Health tourism is set to boom post-pandemic – and luxury hotels are ready with on-site medical centres the next five-star trend
- Switzerland’s Chenot Spa opening at Malaysia’s One&Only Desaru Coast signals a new vogue for hi-tech hotel health treatments – think cryotherapy facials and LED face masks
- W Hong Kong has long offered medical treatments – now neighbours Park Hyatt Shenzhen Macau’s The Parisian and The Venetian are upping the game too
Think of hotel spa treatments, and most of us picture the usual indulgent massages, reviving body scrubs and beautifully scented facials. But at some of Asia’s luxury hotel spas, you can now de-stress, slim down and heal injuries, have a cryotherapy facial that drops to minus 10 degrees Celsius, and be treated with the same LED light that Nasa harnessed to grow plants in zero gravity and heal astronauts’ wounds faster.
While hi-tech treatments like these have been available at luxury medical centres around the world for years, and more recently at some wellness resorts, most hotel spas have kept to relatively traditional offerings that focus on pampering and relaxing their guests.
There are exceptions – Bliss Spa at the W Hong Kong has long been known for its cutting-edge treatments – but now more hotels across Asia are offering medical treatments. These include the One&Only Desaru Coast in Malaysia – Asia’s first outpost of Switzerland’s Chenot Spa – the Park Hyatt Shenzhen, and The Parisian and The Venetian in Macau. These hotels are blurring the boundaries between medical centres, wellness resorts and hotel spas.
We now face hyper-knowledgeable guests who have done their homework, know far more than the basics, and look for unique experiences in line with their needs, goals and aspirations
At Park Hyatt Shenzhen, its wellness centre is becoming one of the most sought-after places for the city’s most discerning wellness fans, offering extensive high-end facilities including a muscle-stimulating machine equipment that promises to build a six-pack body – without hitting the gym.
Peter Hildebrand, general manager at Park Hyatt Shenzhen, says, “As in most areas of daily life, technology is what is bringing improvements to people’s lives. We also see this high-tech equipment as a natural extension of our spa offering and a way in which we can achieve our vision of delivering real visible results while not compromising comfort or relaxation.”
For Dr George Gaitanos, chief operating officer and scientific director at Chenot, the increasing investment in science-driven treatments in the wellness world is in response to the dual drives of customers wanting more varied treatment choices, and looking for options that are focused on specific outcomes. The pandemic has only exacerbated these trends.
“With the ongoing pandemic, now more than ever, travellers, health and wellness seekers and spa-goers are seeking ways to further enhance their well-being, from nutrient-rich meals to science-led treatments and diagnostics,” he says.
At One&Only Desaru Coast, the Chenot spa has a set of science-based diagnostics that allows treatments to be tailored, and bespoke programmes to be designed, to best suit individual customers’ needs. Packages may combine meditation, relaxation massage and training with biofeedback devices that measure signals from the parasympathetic nervous system to bring calmness and strengthen emotional balance.
