Make time for modern magic

The Elemis Spa – iPod showers, relaxation pods and, now, a fountain-of-youth facial. Such bliss!

 

If you’re planning to try out the St Regis Bangkok hotel’s Elemis Spa, cancel all other appointments, because you’re going to have a long and thoroughly rejuvenating day.

First of all, you can spend all the time you want just loafing in the spa’s luxurious relaxation zones, where it’s delightfully impossible to stay dry. You can enjoy a gratuitously long rain shower while wearing an iPod jacket, you can watch the hours evaporate during a Thai herbal steam, and you can loiter for an eternity in the Twilight Rassoul Mud Chamber. That’s where they coat you in mineral-rich clay that exfoliates, boosts the blood circulation and stimulates all the senses.

Two of the floors at the spa have Vitality Pools as well – one hot and one cold – and “sensory experience showers” and “foot ritual pools”. And then there’s the brave new world of the relaxation pods.

A relaxation pod is an utterly cosy egg chair suspended from the ceiling. You climb in and drift away with the floating sensation and the sound of the water cascading into the Vitality Pools. Close your eyes and dream, or gaze through the huge windows at the great view of a lush golf course and equestrian centre.

The relaxation zones are designed to “decompress” you – to peel off that hard shell we develop as a shield against modern life’s rigours. Now you’re ready to appreciate the therapeutic benefits that modern life has to offer. It’s time for a classy spa treatment. (You can always come back to the “water park” later.)

UK-based Elemis has been a top professional spa and skincare brand for 20 years. It was a pioneer in using advanced phyto-therapy and aromatherapy to nurture body and soul. Science has always been on its side when it comes to ingredients and compounds that smooth out cellulite, slow the signs of ageing and relieve muscle tension.

The Elemis Spa at the St Regis Bangkok is the first in Southeast Asia and one of four that have opened around the world since April. At 15,000 square metres, Bangkok’s version is considerably bigger than most spas in town.

There are 15 therapy areas, including two deluxe couple’s suites with rain showers and baths, a couple’s traditional Thai suite and a hydrotherapy suite with a Hammam-style treatment bed. There’s a face-and-body-sculpting suite with an LPG M6 cellulite machine, the Sensory Journey suite with colour-light therapy (also big enough for two), and a salon where mothers-to-be can get a pregnancy massage. And there are five single treatment rooms and a manicure-pedicure lounge as well.

Everything looks modern amid sleek lighting and cutting-edge floral motifs, but it’s also comfortable and relaxed.

The Elemis Spa is famed for the “Elemis wave” – the massage technique involving long strokes of the palms – but at the moment the focus is on its latest anti-ageing skincare formula. One of the firm’s senior “educators”, Sara Watkins, has come from London to spend August and September in Bangkok and explain what it’s all about.

Watkins has brought with her the New Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Facial, which proved able in clinical trials to reduce wrinkles and improve skin firmness significantly with just one application.

The formula includes not just quartz but rhodochrosite, malachite, montmorillonite and tourmaline, and all have an effect on skin-cell structure and “cell communication”, together protecting the cells and helping them knit together better for more skin suppleness. The minerals are coupled with brown algae and red coral, which increase oxygen in the skin, its buffer against external damage. You end up looking immediately more radiant and younger – and that is what it’s all about, isn’t it?

The most alluring complexion results from a healthy lifestyle – well-balanced diet, regular exercise, plenty of fresh air and water, solid sleep and, of course, inner contentment. The refined service and high-quality care offered by the Elemis Spa enable you to optimise that approach to life. You can’t go wrong!

 

* The Elemis Spa is open daily from 10 to 10. Make arrangements at (02) 207 7777 or www.ElemisSpaBangkok.com.

The greatest group getaway

Treat the whole clan (or your hard-working employees) to an unforgettable stay at the Akatsuki

 

You can see the Japanese influence in the layout of the buildings and classic Thai features, too. From the veranda you can see a long stretch of Koh Samui’s western shore. And you can see why the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine have already picked the Akatsuki as one of the best new resorts around.

The five-star, super-stylish getaway on secluded Lipa Noi Beach is certainly a place to keep in mind if you’re planning a family party or a corporate junket, because the Akatsuki deals only in group bookings – 15 guests at a time, or 17 at a push.

And what does that relative handful of people have to share? Four pools, a spa, numerous other places to relax and be entertained, and a dedicated concierge team, chef, guides, drivers and butlers.

You can work out the details in advance to suit your needs, including but not limited to a lavish banquet, a birthday bash or a special excursion. How about lessons in yoga or meditation or kick boxing or how to cook Thai food, or a boat excursion or 18 holes at a particular golf course? You could arrange a ride on an elephant – and private jet transfers as well.

Tokyo-based architect Riccardo Tossani has fully integrated the “living with nature” philosophy into the Akatsuki’s design. He took into consideration the local culture as well as the setting and climate and came up with a wonderful mix of function and luxury while minimising dependence on artificial energy. They used only recycled wood, with natural ventilation and a lot of shade.

There are five very different suites that mingle the best of Thai hospitality and Japanese grace. Each of these very comfortable, very private homes away from home has its own individual features that are reflected in the names, drawn from elements of Zen.

Then there are three main pavilions for communal use. The Dining Pavilion has a large open-air deck overlooking the beach, the Theatre Pavilion boasts a state-of-the-art audio-visual system that’s ideal for group fun and business meetings, and the Living Pavilion, with its sofas and cushion-swaddled cabanas, is for unadulterated relaxation. A fourth pavilion is a breezy smaller sala at poolside.

The Akatsuki’s A-Spa is a place of magical soothing, with a massage or facial or manicure, but if you prefer, the therapists will come to your private suite.

Khun Olive, the resort’s talented chef, also pays “house calls”, bringing her wide selection of Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Italian dishes that match the cuisine of any luxury-hotel restaurant, although most guests opt to dine in the designated spots around the property, either indoors or out.

As a self-contained private resort with top-class catering, the Akatsuki can host any group function, from wedding receptions, birthday parties and family anniversaries to product launches and business-incentive trips. It feels remote in its tranquillity, but the Akatsuki is only 20 minutes’ drive from Samui’s main shopping and entertainment, Chaweng Beach and primary tourist attractions.

We already mentioned golf – nearby are two championship courses: Santiburi Samui and the Royal Samui, as well as the nine-hole, Par 3 Bophut Hills club.

 

* See you there

Koh Samui is a year-round destination, but late December to late March is peak season. It’s likely to be rainy from mid-October through early December.

Several airlines fly direct to Samui every day. It’s 80 minutes from Bangkok.

The Ataksuki is a 40-minute drive from the Samui airport.

Book your stay via sales@akatsuki-resort.com.