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How your hotel stay can make you fitter and happier and your kids healthier

Singapore as your go-to spot for a world-class healing retreat? That’s the aim of Espa at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). And the two-year-old spa, which won Best Luxury Destination Spa in Asia at this year’s Luxury Spa Awards, is on its way to doing just that. Next month, it will hold its first healing retreat programme with Dr Buathon Thienarrom, creator of an alternative healing treatment based on traditional Chinese medicine methods called 
ZenNaTai.

Singapore as your go-to spot for a world-class healing retreat? That’s the aim of Espa at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). And the two-year-old spa, which won Best Luxury Destination Spa in Asia at this year’s Luxury Spa Awards, is on its way to doing just that. Next month, it will hold its first healing retreat programme with Dr Buathon Thienarrom, creator of an alternative healing treatment based on traditional Chinese medicine methods called 
ZenNaTai.

“We’re certainly looking at having more of such retreats with interesting and highly regarded personalities in the industry,” said Tomoka Nyugen, director of Espa at RWS. “Although Singapore isn’t the typical destination you’d think of when it comes to retreats, we hope to change that. We want to be more than just 
a spa.”

After all, it already has got the infrastructure for it: It sprawls over 10,000 sq m and, aside from the usual treatment rooms, comprises swanky suites and villas. It also has a spa restaurant, Tangerine, helmed by celebrity chef Sam Leong and his wife Forest, lush onsen pools, a sleep zone with 18 sleep pods equipped with music, a gym with classes, a resident naturopath and nutritionist, and a team of lifestyle coaches who could come up with a customised programme for a day retreat or a three-day, two-night package. On top of that, guests receive a full report, complete with tips they can implement 
at home.

CONVENIENCE AT 
YOUR DOORSTEP

Such extensive treatments may be nothing new for resort spas at places like Koh Samui or the Maldives, but the difference here is convenience, as city slickers have easy access to top therapists and treatments.

It’s what attracted Dr Thienarrom, who has done stints at One And Only Maldives and Songtsam Retreat Yunnan. “The venue plays an integral part in a relaxing and peaceful healing retreat. Hence, Espa at RWS is a natural choice since the environment is completely immersed in nature and the venue fits in perfectly with the integrative lifestyle approach,” 
she explained.

She also feels people here could do with some help in unwinding. 
“Singapore is a tropical country and people tend to accumulate extra heat in their bodies, which can reflect on their physical and emotional harmony as a whole. These people tend to get angry and agitated easily, which is why I feel my healing retreat will benefit them.”

The initiative is only the tip of the iceberg, said Nguyen. A certified spa professional, aromatherapist and wellness coach herself, she’s looking to enhance the products and services offered. Expect to see the use of local ingredients such as pandan and palm sugar in foot rituals, and bigger plans to woo 
business travellers.

“Retreats do not just mean secluded places. And there are other 
factors to feeling good besides pampering. Having fun is also a good form of therapy,” she added. Perhaps a laughter 
retreat, then?

FIT TO A T AT W

Meanwhile, at W Hotel, yoga isn’t simply yoga. It’s holding a pose to a live DJ set and cocktails, thank you 
very much.

Two months ago, the international hotel chain introduced Fit With Tara Stiles, the “coolest yoga instructor ever” (says Vanity Fair) who’s better known for her unconventional yoga workouts and YouTube videos with titles such as Couch Yoga.

Inside the rooms of all 45 W Hotels around the world is a dedicated TV channel with four videos by Stiles. These 10-minute workout videos are designed to help you when you’re jetlagged, require a boost, have a big night out or simply need 
to recover.

“I think W guests want to stay fit, active and have fun while they are travelling,” said Stiles. “They want to have good energy during the day, have fun at night, and feel rested and restored in the morning. Our travel schedule sometimes doesn’t allow for all of that.”

Arnaud Champenois, senior brand director of W Asia Pacific, sees this as an “innovative way of providing 24/7 access to workouts that can be done whenever guests feel it.”

And that’s not all. In keeping with W’s trendy vibe, there are also Fit With Tara Stiles retreats which started this month at W in Verbier, before it hits Vieques, Bali-Seminyak and the Maldives. “We incorporate all the amazing features and beauty of the natural setting of the location into the classes, putting on amazing events with a DJ and awesome atmosphere,” revealed Stiles. Think a yoga festival on the beach at W Bali and parasailing at W Maldives with cocktails, spa sessions and DJ sets all thrown in.

While Stiles sees her new programme as upping the fitness and fun game in the hospitality industry, Champenois considers the partnership as part of W Hotels’ larger focus on body and mind. “There is definitely a bigger and more sophisticated demand for wellness programmes. We started out with spa programmes and now we are adding the fitness elements to offer our guests a well-rounded wellness lifestyle,” he said. “We want to make W Hotels a place where people can detox and refuel in any of the busiest cities or 
exotic destinations.”

And since fitness is part of looking good, Champenois promises even more exciting activities such as welcoming London celebrity nail artist Sharmadean Reid (whose clients include Azealia Banks and Iggy Azalea) at W Bangkok and Koh Samui. Seems like looking like an A-lister is now a check-in away.

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

Over at InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, it’s the children who are pampered in the best way possible. The chain has enlisted the help of Annabel Karmel, considered the Martha Stewart of children’s food, to create a kids’ menu with the hotel’s award-winning chef Theo Randall.

The duo has come up with items that sound and look appetising, and promises an “educational culinary voyage around the world” through their different flavours, tastes and scents. That’s what you’ll get with their nutritious and delicious Broccoli Sweet Corn Fritters or Lychee Frogurt.

The children’s food and nutrition guru said they use as much fresh local produce as possible and obtain the best ingredients to showcase the flavours. “For example, perfectly grilled mini beef burgers (use) the finest lean minced beef, Krispie Fish Fingers are made with local fish coated with crushed rice Krispies and we use very good-quality risotto rice and ripe tasty tomatoes for our Happy Tomato Risotto,” she cited.

“We don’t need to complicate the food as the ingredients shine. I think travel is a great opportunity to get children to try new and exciting things on the menu. Most of us tend to think that children only like bland simple flavours, but you will be surprised at the flavours they enjoy.”

InterContinental is the first and only hotel chain to launch a global kids’ menu of such pedigree. “We’ve always had various children’s menus available at our hotels, but we felt now was the right time to offer one new signature menu that was developed from start to finish with nutrition and food exploration at its core,” said Bruce Ryde, director of brand management at InterContinental Hotels and Resorts (Asia, Middle East & Africa).

He added that, in fact, this new InterContinental Planet Trekkers’ Menu is part of a wider programme to relook services and facilities for children. “Kids are becoming increasingly influential in the family holiday decision-making process and we understand that when kids are happy, parents are happy.”

We bet every parent would say amen to that.

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