for the brand that will make its debut at the upcoming Rosewood Phuket when it opens later this year, and at the Rosewood Hong Kong in 2018.
Asaya is rooted in a belief of self-acceptance and self-discovery, fusing complementary therapies, lifestyle and nutrition coaching with educational wellness programming, fitness activities and specialised healing. Spa treatments will be delivered using authentic ingredients, while “thoughtful” design will include social spaces, as well as areas dedicated to relaxation, reflection and fitness.
“Consciously and unconsciously, wellness is becoming more significant in our day-to-day lives – in the ways we work, eat, sleep and socialise,” says O’Connell. “Asaya is designed to assist guests in recognising areas of their lives they’d like to change and then providing the tools and support they need to make these changes – whether through complementary therapies, fitness activities, or authentic healing treatments. Ultimately this process enables people to adopt an enhanced lifestyle and have a more complete sense of self-acceptance.”
In keeping with Rosewood’s ‘A Sense of Place’ guiding concept, treatments will be strongly rooted in the local culture, featuring recipes from native experts as well as indigenous and natural ingredients. “We want to offer treatments that speak to the location in a very authentic and impactful way,” says O’Connell.
Guests may extend their experience with a stay in an overnight Asaya Suite, with separate sleeping, living and therapy areas.
The Asaya concept will include a wide variety of both indoor and outdoor fitness endeavours, complemented by a partnership with Technogym. It also marks the first time Rosewood has introduced global skincare partnerships, with Maison Caulières and EviDenS de Beautè both on offer.
Rosewood’s existing spa concept, Sense Spa, which focuses on offering reviving indigenous remedies in a luxury setting, will continue to operate. O’Connell says the introduction of Asaya is not the end for Sense and that Rosewood will offer both options going forward. “Sense Spa is a very well-established and valued concept that will remain in operation at many of Rosewood’s properties,” says O’Connell.
Each location will be considered individually to determine whether a Sense Spa or Asaya wellness concept is more suitable, she explains, but any new renovations will incorporate Asaya’s design attributes, as well as the all-important social spaces.
“We’re finding that people are looking to connect and socialise through wellness, a trend that’s becoming known as ‘intelligent socialising,’” says O’Connell. As a result, she says a number of social spaces have been incorporated into Asaya’s design. The reception area will include retail and “lifestyle ateliers” designed for small group wellness seminars, and private Signature Suites and Villas will offer a chance for groups to lounge and explore the concept in a more relaxed way, with dedicated treatment areas and hydrotherapy zones.
“We expect that the residential spaces offered within Asaya will be very popular among brides-to-be and their wedding parties, mother-daughter groups, and friends and families travelling together, but should they not be occupied by a group, the suites and villas will offer individuals an opportunity to experience Asaya in complete privacy,” explains O’Connell.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 1
Interview: Jeremy McCarthy
Mandarin Oriental’s group director
of spa and wellness discusses mental
wellness, spas and technology
Promotional feature: Beautyworld Middle East
Set to take place May 14-16, 2017 in Dubai, Beautyworld Middle East is billed as “three days to rediscover wellness and shake up the industry.”
Promotional feature: ESPA
ESPA has been a leader in the field of therapeutic skincare and luxury spa design and management for 25 years. Founder Susan Harmsworth explains how the company’s recent brand evolution will make ESPA even more relevant to the future of wellness
Promotional feature: Riceforce
Rice Force is set to make further inroads into the spa market in 2017 with the
launch of its new aromatic oils and treatment protocol
Promotional feature: Oakworks
Oakworks’ new Masters’ Collection range, which will consist of over 15 models by the end of 2017, has been designed to offer spa operators the ultimate in modern styling, with solutions and functionality that address each spa’s practical needs
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
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