From construction chaos to a luxury spa in a year
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi spa manager Nichola Roche helped develop and implement the stunning Atarmia Spa on Saadiyat Island from scratch; Hotelier finds out how
Sat at her makeshift desk in the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi construction site office, with its intermittent power failures and the loud screech of jack hammers, Nichola Roche set about creating a luxury spa concept.
The pre-opening environment was far from idyllic, but the brief was simple; as per Hyatt’s philosophy the spa must be unique — from its name to the treatments offered — and it should feature elements indigenous to its UAE location.
“Hyatt never repeats a spa concept. There will never be another Atarmia Spa, that’s what made my job so exciting. We don’t hire a copywriter, a designer, a conceptualiser or a brand designer,” says Roche, who joined the pre-opening team as spa manager at the start of 2011.
Roche wasn’t new to the task of creating a five-star hotel spa concept from scratch, prior to moving to Abu Dhabi for her new role, she had launched a spa at a Hyatt Regency in Hong Kong.
“The first task on your critical path is to design your spa concept and brand, beginning with the name. You start with a blank page and research. It has to be indigenous, relate to the local culture. Treatments will draw ingredients from the Middle East and the name must relate to this,” she explains.
“So ‘Attar’ is a form of aromatherapy that was used in ancient Arabia as an extraction method for oils from bark, roses, roots and wood — forming a resin block used for self-anointing and medicinal purposes. ‘Mia’ is Arabic for ‘water that moves’, so Atarmia translates to aromatic flowing waters.”
Armed with the name, the next step Roche took was to put her stamp on the spa design, bringing the concept together.
“The fit-out is already done by the designers so you look at the floor plans to see what goes where and you bring in accessories and small touches to accentuate your concept.
“I love the tree carved into the black marble in the couples’ treatment room, it is symbolic of the mystical ‘Tree of Life’ located in Bahrain,” she says.
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Building a modern Arabia
Like the hotel, which combines architectural elements of an Arabian castle with the contemporary feel of the Park Hyatt brand, the spa combines traditional and modern elements.
While some of the treatments such as Arabian Aromatherapy — as the name suggests — centre on more traditional practices, Atarmia also introduces some new treatments to the region.
“When building a spa within an international hotel you must consider guest expectations. It’s a vast market with GCC nationals wanting their skin whitening and brightening and other international guests lying in the sun for hours on end and then requesting anti-aging treatments. But all of these markets are becoming more results-focused,” says Roche.
“Guests are looking for something that goes beyond facial care — they can do that at home now. It’s about bringing nature and science together in a spa so guests don’t have to go into a white room with doctors wearing white coats.
In the past clinics were the only places you could find treatments such as ‘dermabrasion’, but we’re offering that here now alongside other medical-grade treatments that don’t involve putting toxins in your body or going under the knife,” she adds.
Other ‘cutting-edge’, results-based treatments offered at Atarmia include Le Alternativa, a non-invasive treatment labelled the ‘new Botox’, and hydra-facials, a form of non-laser skin resurfacing.
High-tech treatments
While stressing that machines can never replace the sense of ‘touch’, Roche’s research and guest feedback suggests there is an increasing demand for such machine-based therapies, which she coins an “industry turn”.
“There’s a trend for people wanting machines these days, the spas have done an amazing job in educating guests that soap and water doesn’t do the job anymore.
“Our machines come in for skin-damage reversal to a certain degree and ultimately prevention. We’re the only spa in Abu Dhabi to offer Solitone 2500 [for regenerating and repairing the different skin layers], based on technology developed by NASA scientists.”
These high-tech therapies also help to give the spa an edge in terms of its revenue potential. Not only do these machine-based treatments generally cost more, but they are crucial to building up customer loyalty with the walk-in market, according to Roche.
“Treatments such as La Alternativa work best in courses. To build the effect of having a session of Botox, clients should aim for five treatments. So that’s where we’re looking to bring our repeat business among the local and expatriate market,” explains Roche. “You get an immediate result from these kinds of therapies too,” she adds.
One of the appeals of the hydra-facial is reduced “blotchiness”— fitting in perfectly with Roche’s plan to target weddings business.
“The extraction is done by a machine, there’s no squeezing or anything that would cause the skin to blotch up so it’s a facial brides can have done on the day – it’s amazing for its skin cleansing and smoothing effects, not just anti-aging.
“We’re targeting weddings business; we've had some very successful ones in already. The leisure guest is the one we really want to tap into – because when they come they have the time and the inclination.”
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Castaway
Roche believes the hotel’s rather isolated location on the natural coastline of Saadiyat Island will bode well for it: “We’re away from everything; there are fewer distractions so people tend to go towards spa and relaxation.
“Of course we want to set the benchmark for five-star spas in Abu Dhabi and the region,” says Roche, adding that the Park Hyatt Dubai spa, Amara, is already well known and respected in the market, and will help sister spa Atarmia build brand awareness.
“We’re one of the first spas to open on Saadiyat Island so we can tap into that market quickly and cause a stir in the expatriate and local communities.”
Roche says the spa is on track for a business mix of 60:40 among hotel guests versus walk-in locals and expatriates, and is targeting half and half through an increased emphasis on attracting the Emirati market.
“We’re very surprised at how much we’re attracting the walk-in market already so I’d like to try and expand on that. Out of the mix it’s more Emiratis, and the majority of these are male.
“We want to be a choice for the local ladies. We have some great beauty salons out there which are very popular with this market, so it is in their routines.
“Also bearing in mind that with just one positive experience you can usually reach up to 20 friends and family members in the same community because people talk.”
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Numbers game
It’s not only the spa clients who appear to be becoming more results driven, so are the managers.
With its flash fit-out flaunting slate walls, quality marble, glass and wood finishings — no expense has been spared on the Atarmia Spa at Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, but with higher investments come greater expectations of returns — inevitably the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the spa manager.
“That’s just the way the industry is moving forward with more emphasis on investment in the spa,” says Roche.
“But I take great sense of pride in the fact that spas raise the room rate within the hotel whether or not the guest walks into the spa and has a treatment or not, but of course I have targets and expectations.
“If you concentrate on guest experience the profit will come, that’s where my focus is and where I find my job satisfaction,” she adds.
Seeing the calm and elegant Atarmia Spa today, it’s hard to believe the concept was dreamt up by one woman stationed in a noisy construction area. “Looking back at those first few weeks in the site office, I can laugh at the challenges faced. Looking to the future, you realise it’s those challenges that make you grow,” Roche concludes.
Inside Atarmia
Location: Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, Saadiyat Island
Inspiration: Local, indigenous culture and heritage
Manager: Nichola Roche
Treatment rooms: Nine, including one VIP couples’ room
Floors: Two
Staff: 27 and growing
Bespoke treatments: La Alternativa and Quiro Golf Massage, among others
Other features:
- Outdoor 25-metre lap pool
- Hydrotherapy facilities
- Manicure and pedicure salon
- Fitness room
- Stretching studio
- Sauna
- Steamroom
- Whirlpool
- Tennis court