DESIGN
Point Yamu, COMO Hotels & Resorts’ latest high-end development is due to open in Phuket this December
create a series of luxury villas in Phuket for developer Campbell Kane. Currently, he’s working with Italian interior designer Paola Navone on Point Yamu – a COMO Hotels & Resorts high-end development, also in Phuket, that’s due to open in December. His introduction to spas came in 1993,
when he was asked to design the first ever Mandara Spa at Chedi Toraja in Indonesia.
“At the time, I had very little knowledge of the spa industry – few did. I had no personal experience of going to a spa and certainly no commercial idea because there was no pam- pering spa business model to follow in the hotel industry. My first reaction was curios- ity, followed by instant attraction.” Gathy credits the Mandara project as the
start of his love affair with the spa industry. Now he’s addicted. “From a purely creative perspective, spas are very aesthetic. I love them because they give me the chance to exercise my creative side. “Projects where the outside of a building influences the feeling inside – as with a spa
– are very interesting to design. It’s so much better if you open the door or windows of treatment rooms and see a beautiful land- scape. Te topography and how the building
FUTURE PROJECTS
n Aman Vinh Hy (resort and spa), Vietnam, opening 2013 n Ancient Residential (Banyan Tree resort and spa), Shanghai, China, opening 2013 n Chedi Andermatt (resort and spa), Switzerland, opening 2013 n Palazzo Papadopoli (resort and spa), Venice, Italy, opening 2013 n Park Hyatt Sanya (resort and spa), Hainan Island, China, opening 2013 n Boutique resort in Randheli (standalone spa), Maldives, opening 2013 n Al Soda (resort and spa), Oman, opening 2014 n Amanoca (resort and spa), Brazil, opening 2014 n Armani Marrakech (resort and spa), Morocco, opening 2014 n Grand Hyatt Lijiang (resort and spa), China, opening 2014 . n Mayar Group’s Wellness Resort Gurgaon (standalone spa), India, opening 2014 n Herdade da Comporta development (resort and spa), Portugal, opening 2015
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Gathy loves the mix of location and architecture at One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives
I had little knowledge of the spa industry – few did... My first reaction was one of curiosity followed by instant attraction... I love spas because they give me a chance to exercise my creative side
sits on its site all play a part in how the inside of the spa is going to look and feel.”
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
I ask Gathy whether this is why location plays such an important part in determining which projects he takes on. “With destination spas, it’s always the site that inspires and guides me. When I arrive in a destination, some- thing will always trigger my senses. Every time, I start with a white piece of paper and ask myself, ‘OK, what’s special about this site, this idea, this company’s values?’” As testament to this, Gathy explains that
one of his favourite projects to work on in 2011, was the St Regis Lhasa Resort (sb11/1
p56) with its Iridium-branded spa because of its location in Tibet. Standing 12,000ſt (3,658m) above sea level, the luxury 162-bed- room spa resort has awe-inspiring views of the Himalayan mountain range. And this year, Gathy is particularly excited about working with a Indian spa operator the Mayar Group with plans to open at least one high-end destination spa, because it gives him the opportunity to spend time in India where wellness is a way of life. Talking to him, I suspect the cachet of
working with certain companies also plays a part in which projects Gathy works on. As well as working for spa super brands such as Mandarin Oriental and ESPA, his future client list could be mistaken for Paris Fash- ion Week. His company is working on the first Armani Resort in Marrakech that’s due to open at the end of 2014 and on the first four Cheval Blanc hotels. Cheval Blanc is the hotel management arm launched by LVMH and each property will feature LVMH fash- ion-branded spas such as Givenchy and Guerlain. In all, Gathy is working on 30 spas right now (see opposite).
DESIGNING FOR BUSINESS
Yet designing only for the world’s top hospi- tality firms must have its drawbacks – I ask Gathy what challenges he faces. “Design is not an ego trip – it’s still a business,” he says. “It’s important to come up with something
SPA BUSINESS 2 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
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