When it comes to the Middle East and its demands on spa design, all agree that it is necessary to incorporate local customs and traditional Arabic therapies along with all the other treatments one has come to expect in today’s spa retreat.
Banks comments: “Spas are similar around the world, but we need to be extremely aware of the Middle Eastern culture. We must consider gender separation in most of the key areas. This has to be carefully considered in terms of the budget and space available.
“The answer is not always just to design duplicates of each area, but by considering the journey and the operational flow you can design the spa in a way that will capitalise on the space, meet legal requirements, create an amazing guest experience and maximise the revenue for the operator.”
Barr+Wray has just completed the design for the St Regis Spa in Al Habtoor City, Jumeirah Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi and finished the refurbishment of Talise Madinat Jumeriah in Dubai. It is currently working on five star projects in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
When talking about trends in the region, all share the opinion that sustainability and eco-friendly products are essential for spa design.
Pitt from Geberit says: “Our products are the first choice for architects, designers and planners being innovative, durable and ecologically efficient, providing high-end sanitary solutions. The durability of materials and systems and the economical use of resources play a significant role to shape the quality of leisure environments.”
Geberit recently supplied several important projects, such as The Four Seasons Sowwah Island in Abu Dhabi, Hilton in Dubai, Al Hayat Palace in Riyadh, Anantara Resort in Oman and Kempinski Hotel in Muscat.
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